The Global Recording Artist of the Year is an award presented by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) to honor the year's commercially best-performing musician, based on global album-equivalent units earned, which includes music downloads, streaming and physical sales.[1] It has been awarded every year since January 2014, starting with the British boy band One Direction, who won the accolade for 2013. American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift is the biggest winner of the accolade, having won four times—in 2014, 2019, 2022, and 2023.
| Global Recording Artist of the Year | |
|---|---|
 The IFPI trophy | |
| Awarded for | Most successful recording artist worldwide based on album-equivalent units |
| Presented by | International Federation of the Phonographic Industry |
| First awarded | January 2014 |
| Most recent winner | Taylor Swift (2023) |
| Most awards | Taylor Swift (4) |
Winners
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The IFPI Global Recording Artist of the Year has been awarded every year since January 2014, with British boy band One Direction becoming the first act to receive the accolade for 2013.[2] This success was attributed to the band's third studio album, Midnight Memories, which became the best-selling album of the year.[3] Taylor Swift was awarded the Global Recording Artist of 2014 following her fifth studio album, 1989. It spawned two international number-one singles, "Shake It Off" and "Blank Space".[4]
Adele received the award for the Global Recording Artist of 2015 with the release of her third studio album, 25.[5] It was the best-selling album of the year, with its lead single, "Hello", reaching number one in nearly every country in which it charted.[6] The Global Recording Artist of 2016 went to Drake, whose fourth studio album, Views, was the third best-selling album of the year.[7][8] The album's second single, "One Dance", became the biggest digital song of the year.[8]
Ed Sheeran received the award for 2017 with the release of his third studio album ÷, which included the singles "Shape of You", "Castle on the Hill", "Galway Girl", and "Perfect". He became the first recipient to have both the best-selling album and single of the year.[9] Drake won the award again in 2018, which made him the first artist to win twice.[10]
Swift matched Drake's achievement when she received the award again for 2019. Her seventh studio album, Lover, was the second best-selling album of 2019.[11] The award for 2020 went to BTS. The band's fourth and fifth studio albums, Map of the Soul: 7 and Be, were the top two best-selling albums of the year. BTS became the first Asian act to win the award.[12][13] The band repeated the feat for 2021, becoming the third artist—after Drake and Swift—to win the award twice, and the first to do so in consecutive years.[14] Swift became the first artist to win thrice when she was awarded the Global Recording Artist of 2022, following the success of her tenth studio album Midnights.[15] Swift claimed the award for Global Recording Artist of 2023 for a record-breaking fourth time the following year.[16]
Annual top-10 artists
edit2013
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| Rank | Artist[17] | IFPI Top 10 Album of the Year[3] | IFPI Top 10 Single of the Year[18] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | One Direction | Midnight Memories (first) | — |
| 2 | Eminem | The Marshall Mathers LP2 (second) | — |
| 3 | Justin Timberlake | The 20/20 Experience (third) | — |
| 4 | Bruno Mars | Unorthodox Jukebox (fourth) | "When I Was Your Man" (eighth) |
| 5 | Katy Perry | Prism (sixth) | "Roar" (fifth) |
| 6 | Pink | — | "Just Give Me a Reason" (fourth) |
| 7 | Macklemore & Ryan Lewis | — | "Thrift Shop" (second) |
| 8 | Rihanna | — | "Stay" (tenth) |
| 9 | Michael Bublé | To Be Loved (seventh) | — |
| 10 | Daft Punk | Random Access Memories (fifth) | "Get Lucky" (sixth) |
2014
edit| Rank | Artist[4] | IFPI Top 10 Album of the Year[19] | IFPI Top 10 Single of the Year[19] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taylor Swift | 1989 (second) | — |
| 2 | One Direction | Four (sixth) | — |
| 3 | Ed Sheeran | X (third) | — |
| 4 | Coldplay | Ghost Stories (fourth) | — |
| 5 | AC/DC | Rock or Bust (seventh) | — |
| 6 | Michael Jackson | — | — |
| 7 | Pink Floyd | The Endless River (ninth) | — |
| 8 | Sam Smith | In The Lonely Hour (fifth) | — |
| 9 | Katy Perry | — | "Dark Horse" (second) |
| 10 | Beyoncé | — | — |
2015
