The most-streamed song in Utah this year is a favorite among its newest national sports team.
Music lovers in the Beehive State simply couldn’t get enough of country star Shaboozey’s breakout hit, “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” according to data shared with The Salt Lake Tribune by music streaming service Spotify. The company released its annual music recap for users, Spotify Wrapped, this week.
Shaboozey performed a free concert ahead of Utah Hockey Club’s inaugural game at the Delta Center on Oct. 8. Since then, the NHL team has adopted the track as a sort of anthem. It’s become one of the team’s first traditions as it establishes itself in Utah.
Utah Hockey Club defenseman Ian Cole told The Salt Lake Tribune that Shaboozey set “the stage, literally, for the first game of the year, kind of worked his way in there naturally.”
When Shaboozey performed in Utah, his hit track had already spent 13 weeks at the top spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 Chart. Since then, the Nigerian-American musician has scored five Grammy Award nominations: best new artist, song of the year, best country solo performance, best melodic rap performance and best country song.
Shaboozey is one of a number of artists who have crossed over to the country music genre recently, alongside performers like Post Malone and Beyoncé.
Throughout 2024, Black artists have thrived within the country music genre, from making a splash with performances at Stagecoach to receiving recognition at the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum.
Black artists have deep roots in country music. The earliest-known country recording was produced by a Black singer.
In Utah’s capital, Spotify users had a different top song for the year: Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things.”
