Miley Cyrus Plastic Hearts
[Photo by: Alana O'Herlihy]

Miley Cyrus becomes the third woman to achieve decade-spanning Spotify record

Just over four months have passed since Miley Cyrus released her seventh full-length Plastic Hearts. Now, it has been revealed that the rock album has officially reached 1 billion streams on Spotify.

While a feat in that short period of time is impressive alone, Cyrus’ achievement has also secured her a record-breaking spot alongside Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga. Together, they are the only women artists to have an album reach 1 billion Spotify streams from across three decades.

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Back in 2013, Cyrus released Bangerz, which houses hits such as “We Can’t Stop,” “Wrecking Ball” and “Adore You.” The album finally surpassed 1.4 billion streams in September 2019 and hit 1.5 billion streams a few months later in April 2020. Currently, “We Can’t Stop” and “Wrecking Ball” alone have more than 586 million and 509 million streams respectively.

In June 2020, Cyrus’ The Time Of Our Lives EP joined the ranks with 1 billion streams. Released in 2009, the pop-rock album features the singer’s most-streamed songParty In The U.S.A,” which is currently sitting at more than 708 million plays. The singer even recently paid tribute to the beloved classic with a performance backed by a live band. Additionally, the debut EP also features “When I Look At You,” which is among her most-played songs as well with more than 263 million streams.

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Now, Plastic Hearts has surpassed the same coveted record and has become Cyrus’ fastest album to do so in just over four months. Packed with features from artists such as Joan Jett and Billy Idol, the album elevated Cyrus’ ability to seamlessly blend genres.

The first single “Midnight Sky” has more than 303 million streams to date while follow-ups in the Dua Lipa collab “Prisoner” and “Angels Like You” are sitting at 251 million and 79 million streams respectively. Cyrus also gained traction with the title track thanks in part to a TikTok challenge where she commented on posts using the audio. As a result, “Plastic Hearts” is also among her most-streamed tracks with 56 million plays.

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Following the announcement April 5, Cyrus took to social media to express her gratitude to fans and share how proud she is to share the honor with Swift and Lady Gaga.

While the statement was shared on both her platforms, Cyrus also played into the “How it started vs how it’s going” meme on Instagram by calling attention to the throwback photo.

“I am honored to say I am now one of three female artists spanning over the last three decades to have an album reach 1 billion streams on [Spotify],” Cyrus writes in a tweet. “Proud to be in the company of [Taylor Swift] [and Lady Gaga]”

Love and appreciation to everyone who has been listening to [Plastic Hearts and] supporting my life’s purpose from the beginning!” she continues on a second tweet. “Music is an essential part of my existence. I can’t thank you enough for making my dreams a reality.”

Taylor Swift albums with 1 billion streams

Prior to Cyrus’ hitting the achievement, Swift also had an eventful climb in streams with six out of her nine albums surpassing the 1 billion mark. In September 2020, following folklore’s certification, she became the first female to have six albums reach that feat. Overall in 2020, Swift was also the most-streamed female artist with 5.4 billion plays.
reputation was Swift’s first album to surpass the goal just over a year after release, hitting 1.6 billion streams in December 2018. Since then, the 2017 record hit 2 billion streams in June 2019 and 2.5 billion in July 2020.
Just a month after reputation, 1989 hit 1.1 billion next in January 2019. It has been a steady climb since then with the album hitting benchmarks in March 2019, July 2019, November 2019 and January 2020, the latter of which secured 1.6 billion streams. The record finally it 2 billion streams in August 2020 and just recently passed 2.5 billion as of April 1.
Red was the next album to hit 1 billion streams in August 2019, and it has more than 1.5 billion streams as of September 2020. The latter achievement made Swift’s LP the most-streamed female country album ever.
Lover hit the mark next in September 2019, less than a month after its initial release. The album climbed to 1.4 billion and 1.5 billion streams throughout November 2019. It hit the 2 billion mark in March 2020, 2.5 billion in August 2020 and finally 3 billion in March 2021.
While each of the previous albums are from the 2010s, 2008’s Fearless finally achieved the feat in August 2020. This allowed her to tie Rihanna’s record of most albums streamed more than 1 billion times with five. Lady Gaga also tied the duo soon after in September 2020 with the certification of Chromatica.
The following month, Swift hit her third decade with the release of folklore. Surprise dropped in July 2020, the album hit 1 billion streams months later in September 2020. As of January 2021, the singer’s first alternative album sits at more than 1.5 billion streams.

Lady Gaga albums with 1 billion streams

In 2009, Lady Gaga re-issued her 2008 debut album The Fame as The Fame Monster. The deluxe edition became Gaga’s first album to hit 1.5 billion streams in January 2019 and later surpassed 2 billion in January 2020. The original debut album The Fame also surpassed 1 billion in October 2019. Additionally, it was released as an EP in some areas, so The Fame Monster EP also hit 1 billion in April 2020.

Gaga’s fifth studio album Joanne became the next album to hit 1 billion streams in January 2020. The 2016 album included a diverse array of singles such as “Perfect Illusion,” “Million Reasons” and the title track.

In September 2020, Gaga’s latest album Chromatica also hit 1 billion a few months after the initial release. At the time, the certification helped the singer tie with Swift and Rihanna with five albums that are streamed more than 1 billion times. However, since then, Swift’s 2020 album folklore secured her sixth release to hit 1 billion and in turn the most albums by a female artist.