‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ Song by Post Malone and Swae Lee Becomes the Most Streamed Song in U.S. History
Post Malone and Swae Lee’s hit song “Sunflower” just made history. The track, which was part of the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack in 2018, is now the most-streamed song of all time in the United States.
According to a new report from Luminate, it has hit a total of 3.96 billion streams across audio and video platforms, beating the previous record-holder “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X.
“Sunflower” came out as a single in late 2018 and was also included on Post Malone’s third album, Hollywood’s Bleeding. It was an instant success and topped the Billboard Hot 100. The song spent 33 weeks in the chart’s top ten, which was a big deal at the time. That record has since been broken by another one of Malone’s songs, “Circles.”
The song was praised by fans and critics alike. Rolling Stone’s Patrick Doyle called it “a hyper-catchy diary of a rocky relationship, which walks the line between hip-hop and dream-pop.” Spin’s Israel Daramola described it as a “glitchy, soulful record” and said it was “short and sweet, hazy little pop song” that would easily fit in a kid’s movie or an MTV teen drama.
The song also did well around the world, hitting number one in countries like Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. In the U.S., it went double diamond, meaning it reached 20 million in sales. The RIAA officially certified it in early 2024. Canada, Mexico, and Australia also gave it diamond status.
At the 62nd Grammy Awards, “Sunflower” was nominated for both Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
Post Malone first teased his work on the track during an interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in October 2018. He said he had written the song for the movie and even played a short preview. Just days later, Swae Lee announced his involvement and called the track “one of my favorite collaborations” that year.
He said it was special to him because it was featured in a major film, adding, “The main character sings ‘Sunflower’ and uses my vocals to calm him down… my music was therapeutic for him.”
Spring Aspers from Sony Pictures, who oversaw the music for Into the Spider-Verse, explained why the song worked so well for the film. She said, “Post and Swae have delivered a song that’s both heroic and emotional, which is exactly what a Spider-Man story needs. It’s anthemic, but also heartfelt.”
Since “Sunflower,” both artists have kept rising. Post Malone’s latest album, F-1 Trillion, debuted at number one and earned two Grammy nods. But this moment belongs to the song that captured a whole era. With billions of streams and a place in pop culture history, “Sunflower” has officially bloomed bigger than anyone imagined.
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