Recently, Spotify released a statement apologizing to users over a data reporting error. The platform was forced to correct its announcement just hours after falsely claiming that rapper Drake’s song Make Them Cry had achieved the biggest song debut of 2026.
According to Spotify’s official press release, the platform recorded a massive surge in traffic toward Drake’s album Iceman on May 15. Amid the explosive growth in streaming numbers, the system initially confirmed that Make Them Cry had become the highest-debuting track of the year. However, after online users raised suspicions about the numbers, Spotify conducted an internal review.
Spotify stated: “On May 15, Iceman became the most-streamed album on Spotify in a single day in 2026, while Drake became the most-streamed artist in a single day this year. The initial stream verification process was conducted manually, which resulted in the streams of two different songs on the album being mistakenly combined. Drake still holds the record for the most-streamed artist and album in a single day in 2026. We apologize for this issue and have implemented updated verification procedures to prevent similar incidents in the future.”
The error not only interrupted Drake’s explosive comeback achievements but also ignited intense debates across multiple social media platforms.
Earlier, Drake shocked the music industry after simultaneously releasing three new studio albums. The enormous volume of tracks released at once reportedly placed such heavy pressure on streaming systems that both Spotify and Apple Music experienced temporary disruptions. Thanks to the bold strategy, the rapper officially set a new record as the male artist with the biggest streaming day in Spotify history, reaching 250 million streams.
A total of 43 songs were released simultaneously, creating major challenges for both automated tracking systems and manual verification processes. Among them, Make Them Cry, the opening track from Iceman, debuted with 13.2 million Spotify streams, becoming the highest-performing song among all 43 newly released tracks.
One of the most talked-about moments from the release was Drake directly referencing BTS in Make Them Cry. The rapper wrote, “I’m feeling like BTS ’cause it took the whole career for me to be so discovered.” The lyric quickly became a trending topic online. Through the line, Drake appeared to acknowledge similarities between his journey and BTS’ rise to global fame. Both artists spent years consistently building their careers before reaching worldwide superstardom.
After Spotify corrected all the data to reflect the actual numbers, the true record-holder of 2026 remained unchanged. The song with the biggest streaming debut of the year is still BTS’ SWIM, which achieved more than 14.6 million streams within its first day of release.
SWIM is the title track from BTS’ album ARIRANG, released in March this year. Successfully maintaining the record against a streaming powerhouse like Drake once again demonstrated BTS’ enduring global popularity. Even after many years in the industry, the group continues to maintain immense influence and a firm position at the top of the global music scene.
Sources: kenh14