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Pop stars Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny were among the most-streamed artists of 2021, BBC News reported, citing figures from Apple Music and Spotify.

But it was newcomer Olivia Rodrigo who took the top spot in the UK - with her punk-pop anthem Good 4U emerging as the most-played song on both services.

Globally, her debut hit Drivers License was the biggest song for Spotify users.

Apple's audience preferred the slick pop of BTS, whose single Dynamite was the most-played song of the year.

Originally released in 2020, Dynamite song failed to make Spotify's top five - presumably because the streaming service only launched in the band's native South Korea this year (without the option of its popular, ad-funded free service).

British artists were well-represented in the year-end charts, with Dua Lipa's disco-pop odyssey Future Nostalgia becoming Spotify's second most-played album, after Olivia Rodrigo's Sour.

Ed Sheeran's earworm Bad Habits - specifically released to soundtrack a summer of lockdown easing - was Spotify's third biggest song of 2021.

It only came 53rd in Apple's chart, however, reflecting the service's more US-centric audience.

According to Spotify, the year's most popular artist overall was Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, who racked up an impressive total of 9.1 billion streams.

Taylor Swift, who released new versions of her classic albums Fearless and Red this year, was Spotify's second most-played artist, followed by BTS, Drake and Justin Bieber.

Together, Spotify and Apple Music make up 48% of the global streaming market, and successful artists can attract huge numbers of plays for their most popular tracks.