Entertainment news and discussion on TalkFuse.
Americans Are Listening to Less Music in English, Thanks To Bad Bunny and BTS
A new midyear report from music-data firm Luminate has found that Americans are streaming less English-language music than ever before, with the shift being driven largely by the success of Spanish-language stars such as Bad Bunny and K-pop acts like BTS. English-language songs fell to 87.1% of US streams, down from 88% last year, a small but significant drop given that overall streaming volumes are rising. This matters because it signals a broadening of mainstream US music tastes beyond English-language content, with Latin music in particular gaining unprecedented cultural traction.
Spanish-language streams rose to a record 9.4% of the US total, roughly 68 billion streams, with Luminate noting that 54% of Americans now say they engage with Latin music. Bad Bunny's Super Bowl performance drove 2.74 billion on-demand audio streams in a single week, while música mexicana artists including Peso Pluma and Junior H also contributed. Korean-language music made up 1.1% of on-demand streams, buoyed by BTS and other K-pop acts, which also helped push CD sales up 6.7% to 16.3 million units in the first half of 2026 — despite half of Gen Z and millennial buyers reportedly not owning a CD player.
In short
- English-language US music streams hit a record low of 87.1%
- Spanish-language streams hit a record high of 9.4%, boosted by Bad Bunny
- K-pop's BTS-led popularity also helped drive a CD sales surge
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The shift suggests US listeners are finding more music they enjoy across languages, with Spanish-language and Korean-language artists reaching audiences on their own terms. That broader appeal can make mainstream music more representative of the country’s diverse communities and reward artists whose work has often received less attention in English-dominated markets.
The case against
The figures show a change in streaming shares, but English-language music still accounts for the large majority of US streams, so the shift may be less sweeping than the headline implies. Some may also question whether a few high-profile artists and events indicate lasting changes in everyday listening habits, or whether streaming shares alone capture the wider health and diversity of the music market.
Explained simply
English-language music now makes up a smaller share of the songs Americans stream than it did a year ago. Data from music analytics company Luminate shows that English-language tracks accounted for 87.1% of streams, compared with 88% in the previous period. Although the decline is modest, it represents a notable shift given that overall streaming volumes are still rising.
Spanish-language music has been the main driver of this change, with artists such as Bad Bunny and Mexican regional musicians like Peso Pluma attracting large audiences. Korean-language music has also grown in popularity, buoyed by K-pop groups including BTS, though it remains a much smaller share of overall streams. Spanish-language content now accounts for 9.4% of total US streams, the highest share ever recorded.
The shift reflects changing tastes in mainstream American music listening, with audiences increasingly embracing music made in other languages. This signals growing cultural influence of Latin American and Asian music in the United States.