Drake – Headlines

Canadian rap star Drake’s 2011 single “Headlines” keeps pulling huge numbers, with more than one billion Spotify streams.

The song is the second single from his album “Take Care,” and it arrived on August 9, 2011. It runs just under four minutes. Boi-1da produced it, 40 added keyboards, and Divine Brown contributed vocals. So the record sits at the start of a sound that later shaped a lot of modern R&B-rap.

The numbers say it all. Spotify counted its billionth stream in December 2025. The parent album also still sits on the Billboard 200 in 2026, at No. 26 in its 706th week. It now stands as a Diamond-certified project, the first rap album from the 2010s to reach that mark.

The song also has a modest backstory. Drake revealed the title with a single word on Twitter in July 2011, then performed it live for the first time on August 4 in Windsor, Ontario. He later said it was not the best song on the album, just the right song for that moment. The public disagreed with the modesty.

“Headlines” remains a staple on playlists beside “Marvins Room,” “The Motto,” and the title track.

Listen to “Drake – Headlines” and tell us in the comments if this is still his best opener!