Apple Shares 2021 Apple Music Top Charts and Highlights

With 2021 wrapping up in another month, Apple today shared a number of Apple Music top charts, highlighting the top songs of 2021, the most-read lyrics, the most streamed workout songs, the most Shazamed songs, and more.

apple music
Dynamite by BTS was the top streamed song of 2021, followed by drivers license by Olivia Rodrigo, positions by Ariana Grande, For the Night by Pop Smoke, and Blinding Lights from The Weeknd.

The most read lyrics included drivers license and good 4 u from Olivia Rodrigo, Dried Flower by Yuuri, Dynamite by BTS, and Kiss Me More by Doja Cat.

Apple's most streamed workout songs included Head & Heart by Joel Corry, Post Malone by Sam Feldt, and Levitating by Dua Lipa, while the most Shazamed songs included Astronaut in the Ocean by Masked Wolf, Save Your Tears by The Weeknd, and Bad Habits by Ed Sheeran.

All of the Top 100 playlists can be accessed though the ‌Apple Music‌ streaming service, priced starting at $9.99 for a standard membership. Apple also offers a student plan for $4.99 per month, and soon there will also be a $4.99 per month Voice plan that allows users to ask Siri to play content, but it will not feature lyrics, song downloads, and other features.

Earlier today, Apple also announced the winners of the third annual ‌Apple Music‌ Awards, with The Weeknd being named the Global Artist of the Year and Olivia Rodrigo named as Breakthrough Artist of the Year.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Intel Inside iPhone Feature

Apple's Return to Intel Rumored to Extend to iPhone

Friday December 5, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Intel is expected to begin supplying some Mac and iPad chips in a few years, and the latest rumor claims the partnership might extend to the iPhone. In a research note with investment firm GF Securities this week, obtained by MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu said he and his colleagues "now expect" Intel to reach a supply deal with Apple for at least some non-pro iPhone chips starting in 2028....
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
Johny Srouji

Apple Chip Chief Johny Srouji Could Be Next to Go as Exodus Continues

Sunday December 7, 2025 10:41 am PST by
Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji could be the next leading executive to leave the company amid an alarming exodus of leading employees, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Srouji apparently recently told CEO Tim Cook that he is "seriously considering leaving" in the near future. He intends to join another company if he departs. Srouji leads Apple's chip design ...
Johny Srouji

Apple's Chipmaking Chief Johny Srouji Responds to Report About Him Potentially Leaving

Monday December 8, 2025 9:23 am PST by
Apple's chipmaking chief Johny Srouji has reportedly indicated that he plans to continue working for the company for the foreseeable future. "I love my team, and I love my job at Apple, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon," said Srouji, in a memo obtained by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Here is Srouji's full memo, as shared by Bloomberg:I know you've been reading all kind of rumors and...
top stories 2025 12 04a

Top Stories: iOS 26.2 Coming Soon, Apple Execs Depart, and More

Saturday December 6, 2025 6:00 am PST by
You'd expect things to be starting to wind down for the holidays by now, but that doesn't seem to be the case yet in the world of Apple news, with Apple just about ready to release iOS 26.2 and other operating system updates to the public. There was also a flurry of news this week about Apple executive departures, some expected and some not so expected, while we also learned that Apple and...
maxresdefault

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Monday December 1, 2025 3:00 am PST by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that ...
Apple Fitness Plus expansion hero

Apple Fitness+ Coming to 28 New Regions With Digital Voice Dubbing

Monday December 8, 2025 6:19 am PST by
Apple today announced that Fitness+ is expanding to 28 new markets on December 15 in the service's largest international rollout since launch, accompanied by new language dubbing and a K-Pop music genre. Apple Fitness+ will become available in Chile, Hong Kong, India, the Netherlands, Singapore, Taiwan, and additional regions on December 15, with Japan scheduled to follow early next year....

Top Rated Comments

Lounge vibes 05 Avatar
53 months ago
Can’t wait for the several pages coming up of “who?”
Olivia Rodrigo? You mean talentless garbage?
The Weeknd? You mean autotuned crap?
BTS? You mean the music that’s corrupting the youth?
Etc
*grabs popcorn*
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Martin Bland Avatar
53 months ago

I don’t understand the criticism. Many people enjoy the music these artists produce, so it’s music to them and therefore, art.

Music is completely subjective to the listener. One can say metal music is trash and same for pop, but it works both ways. To them, it’s art.

There’s no objective stance on music besides the musical theory, raw sales and ranking on the charts.
Many people do. Many more probably don’t.

The trouble I personally have with Apple Music is that it is very hard to find/discover new music that isn’t pop or hip hop/rap. Apple goes to great lengths to repackage the same three genres while almost completely disregarding most of the rest of what is out there. There is clearly a lot of decent music out there that Apple is ignoring.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
metapunk2077fail Avatar
53 months ago

Can’t wait for the several pages coming up of “who?”
Olivia Rodrigo? You mean talentless garbage?
The Weeknd? You mean autotuned crap?
BTS? You mean the music that’s corrupting the youth?
Etc
*grabs popcorn*
Rodrigo is cool.
Weeknd is entertaining.
Blackpink are hot.

They don't need to be Pavarotti or something to have a decent pop identity ?

It's pop music. It's supposed to be that way.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kalsta Avatar
53 months ago

Yesterdays pop trash is todays classics, and todays pop trash will be classics in the future.
Yeah, nah. We’re living through the dark ages of pop. Even my kids won’t listen to today’s trash. They listen to more 60s–90s, and they’re not the only ones.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Lounge vibes 05 Avatar
53 months ago

Yeah, nah. We’re living through the dark ages of pop. Even my kids won’t listen to today’s trash. They listen to more 60s–90s, and they’re not the only ones.
Uh… there was kids and adults in the 50s who thought Elvis sucked and would only listen to 20s Jazz.
There were kids and adults in the 60s who thought the British invasion was stupid, and would only listen to the classics from the originators of rock ‘n’ roll.
There were kids and adults in the 70s who thought disco and funk were just complete trash, clinging onto their 40s-60s records.
There were people in the 80s who thought synth Pop was just going way too far, again clinging onto Yesterdays music.
Same with the 90s with grunge, alternative, and hip-hop.
Same thing today. There are those who embrace modern music, those who are stuck in the past, and those, like me, who can appreciate both.
The original comment is far from wrong, Yesterdays trash is today’s classics, and today’s trash will be tomorrow’s classics.
And, 20-50 years from now when Gen-Z are A bunch of bitter old people who “just don’t understand and quiver with fear for the new generation,” they’ll be saying the same thing about that generation’s music.
Also it should be noted, with the invention of the Internet and the relative ease it is now to get your hands on very professional music making equipment, you could pretty much find any form of music out there today. If you spend some time actually looking, you’ll find some modern music that you enjoy, even if it’s not the stuff hitting the hot 100.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Joz3d Avatar
53 months ago
Oh wow, didn't know 2021 ended on Nov 30th. Happy New Year everyone!!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)