What music have we listened to in Italy in 2025? Surprise: the same as in 2024, with some exceptions. We are always there: songs by male artists, white, rappers and in any case strictly Italian. Autarky wins, again. And they forgive others. Or at least these are the data emerging from Spotify, with the Swedish platform – it goes without saying, the most used for streaming, especially in our country – which has just drawn up its end-of-year rankings. Of course, it’s a partial reading, its most avid users are mostly under 30, but given the impact of streaming itself in the sales charts (spoiler: a lot) it is indicative of the state of the art of our music, at least online. A state of the art, that is, immobile: if the Sanremo Festival still manages to shift the balance in terms of individual songs, the same does not happen with the artists themselves. And then: we are mostly impervious to the stimuli that come from abroad, as well as to women.

Male, white, Italian. And rappers

The most listened to in 2025 was Sfera Ebbasta, a true champion of recent seasons. In 2024 he had finished second behind Geolier, who now – thanks to not having released an album of unreleased songs, while last year he had used the springboard of Ariston – has slipped to fourth place. In the middle, Shiva (second) and Guè (third, despite an endless production, including records, feats and so on). Marracash is fifth, strong of Peace is overreleased in December 2024 but with Spotify charts already closed. The rest is a triumph of the various Tony Boy, Lazza, Kid Yugi, all rappers under 40. The only ones over, in fact, are Marracash and Guè. The only one non-rapper it’s Olly’s white fly, a real new entry in the ranking at least in terms of genre (seventh), as well as the only real testimony to Ariston’s push in this sense (Guè, guest of Shablo, is a story in itself).

Women? As mentioned, there are none. In 2024 the only exception was Anna, fifth on the strength of her debut album, Vera Baddiebut the long wave was not enough to keep her in the top 10. However, she is first in the women’s ranking, ahead of Elodie (second) and Rose Villain (third). If nothing else, there is some more sign of variety here: there are foreign artists – Taylor Swift (fourth), Lady Gaga (fifth), Billie Eillish (eighth) and Rihanna (tenth, she continues to have a notable fiefdom in Italy) – and then there is Giorgia (ninth), completely off the radar in 2024 and largely relaunched since the last Sanremo. Elisa’s seventh place is surprising, as she released only the single in 2025 Despite it all with Cesare Cremonini. In short: Houston, we have a (gender) problem. If only because in the global rankings (dominated by Bud Bunny) there are at least three women, namely Swift (second) and Eillish (fifth), followed by Ariana Grande (eighth). The only rappers there are Drake (fourth) and Kendrick Lamar (sixth), on the other hand there is the pop of the Indian Arijit Singh (ninth).

It makes ours smile too Seen by others: Måneskin continue to be the most listened to Italian artists in the world (Damiano David is fourth), in general none of our top 10 are there, supplanted by the various Ramazzotti, Pausini, Bocelli. Tiè: Gabri Ponte, thanks to All of Italyis second, a sign that no one is a prophet in their homeland (but outside the stereotypes certainly work).

Sanremo effect

The Festival continues to shift the balance, but more in the songs than in absolute terms. Stupid nostalgia by Olly is the most listened to of 2025, further down there are: Unconscious young people by Achille Lauro (second), The cure for me by Giorgia (sixth) e Beat by Fedez (ninth). Global phenomenon Bad Bunny is fourth with DtMFCremonini with Now that I no longer have you he performs a small miracle and finishes seventh. Ah, summer catchphrases are completely missing.

The only piece on the list that belongs to at least one of the most listened to artists in Italy is Neon by Sfera Ebbasta and Shiva (third), demonstrating how the ranking of the most popular artists rises above all with albums and not with singles. The most clicked album, in fact, is All my life (always) by Olly, but below there are more or less inexhaustible collections of singles such as Santana Money Gang of the same Sfera Ebbasta and Shiva (third) and others God knows by Geolier (second), Locura of Lazza (sixth), All the devil’s names by Kid Yugi (eighth) and Vera Baddie by Anna (ninth), all released in 2024. It is not always true, therefore, that records now “last a week”: there are exceptions, however rare. The only Italian non-rap is Hello World of the Nuclear Tactical Penguins (tenth), Bad Bunny manages to break through at least here and is the only international in contention (fourth, obviously with DeBÍ TiRAR MORE PHOTOS).

But streaming isn’t everything

Yet, streaming and Spotify in particular are not everything. Indeed, they only tell a part of the country: the one that lives (little) on TV and (a lot) online. Then there is that of concerts – the real money machines of today’s artists – and the situation is reversed. Vasco Rossi and Ultimo, who are breaking attendance records for live shows, are not in any of these rankings. The same goes for Marco Mengoni, who recorded an impressive list of sold out events in stadiums and sports halls between summer and autumn. The same goes for Cremonini, who certainly cannot justify the last, triumphant tour with her alone Now that I no longer have you. Finally, among the many, the total absence of Lucio Corsi from the charts stands out, even though he recorded top-level numbers live (or in any case not far from those of a Kid Yugi). On the contrary, remaining in the top 10 of the most listened to, the only one capable of holding a stadium tour is Marracash. What does all this mean? Which is not a race, first of all. And that not everything in music is measured in numbers, regardless. But also that a series of limits apply to these rankings – the age of the users, the genres naturally facilitated by the format (for example, shorter songs) – which do not always prove to be a turning point disconnected from the Internet. The world is much more varied and slower than a Spotify chart.

The most anticipated concerts in December 2025: Baglioni, Venditti, Giorgia, Elodie, Noemi and all the others. The details