Pop Smoke, an American Hip-Hop artist, who died last year aged 21 due to gun violence, tops the list of the world’s favourite deceased solo music artists.

According to a new study by gambling community hub Casino Grounds, he has a whopping 31,470,650 monthly listeners on popular streaming platform Spotify, as well as 6.45 million YouTube subscribers. This means he beats out household names such as Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and David Bowie who all place below him in the Top 10 most listened to deceased artists.

In second place is another Hip-Hop artist, Juice WRLD, with 29,814,443 monthly Spotify listeners and 8.94 million YouTube subscribers. He was only 20 years old when he died of an opioid overdose, sharing the position as the youngest star to make the list along with XXXTENTACTION who was also 20 when he died, and appears lower down in the top ten.

Juice WRLD takes the crown for most streamed song on Spotify by a deceased artist with 1.7 BN listens for ‘Lucid Dreams”.

Swedish electronic DJ Avicii rounds out the top three with 28,271,942 monthly Spotify listeners. He can also claim the title of the most streamed song by a deceased musician for his hit ‘Wake Me Up’ which has been viewed more than two billion times on YouTube. His official account has an impressive 19.3 million YouTube subscribers.

Michael Jackson is next in fourth place with 26,774,240 monthly Spotify listeners.  He has 22.4 million YouTube subscribers, the second highest number for a deceased musician on the video streaming platform.

Position five is taken by previously mentioned Hip-Hop star XXXTENTACTION, who has 26,067,676 Spotify listeners each month. He has 33.6 million YouTube subscribers, taking top position on YouTube for largest fanbase of a deceased artist.

Whitney Houston is in sixth place, making her the first and only woman in the top ten most popular deceased musicians. She has 19,690,998 monthly Spotify listeners and 6.33 million YouTube subscribers.

American rapper Mac Miller is in spot seven with 16,493,939 monthly Spotify listeners and 3.65 million YouTube subscribers.

The list is mostly dominated by Americans with David Bowie the only Brit in the top ten. The Pop icon has 15,589,440 monthly Spotify listeners and 1.23 million YouTube subscribers. His most popular song is Heroes with 286,335,971 listens on Spotify.

Ther final two positions in the top ten are taken by two 90s American Hip-Hop legends. The Notorious BIG is in position 9 with 14,665,401 monthly Spotify listeners and 2.77 million YouTube subscribers. The final spot in the top ten goes to 2pac, who has 14,461,060 monthly Spotify listeners and 5.08 million YouTube subscribers.

Commenting on the study, a spokesperson for Casino Grounds said: “The artists in this list brought so much joy to millions of fans around the world during their lives, and after their deaths shocked and devastated so many, it’s heart-warming to see how their music lives on.”

Casinogrounds.com is the leading online gambling community, which promotes safe and responsible practise and discussions around gambling

Top Ten Most Popular Deceased Musicians