Hungama Music recently released the first Sound of Fame report revealing the most popular songs as deduced from the usage trends observed on its platform. The year belonged to remakes, Punjabi music and saw a remarkable growth in the consumption of international music in India. Dilbar (Satyamev Jayate) became the top Hindi song of 2018 and Loveyatri, with over 100 million streams, was the top Hindi album.

Speaking about the report, Neeraj Roy, Founder and CEO, Hungama Digital Media said, “The growth seen in music streaming in the last few years has made it easier for the creative minds to take their music to consumers who in turn have convenient access to content. This has created an environment that allows users to explore and sample music from a virtually unlimited buffetof content. We are certain that the coming few years will see consumers appreciate digital music in even higher numbers.”

The Year of Remakes

With 25% contribution to Bollywood music’s consumption, the year 2018 can easily be called The Year of Remakes. Sung by Neha Kakkar, Dilbar (Satyamev Jayate), 2018’s top song was a remake of the iconic 1999 track itself. Other remakes that did well include Aankh Maare (Simbaa), Tere Bin (Simbaa), Dekhte Dekhte (Batti Gul Meter Chalu), Urvashi (Yo Yo Honey Singh), Proper Patola (Namaste England), Aashiq Banaya Aapne (Hate Story IV)and Dil Chori (Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety), among others. Aankh Maare (Simbaa) also became the song to cross the 10 million streams mark in the shortest time, while Dekhte Dekhte (Batti Gul Meter Chalu) was the most downloaded Hindi song of the year. Yo Yo Honey Singh’s Urvashi was the most downloaded non-film track of the year and also the non-film song to cross 10 million streams in the shortest time.

Hindi Charts Ruled by Dance Numbers

The top 10 Hindi song list of Hungama Music Sound of Fame Report 2018 features a staggering 5 dance numbers. These include the top song of the year, Dilbar (Satyamev Jayate), Bom Diggy Diggy (Batti Gul Meter Chalu), Kamariya (Stree), Tareefan (Veere Di Wedding) and Akh Lad Jaave (Loveyatri). Nora Fatehi became the actor to have the most dance numbers (Dilbar, Kamariya) to her credit in the top 10 list while Tanishk Bagchi became the composer to have the maximum songs– Dilbar (Satyamev Jayate) and Akh Lad Jaave (Loveyatri) – both dance numbers.

A Chartbuster Year for Punjabi Music and Punjabi Artistes

The popularity of Punjabi music and artistes knew no bounds in 2018 and the language contributed 15% to the total number of streams received in 2018, second only to Hindi. With three tracks in the top 10 Hindi songs list – Tareefan (Veere Di Wedding), Buzz and Akh Lad Jaave (Loveyati), Badshah further solidified his popularity. Aastha Gill and Badshah’s Buzz, in fact, was the top non-film song of the year and registered more streams than the albums of mainstream movies like Sanju and Gold. Kya Baat Ay by Harrdy Sandhu was streamed more than Dekhte Dekhte (Batti Gul Meter Chalu) and Dil Chori (Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety). Kya Baat Ay was also the most downloaded Punjabi song of the year while Guru Randhawa’s Made in India emerged as the top Punjabi song of the year.

Increasing Affinity Towards International Music and Hip Hop

Availability of international content is making it easier for Indians to discover and explore non-native content as well. While, at 13% contribution to total streaming numbers, English had the largest share amongst international languages, consumption of music in other languages like Arabic, Spanish, French, Turkish and Portuguese increased as well. At the same time, hip hop fever appeared to have gripped the listeners of English music with consumption for the genre nearly doubling since 2017. Maroon 5’s Girls Like You emerged the top English song of 2018; DJ Snake’s Taki Taki and Drake’s In My Feelings grabbed the second and third spot respectively. Taki Taki was also the most downloaded English song of the year while Girls Like You crossed 10 million streams the fastest among all English songs released in 2018.

Hungama Music Sound of Fame is a report that highlights the trends and consumption patterns observed on Hungama Music – one of the largest music streaming platforms in the country. It also provides an insight into emerging genres, popular content and artistes.

Top 10 Songs 2018: Hindi

Top 10 Songs 2018: Punjabi

Top 10 Songs 2018: Non-Film

Top 10 Songs 2018: English