Photo Credit: http://www.wonderlandmagazine.com
The end of the year is fast approaching, so who are the best-selling artists of 2021?
Who’s broken through and which artists have released new tracks from albums that dropped last year that are still selling by the truckload?
Here’s our rundown of 2021’s movers and shakers, from disco to rock, power pop to soul, featuring:
Best Selling Artists of 2021
- Adele
- Olivia Rodrigo
- Ed Sheeran
- The Weeknd
- Lil Nas X
- Dua Lipa
- David Guetta
- The Kid Laroi
- Tom Grennan
- Ella Henderson
- Doja Cat
- Little Mix
- Joel Corry
- Glass Animals
- Drake
- Taylor Swift
- Morgan Wallen
2021's Best Selling Artists
1. Adele
Who else but the queen of the break-up ballad could top our end of year list?
In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past couple of months, Adele’s fourth studio album, 30, dropped on the 19th November.
She dominated the UK charts with a double No. 1, scoring the highest opening week for an album in 2021 and the biggest first-week sales since Ed Sheeran’s Divide in 2017.
Want some more amazing stats? As Adele’s three previous albums all reached No. 1, no other female act has had as many albums all go to No. 1 in the UK. 30’s release has also shot previous albums 19, 21 and 25 back into the charts.
The lead single from the album, ‘Easy on Me’, has become Adele’s longest-running chart topper. Plus, it smashed the record for the number of UK streams in a week, with an astonishing 24 million.
The previous title holder was ‘7 Rings’ by Ariana Grande, which clocked up 16.9 million listens on its release in January 2019.
In the US, 30 became the year’s biggest-selling album after just three days on sale. Adele’s recently announced a Las Vegas concert residency, ‘Weekends with Adele’, spanning January-April next year.
The residency will see her following in the iconic footsteps of Jennifer Lopez, Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, Britney Spears and Elton John.
2. Olivia Rodrigo
US singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album, Sour, went straight in at No. 1 on the Official Albums Chart in June, and has clocked up over 320,000 chart sales to date, making it one of the best-selling albums of the year on both sides of the Atlantic.
The breakout star has three entries in the year-to-date Top 40 singles. Her two chart-toppers, ‘Drivers License’ and ‘Good 4 U’ have well over two million sales between them, and top five hit, ‘Déjà vu’ is in the Top 30.
According to Spotify’s global stats, ‘Drivers License’ was the most-streamed song globally this year, with more than 1.1 billion streams, and Sour was the most-streamed album.
3. Ed Sheeran
It’s no surprise to see perennial chart-topper Ed in the year’s biggest-selling singles artist list, as ‘Bad Habits’ spent a monster 11 weeks at No. 1 over the summer!
Judging by the video, the previously mild-mannered Ed’s bad habits look to be considerably worse than most people’s, as he and a gang of vampiric pals cause havoc in town after dark.
4. The Weeknd
Spending a fortnight at No. 2 in June was The Weeknd’s 80s-inspired, synth-driven ‘Save Your Tears’, whilst ‘Blinding Lights’ has also been a massive seller.
Both tracks are from the Canadian singer’s fourth studio album, After Hours, which was released last year. ‘Save Your Tears’ has benefitted from a second remix, featuring Ariana Grande, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
5. Lil Nas X
The ‘Old Town Road’ singer and rapper claimed the No. 1 spot for five weeks with ‘Montero (Call Me By Your Name)’.
Taken from his debut studio album Montero, released in September, the single has been followed by ‘Sun Goes Down’, ‘Industry Baby’ and ‘That’s What I Want’.
The album’s eclectic guest list includes everyone from Doja Cat to Elton John, Megan Thee Stallion to Miley Cyrus.
6. Dua Lipa
Dua Lipa was triumphant at this year’s BRIT awards, picking up both Best Female Solo Artist and Album of the Year.
Four of the singles from Future Nostalgia went to No. 1, and she’s fast becoming one of the biggest female artists around. The album was released over a year ago and has been boosted by the Moonlight Edition, which came out in February.
