Since the start of rock 'n' roll, American and British songs have dominated music. Both countries benefited a lot from hit songs in English. However, the dominance of English-language songs is under threat. The music streaming giant Spotify said English songs were losing their stranglehold. There is now a huge demand for songs sung in Spanish, Korean, and Arabic. The number of non-English songs in the charts more than doubled in the past five years.

A prime example of the rise in non-English songs is the popularity of Bad Bunny. He sings only in Spanish. He was Spotify's most streamed artist in 2025. In addition, Spanish singer Rosalia made an award-winning album on which she sings in 13 different languages. Three music genres have seen their chart presence rise by 30 per cent or more in the past five years. These are Brazilian Funk, K-pop, and Trap Latino.