Cœur de pirate and Patrick Watson Experience Global Spotify Surge After ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Finale

Two Quebec artists are experiencing a surge on Spotify.

Cœur de pirate and Patrick Watson’s tracks “Corbeau” and “Je te laisserai de mots,” respectively, experienced a surge after last week’s season finale of The Summer I Turned Pretty.

Streams of “Corbeau,” on Cœur de Pirate’s 2008 self-titled album, skyrocketed with nearly 290 times as many streams globally, and Watson’s “Je te laisserai de mots” — which was last year’s most popular francophone track on Spotify — and the first French track to surpass a billion streams — saw a 57% spike powered by listeners tapping into the tracks from two of Quebec’s biggest musicians.

The news was revealed at the Spotify Sessions event in Toronto on Wednesday evening (September 24) by Spotify Canada’s artist and label partnerships lead Elizabeth Phipps and editorial lead Kerry Martin.

Since 2024, the platform has seen a 15% increase year-over-year for francophone music. These moments emphasize the power of streaming as Quebec artists reach new fans, resonating far beyond the province and the country.

While the genre has seen global success, Quebec natives are boosting their local artists. On Spotify, there has been a 16% growth in francophone music streams in Quebec in the past year, surpassing the 15% growth that francophone music has seen globally.

Montrealers are leading the charge, supporting Québec’s francophone music scene with 266 million local streams of francophone music, followed by fans in Québec City (28 million streams) and Laval (13 million streams).

In June, the streamer released its Loud and Clear report, which highlights French as one of the top-performing languages on the platform, with Quebec artists like Watson, Charlotte Cardin and rapper Enima at the forefront.

Earlier this month — coinciding with the Canadian Country Music Awards — the DSP pinpointed French-Canadian country artists, including the inaugural Francophone Artist of the Year winner Salebarbes, as one of the top-performing genres across the country, with streams reportedly up 286% since 2019.

“Quebec listeners bring incredible energy and curiosity to Spotify. Their fandom reflects not just loyalty to Francophone voices, but also an openness to discovery that travels far beyond borders,” says Phipps. “This is why cultural moments — from sync placements to national holidays — have such a powerful impact both at home and abroad.”