Sounds of heartbreak drown songs of love on Valentine’s Day in Nigeria — Spotify

Valentine’s Day reminds lovers more of heartache than love, according to new data from stream giant Spotify.

In an insight shared with BusinessDay, Spotify revealed that there has been a surge in heartbreak song streams on Valentine’s Day. “Forget candlelit dinners; Nigerians are turning to their playlists to process their emotions, with a staggering 626 percent overall growth in heartbreak streams from 2022 to 2024.”

The streaming platform revealed that on Valentine’s Day, the sound of love is accompanied by the sound of heartbreak. Nigerian men stream more heartbreak songs than women, Spotify noted.

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“On Valentine’s Day, most surprisingly, male listeners streamed heartbreak songs at a significantly higher rate than female listeners, with a 362 percent increase compared to 169 percent among women,” it stated.

A breakdown of the most streamed songs on Valentine’s Day revealed that in 2024, Nigerians listened to “Egwu” by Chike and Mohbad, “One Love – Bob Marley: One Love – Music Inspired By The Film” by Wizkid, and “Cast” by Shallipopi and Odumodublvck.

In 2023, Omah Lay’s emotional song “Soso” was among the top three most streamed songs on Valentine’s Day. It was joined by j-hope’s “Arson” and Ayra Starr’s “Sability.”

9 am and 11 am are the peak streaming times for heartbreak music on Valentine’s Day. “For three years, heartbreak music has been a surprising part of Nigerians’ morning routine. Whether it’s a lingering breakup or a heavy heart, offices, cubicles, and workspaces in Nigeria are filled with people working, headphones on, starting their day tuned into heartbreak songs and quietly processing their emotions,” Spotify added.