Sean Paul, Bob Marley Most Streamed Jamaican Artists On YouTube For 2021
In 2021, Dancehall superstar Sean Paul and Reggae legend Bob Marley reigned as Jamaica’s most-streamed Dancehall and Reggae artists globally on YouTube, while Vybz Kartel once again took the crown as the most-streamed artist on the platform in Jamaica.
According to statistics gathered by DancehallMag from YouTube’s Music Charts & Insights, Sean Paul was the most dominant Jamaican artist on the video-sharing platform with a total of 1.1 billion global views this year alone. Paul eclipsed even Bob Marley & The Wailers, who amassed 899 million global views this year. See the full charts below.
Sean Paul
Interestingly, it is Paul’s hardcore Dancehall songs—dating back to the early 2000s—which stand predominant in his top five most viewed, albeit with his 2017 No Lie collab with Dupa Lipa taking the No. 1 spot. No Lie, which is nearing the 1 billion views mark, amassed an additional 239 million views this year, according to YouTube.
The sexy 2002 Dancehall duet, I’m Still In Love With You with Sasha, a remake of Alton Ellis’ 1967 original, picked up 153 million views this year at No. 2; followed by his solo single Temperature (2005) at No. 3 with 94.1 million additional views.
She Doesn’t Mind, from his 2012 Tomahawk Technique album, stands at No. 4, with 71.3 million views this year; followed by Get Busy (2002) at No. 5 with 47.3 million more views.
His two top cities incidentally are located in Spanish-speaking countries: Bogota in Colombia with 20 million views and Mexico City with 17.2 million, in first and second place respectively. Bangkok, Thailand, with 14.9 million views, Paris with 14.2 million and London with 12.2 million, fall in third, fourth, and fifth place.
Jamaica is ranked at No. 54 on Sean Paul’s Top Countries with just 3.54 million views total this year.
Globally, his top five countries are the United States with 120 million views, Mexico with 89.4, France with 57.7 million, Colombia with 56 million and Brazil with 54.3 million.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
Bob Marley & The Wailers are No. 2 with 899 million views total this year. Globally, the group’s most viewed songs this year were Is This Love, Could You Be Loved, Three Little Birds, One Love, No Woman, No Cry, and Buffalo Soldier.
Their biggest city support comes from Paris, where they have amassed 15 million views this year; followed by São Paulo; New York; Santiago; and London.
They picked up 130 million views in the United States, 77.6 million views in Brazil, 42 million views in France, 32.3 million views in Mexico, and 30.1 million views in the United Kingdom.
Jamaica was ranked at No. 31 with just over 3 million views for the group in 2021.
Shaggy
Dancehall megastar Shaggy, with 480 million plays globally, holds third place among the most played Jamaican artists for 2021.
Like Sean Paul, Shaggy’s top views came via songs that are more than 20 years old from his multi-platinum Hot Shot album. At No. 1 is Angel with Rayvon with 102 million views this year, followed by It Wasn’t Me with Rik Rok at No. 2 with 77.4 million views, according to YouTube.
Hey Sexy Lady, from his 2002 album Lucky Day featuring Jamaican singing duo Brian and Tony Gold, was No. 3 with 44.9 million views, while the Boombastic remix, with 44.6 million and the original Boombastic with 39.3 million views were No. 4 and No. 5 respectively.
Citywise in his top five, Shaggy bagged 13.1 million views in Bogota, Colombia; 10.5 million in Mexico City; 5.62 million in Islanbul, Turkey; 5.13 million in Quezon City in the Phillipines, and 4.31 million in London.
In terms of top countries, the former US Marine’s top views came from the United States with 81.5 million; Mexico with 55.2 million views; Colombia with 31.2 million; The Philippines with 27.3 million and Turkey with 18.9 million.
Shaggy’s total number of views in Jamaica was only 124,000 with a ranking of 40th out of the top 100 countries.
Vybz Kartel
On home soil, Vybz Kartel ranked No. 1 as the most-streamed artist in Jamaica on YouTube this year, with 66.1 million local views. Globally, among Jamaican artists, the incarcerated deejay was ranked at No. 4. with 417 million views.