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| Rank | Artist[5] | IFPI Top 10 Album of the Year[20] | IFPI Top 10 Single of the Year[20] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adele | 25 (first) | "Hello" (seventh) |
| 2 | Ed Sheeran | X (second) | "Thinking Out Loud" (third) |
| 3 | Taylor Swift | 1989 (third) | "Blank Space" (eighth) |
| 4 | Justin Bieber | Purpose (fourth) | — |
| 5 | One Direction | Made in the A.M. (sixth) | — |
| 6 | Coldplay | A Head Full Of Dreams (eighth) | — |
| 7 | Maroon 5 | — | "Sugar" (fourth) |
| 8 | Sam Smith | In The Lonely Hour (fifth) | — |
| 9 | Drake | — | — |
| 10 | The Weeknd | Beauty Behind The Madness (tenth) | — |
2016
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| Rank | Artist[7] | IFPI Top 10 Album of the Year[8] | IFPI Top 10 Single of the Year[8] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Drake | Views (third) | "One Dance" (first) |
| 2 | David Bowie | Blackstar (fifth) | — |
| 3 | Coldplay | A Head Full of Dreams (ninth) | — |
| 4 | Adele | 25 (second) | — |
| 5 | Justin Bieber | — | "Love Yourself" (second) "Sorry" (fifth) |
| 6 | Twenty One Pilots | Blurryface (eighth) | "Stressed Out" (tenth) |
| 7 | Beyoncé | Lemonade (first) | — |
| 8 | Rihanna | — | "Work" (sixth) |
| 9 | Prince | — | — |
| 10 | The Weeknd | — | — |
2017
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| Rank | Artist[21] | IFPI Top 10 Album of the Year[22] | IFPI Top 10 Single of the Year[22] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ed Sheeran | ÷ (first) | "Shape of You" (first) "Perfect" (ninth) |
| 2 | Drake | — | — |
| 3 | Taylor Swift | Reputation (second) | — |
| 4 | Kendrick Lamar | Damn (seventh) | "Humble" (sixth) |
| 5 | Eminem | Revival (eighth) | — |
| 6 | Bruno Mars | 24K Magic (tenth) | "That's What I Like" (fourth) |
| 7 | The Weeknd | — | — |
| 8 | Imagine Dragons | — | "Believer" (tenth) |
| 9 | Linkin Park | — | — |
| 10 | The Chainsmokers | — | "Something Just like This" (third) "Closer" (fifth) |
2018
edit| Rank | Artist[10] | IFPI Top 10 Album of the Year[23] | IFPI Top 10 Single of the Year[24] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Drake | — | "God's Plan" (second) |
| 2 | BTS | Love Yourself: Answer (second) Love Yourself: Tear (third) |
— |
| 3 | Ed Sheeran | ÷ (sixth) | "Shape of You" (third) "Perfect" (fourth) |
| 4 | Post Malone | — | "Psycho" (tenth) |
| 5 | Eminem | Kamikaze (ninth) | — |
| 6 | Queen | Bohemian Rhapsody (seventh) | — |
| 7 | Imagine Dragons | — | — |
| 8 | Ariana Grande | — | — |
| 9 | Lady Gaga | A Star Is Born (fourth) | — |
| 10 | Bruno Mars | — | — |
2019
edit| Rank | Artist[25] | IFPI Top 10 Album of the Year[26] | IFPI Top 10 Single of the Year[27] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taylor Swift | Lover (second) | — |
| 2 | Ed Sheeran | No.6 Collaborations Project (seventh) | "I Don't Care" (seventh) |
| 3 | Post Malone | — | "Sunflower" (fourth) |
| 4 | Billie Eilish | When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (fifth) | "Bad Guy" (first) |
| 5 | Queen | Bohemian Rhapsody: The Original Soundtrack (sixth) | — |
| 6 | Ariana Grande | Thank U, Next (eighth) | "7 Rings" (fifth) |
| 7 | BTS | Map of the Soul: Persona (third) | — |
| 8 | Drake | — | — |
| 9 | Lady Gaga | A Star Is Born (fourth) | "Shallow" (eight) |
| 10 | The Beatles | Abbey Road (tenth) | — |
2020
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| Rank | Artist[28] | IFPI Top 10 Album of the Year[13] | IFPI Top 10 Album of the Year (All Formats)[29] | IFPI Top 10 Song of the Year[30] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BTS | Map of the Soul: 7 (first) Be (second) Map of the Soul: 7 - The Journey (eighth) |
Map of the Soul: 7 (first) Be (fourth) |
"Dynamite" (tenth) |
| 2 | Taylor Swift | Folklore (fourth) | Folklore (ninth) | — |
| 3 | Drake | — | — | "Life Is Good" (sixth) |
| 4 | The Weeknd | — | After Hours (second) | "Blinding Lights" (first) |
| 5 | Billie Eilish | — | When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (third) | "Bad Guy" (ninth) |
| 6 | Eminem | — | — | — |
| 7 | Post Malone | — | Hollywood's Bleeding (sixth) | — |
| 8 | Ariana Grande | — | — | — |
| 9 | Juice Wrld | — | — | — |
| 10 | Justin Bieber | Changes (seventh) | Changes (eighth) | — |
2021
edit| Rank | Artist[31] | IFPI Top 10 Album of the Year[32] | IFPI Top 10 Album of the Year (Vinyl)[32] | IFPI Top 10 Album of the Year (All Formats)[32] | IFPI Top 10 Song of the Year[33] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BTS | BTS, the Best (fourth) | — | — | "Butter"(fourth) |
| 2 | Taylor Swift | Red (Taylor's Version) (seventh) Fearless (Taylor's Version) (tenth) |
Red (Taylor's Version) (sixth) Evermore (tenth) |
