<p id=”par-1_45″>Some of the <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/6-influential-female-artists-who-have-made-music-history-with-their-record-breaking-songs.html/”>biggest artists in the world</a> don’t need to rely <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/celebrity-scandals-rocked-2025.html/”>on celebrity scandals</a> to drive up streams on Spotify. According to new research, though, it certainly doesn’t hurt. Here are ten songs that have raked in millions, possibly because of their controversy-laden backstories. </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-celebrity-scandals-could-have-led-to-higher-streams-on-spotify-according-to-new-analysis”>Celebrity scandals could have led to higher streams on Spotify, according to new analysis </h2>
<p id=”par-2_32″>New data from <a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.playfame.com/” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>PlayFame</a> looks into popular songs with backstories rooted in controversy to find the most profitable celebrity drama. The study assumed a 16% payout to artists based on Spotify streams.</p>
<p id=”par-3_53″>At the top of the list was Olivia Rodrigo’s “drivers license.” Many listeners speculated that the song was about <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/olivia-rodrigo-and-joshua-bassett-why-fans-think-their-new-music-videos-are-connected.html/”>her breakup with Joshua Bassett</a> and his new relationship with Sabrina Carpenter. This relationship drama dominated the coverage of the song, which has 2,751,869,668 plays on Spotify, which means millions in royalties for Rodrigo.</p>
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<iframe loading=”lazy” title=”Olivia Rodrigo – drivers license (Official Video)” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZmDBbnmKpqQ?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p id=”par-4_37″>Other scandal-inspired songs that dominate on Spotify include <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/kendrick-lamar-didnt-get-paid-super-bowl-halftime-show.html/”>Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,”</a> which is a brutal diss track about Drake. Megan Thee Stallion’s “HISS,” which incensed Nicki Minaj, has also received millions of streams on Spotify.</p>
<p id=”par-5_62″>Two sides of the same drama also appear on the list. Kanye West’s “Famous” famously includes the line “I made that b**** famous” in reference to Taylor Swift. After a <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/taylor-swift-wrote-song-kanye-west-interrupted.html/”>very public feud</a> with Ye and Kim Kardashian, Swift briefly stepped back from the spotlight. She returned with “Look What You Made Me Do,” which has over a billion streams on Spotify.</p>