His top city views numbers come from his birthplace Kingston, where he has amassed 35.3 million views. In New York, known for its huge Jamaican population, he amassed 21 million views. In Nairobi, Kenya, where it is said that Dancehall and Reggae music reign supreme, Kartel also has a huge following, racking up 12 million views there, his third-highest. London takes fourth place with 11.6 million views while San Jose, California, comes in at fifth with 8.33 million views.
As for the figures by country, the data shows that Kartel, interestingly, has a strong viewership in India which, with 24.4 million views, comes in at fourth place. The United States tops the list with 77.8 million views, 66.1 million in Jamaica which comes in second place, and 28.6 in the United Kingdom. Trinidad and Tobago takes fifth place with 17.5 million views.
His top songs were With You which was released in 2020, which racked up 24 million views this year at No. 1, African Summer released in June this year, which scored 14.9 million views this year at No. 2, and Moon Walk, which was released in 2020, featuring Squash, with 13.4 million views this year at No. 3.
Come Home (2019) picked up 9.52 million views this year at No. 4, followed by 2016’s hit Colouring This Life at No. 5 with 8.4 million additional views this year.
Popcaan
With 289 million views, Popcaan takes fifth place. It is obvious that he is the man that Dancehall fans look to for inspiration, as all his top five songs, except one, are musings about faith, hope, and charity.
Silence (2018), from Popcaan’s Forever album, is his most viewed song in 2021, with 16.5 million, followed by God is Love, released this year with Beres Hammond at No. 2 with 13.3 million views. Firm and Strong (2018) lives up to its name at No. 3, racking up 13.1 million views, while My Type (2018) is the only anomaly with 12 million views at No. 4. Family (2017) stands at No. 5 with 11.9 million views.
Popcaan’s top five cities are Kingston where he racked up 21.2 million views, New York where he earned 18.6 million; London with 12.5 million; Port of Spain with 6.79 million and Georgetown, Guyana with 6.27 million.
Like his compatriots, the United States accounts for most of his views with 66.6 million, while Jamaica comes in second with 40.1 million. The United Kingdom with 32.1 million places third; fourth is sister nation Trinidad and Tobago which comes with 26.7 million while Canada, the home of his friend Drake comes in at fifth with 11.6 million views.
Most Streamed Jamaican Artists On YouTube In 2021 – Global
| Rank | Artist Name | Streams (millions) |
| 1 | Sean Paul | 1,100,000,000 |
| 2 | Bob Marley & The Wailers | 899,000,000 |
| 3 | Shaggy | 480,000,000 |
| 4 | Vybz Kartel | 417,000,000 |
| 5 | Popcaan | 289,000,000 |
| 6 | Rvssian | 265,000,000 |
| 7 | Damian Marley | 246,000,000 |
| 8 | Skillibeng | 215,000,000 |
| 9 | Alkaline | 211,000,000 |
| 10 | Shenseea | 199,000,000 |
| 11 | Charly Black | 176,000,000 |
| 12 | TeeJay | 175,000,000 |
| 13 | Spice | 136,000,000 |
| 14 | Dexta Daps | 112,000,000 |
| 15 | Chronic Law | 109,000,000 |
Most Streamed Jamaican Artists On YouTube In 2021 – Jamaica
| Rank | Artist Name | Streams (millions) |
| 1 | Vybz Kartel | 66,100,000 |
| 2 | Chronic Law | 62,900,000 |
| 3 | Alkaline | 60,600,000 |
| 4 | Skillibeng | 54,400,000 |
| 5 | Intence | 50,300,000 |
| 6 | TeeJay | 43,600,000 |
| 7 | Masicka | 43,500,000 |
| 8 | Popcaan | 40,100,000 |
| 9 | Squash | 38,400,000 |
| 10 | Tommy Lee Sparta | 34,000,000 |
| 11 | Skeng | 33,100,000 |
| 12 | Shenseea | 26,100,000 |
| 13 | Rygin King | 25,400,000 |
| 14 | Dexta Daps | 23,800,000 |
| 15 | Spice | 21,000,000 |