Drake is Spotify’s most-streamed artist of 2026 in a single day.
Friday (15.05.26) marked the release of ICEMAN – his ninth studio album, and the star’s first solo project since 2023’s For All the Dogs – and the LP and its opening track Make Them Cry became the most-streamed record and the most-streamed song, respectively, in a day of the year so far.
Spotify announced on Instagram: “On May 15th, Drake became Spotify’s most-streamed artist of 2026 in a single day, ICEMAN became the most-streamed album of 2026 in a single day, and Make Them Cry became the most-streamed song in a single day in 2026 so far.”
The five-time Grammy winner, 39, revealed his dad, Dennis Graham, has cancer in the emotional lyrics of Make Them Cry – which dropped on Friday alongside surprise albums, Maid of Honour and Habibti.
Drake sings in the song: “My dad got cancer right now, we battlin’ stages. Trust me when I say there’s plenty things I’d rather be facing (For real)/And this time, ask me to dig deeper, I’ll gladly explain it.”
Drake – real name Aubrey Graham – also spoke about his parents, including his 66-year-old mum, Sandi Graham, later on in the tune.
The rapper-and-singer continued: “I know for sure that my parents, they look at me and see an overcomer/I’m looking back at them and these days, I see an older couple.”
Drake also used the song to admit his worries about ageing.
He continued: “I’m ‘bout to turn forty, dog, I’m battlin’ ageing.
“I’m battlin’ the fact that the album ain’t even drop and already they a**** complainin’/F*** it, I’ll battle the label/F*** it, I’ll battle the majors.
“I’ll battle the stations ’til my a** is back in rotation/Shout out to the real fans that knew what I had in the basement/Shout out to the fake fans, I thought we had an arrangement.”
Drake’s team put a huge ice block tower – estimated to be around 15ft high, 20ft long, and 15ft wide – in a car park in downtown Toronto, Canada, and he told fans the release date of ICEMAN was inside.
The promo stunt – in addition to a social media announcement – came after the One Dance hitmaker admitted he was tired of the standard album rollout process and needed a “challenge”, during an interview with Complex.