Single ‘Levitating’, featuring DaBaby, peaked at No. 5 on the Official Chart, but comes in at No. 5 in the ‘Most Streamed Songs Globally’ list released by Spotify, and Future Nostalgia rocketed in at No. 2 on the ‘Most Streamed Albums Globally’ for 2021.
Not only that, but Dua is the most-streamed UK artist globally, beating Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, One Direction and Queen.
The Biggest Streaming Artist of 2021
According to Spotify’s stats, between 1st January and 27th November, for a second year in a row, the most-streamed artist is Puerto Rican vocalist Bad Bunny.
Having notched up 8.3 billion streams in 2020, he went a whole lot further in 2021, with his songs streaming 9.1 billion times.
The rest of the top 5 are made up of Taylor Swift, Drake, Justin Bieber and BTS. However, if you’re just looking at the most-streamed artist in the UK, it’s Drake, followed by Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber and Juice Wrld.
Who Else Has Had a Great Year?
Tom Grennan features on two of the 40 biggest sellers of 2021 - ‘Little Bit of Love’, which peaked at No. 7, and his duet with Ella Henderson, ‘Let’s Go Home Together’.
The singer-songwriter’s first three singles all hit the Top 10.
Also doubling up are Joel Corry, with Raye and David Guetta on ‘Bed’, and MNEK on ‘Head & Heart’, together with Doja Cat – ‘Kiss Me More’ and ‘Streets’ both lit up the charts.
Is anyone more ubiquitous than David Guetta?
The super-producer appears on no fewer than three of the top 40 bestselling singles of the year, joining forces with everyone from the aforementioned Joel Corry and Raye to Galantis and Little Mix (‘Heartbreak Anthem’) and Becky Hill (‘Remember’).
Who Are the Big Breakout Artists of 2021?
Well, Olivia Rodrigo, obviously, but Australian singer and rapper The Kid Laroi is another artist with two singles in the chart.
His first big hit, ‘Without You’, peaked at No. 2 in February.
He repeated that chart position with latest single ‘Stay’, with Justin Bieber, both of which appear in the top 20.
Want to keep ahead of the viral smashes? Look no further than ‘Heat Waves’ by Oxford indie rockers Glass Animals.
It’s been in the top 100 for most of the year and claims the crown for the biggest song by a group or band.
The band formed in 2010, and their second album, How to be a Human Being, earned them a spot on the Mercury Prize shortlist in 2017.
However, it’s the chorus from ‘Heat Waves’, which has been used by hundreds of thousands of TikTokers to soundtrack their videos about missing someone or something, that’s sent them into the stratosphere.
Who Is the Biggest-Selling Artist in the US in 2021?
Hits Daily Double were claiming it’ll be Morgan Wallen.
His record-breaking Dangerous: The Double Album is projected to finish the year ahead of Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour, and was the longest-running No. 1 album of the year (10 consecutive weeks).
If he does claim the crown, he’ll be the first country artist since Taylor Swift to end the year with the best-selling album of any genre.
Other big hitters Stateside are, as mentioned, Olivia Rodrigo, plus Taylor Swift and Drake.
Drake’s sixth studio album, Certified Lover Boy, had the biggest opening week of this year and Rolling Stone’s most-streamed artist chart showed that he held onto the No. 1 slot for 36 weeks, racking up over 242 million streams.
His top track is ‘Way 2 Sexy’, featuring Future and Young Thug. We take our hats (and probably our shirts off) to anyone taking inspiration from Right Said Fred.
Taylor Swift has had three number ones so far, with her 2020 studio album Evermore, and 2021 re-recordings of Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version). Folklore was also the bestselling album in the US in 2020.
Want a fun fact? Ms Swift is the first artist in the MRC Data era (going back to 1992) to claim bestselling album of the year an impressive five times.
Plus, she’s continuing to make headlines; her new version of ‘All Too Well’ has broken the record for the longest track to top the Billboard Hot 100, deposing ‘American Pie’, which has held the title for the past 50 years!
So, that’s our round-up of the best and biggest-selling artists of 2021!
For more inside knowledge on everything from the history of rock music to the huge variety of pop genres, and iconic women in hip hop, check out our blog. And for up-to-the-minute playlists and new releases to license, keep an eye on our Discover page.
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