Since the advent of rock 'n' roll in the 1950s, music from the USA and UK has global music charts. Both countries have considerably from the "soft power" of hit songs with English lyrics. However, the English-language dominance of the music industry under threat from songs from non-English-speaking countries. This according to the music streaming giant Spotify. The company English-language music was its long-time stranglehold. There has a surge in demand for songs in Spanish, Korean, Arabic, and other languages. Spotify the number of non-English songs in the charts more than between 2020 and 2025.
A prime example of how English is losing its hegemony the worldwide popularity of the Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny. He exclusively in Spanish and was Spotify's most artist globally in 2025. Meanwhile, Spanish artist Rosalia the music world with her award-winning album "Lux," on which she in 13 different languages. Spotify said three music genres have their chart presence by 30 per cent or more in the past five years. These are Brazilian Funk, K-pop, and Trap Latino. Their streams by 36 per cent, 31 per cent, and 30 per cent respectively. The music website NME : "The trend is likely to growing further into 2026."
