How to Be Big in Switzerland

If you want to be a pop star in Switzerland then you should sing in Spanish. The top 2 most listened to musical artists in Switzerland are J.Balvin and Ozuna (in that order), both of whom sing in Spanish. About the worst thing you can do if you want to be big in Switzerland is sing in English. Of the top 10 most listened to artists only Lady Gaga and Ed Sheeran sing in English - and they both come way down the top 10 list at 8 and 9 respectively.

24 Heures has analyzed the most listened to artists on YouTube by French speaking people in Switzerland. In What Music Do the Romande Listen to the Most? 24 Heures has mapped the popularity of the 20 most listened to artists in French-speaking Switzerland. For each artist 24 Heures has mapped out their popularity (based on YouTube hits) in each region of the country.

The maps reveal that there is definitely a language and geographical element to the popularity of artists across Switzerland. Perhaps unsurprisingly French speaking artists are generally much more popular in the French speaking regions of Switzerland. In fact some of the French artists on the top 20 list appear to have almost no fans in non-French speaking areas of the country. Conversely German speaking artists are popular in German speaking regions and much less popular in the western French speaking part of the country. English and Spanish speaking artists seem to have a more universal appeal than French and German speaking artists and tend to be popular in both English and French speaking regions (although a few of the Spanish speaking artists seem to be only popular in very specific regions of Switzerland).