— | — |
| 3 | Adele | 30 (first) | 30 (first) | 30 (first) | — |
| 4 | Drake | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | Ed Sheeran | = (fifth) | — | = (fourth) | "Bad Habits" (tenth) |
| 6 | The Weeknd | — | — | After Hours (fifth) | "Save Your Tears" (first) "Blinding Lights" (seventh) |
| 7 | Billie Eilish | — | Happier Than Ever (fifth) | — | — |
| 8 | Justin Bieber | Justice (sixth) | — | Justice (third) | "Stay" (second) "Peaches" (sixth) |
| 9 | Seventeen | Attacca (third) Your Choice (eighth) |
— | — | — |
| 10 | Olivia Rodrigo | — | Sour (fourth) | Sour (second) | "Drivers License" (fifth) "Good 4 U" (eighth) |
2022
edit| Rank | Artist[15] | IFPI Top 10 Album of the Year[34] | IFPI Top 10 Album of the Year (Vinyl)[35] | IFPI Top 10 Album of the Year (Streaming)[36] | IFPI Top 10 Album of the Year (All Formats)[37] | IFPI Top 10 Song of the Year[38] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taylor Swift | Midnights (third) | Midnights (first) | Midnights (fifth) | Midnights (second) | — |
| 2 | BTS | Proof (second) | — | — | Proof (fourth) | — |
| 3 | Drake | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4 | Bad Bunny | — | — | Un Verano Sin Ti (first) | Un Verano Sin Ti (first) | "Me Porto Bonito" (ninth) |
| 5 | The Weeknd | — | — | — | — | "Save Your Tears" (fifth) |
| 6 | Seventeen | Face the Sun (fifth) Sector 17 (ninth) |
— | — | Face the Sun (seventh) | — |
| 7 | Stray Kids | Maxident (fourth) Oddinary (eight) |
— | — | Maxident (sixth) | — |
| 8 | Harry Styles | — | Harry's House (second) | Harry's House (second) | Harry's House (third) | "As It Was" (first) |
| 9 | Jay Chou | Greatest Works of Art (first) | — | — | — | — |
| 10 | Ed Sheeran | — | — | = (fourth) | = (tenth) | "Shivers" (seventh) "Bad Habits" (tenth) |
2023
edit| Rank | Artist[39] | IFPI Top 10 Album of the Year[40] | IFPI Top 10 Album of the Year (Sales) [41] | IFPI Top 10 Album of the Year (Vinyl) | IFPI Top 10 Album of the Year (Streaming) | IFPI Top 10 Song of the Year[42] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taylor Swift | Midnights (fourth) 1989 (Taylor's Version) (fifth) |
1989 (Taylor's Version) (sixth) | 1989 (Taylor's Version) (first) Speak Now (Taylor's Version) (second) Midnights (third) Folklore (seventh) Lover (ninth) |
Midnights (third) Lover (sixth) 1989 (tenth) |
"Cruel Summer" (seventh) "Anti-Hero" (ninth) |
| 2 | Seventeen | FML (first) Seventeenth Heaven (eighth) |
FML (first) | — | — | — |
| 3 | Stray Kids | 5-Star (second) Rock-Star (ninth) |
5-Star (second) Rock-Star (fifth) |
— | — | — |
| 4 | Drake | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | The Weeknd | — | — | — | Starboy (seventh) | "Die For You" (fourth) |
| 6 | Morgan Wallen | One Thing at a Time (third) | — | — | One Thing at a Time (first) Dangerous: The Double Album (ninth) |
"Last Night" (eighth) |
| 7 | Tomorrow X Together | — | — | — | — | — |
| 8 | NewJeans | — | — | — | — | — |
| 9 | Bad Bunny | — | — | — | Un Verano Sin Ti (fourth) | — |
| 10 | Lana Del Rey | — | — | Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (eighth) | — | — |
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "Global Recording Artist of the Year". www.ifpi.org. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ "One Direction are officially the biggest global recording artists of 2013". www.ifpi.org. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
- ^ a b "One Direction named the world's No 1 bestselling artists". TheGuardian.com. 1 August 2014. Archived from the original on 1 August 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
- ^ a b "Taylor Swift Named IFPI Global Recording Artist of 2014". Billboard. 23 February 2015. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
- ^ a b Brandle, Lars (8 February 2016). "Adele Named IFPI Global Recording Artist of 2015". Billboard. Archived from the original on 8 February 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
- ^ Dex, Robert (12 April 2016). "Adele's 25 outsells the other top five bestsellers put together". The Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
- ^ a b Brandle, Lars (8 February 2017). "Drake Named IFPI Global Recording Artist of 2016". Billboard. Archived from the original on 8 February 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
- ^ a b c d Rys, Dan (25 April 2017). "Beyonce's 'Lemonade' Highest-Selling Album Globally in 2016; Drake Lands Top Song: IFPI". Billboard. Archived from the original on 25 April 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
- ^ Schneider, Marc (26 February 2018). "Ed Sheeran Is IFPI's Global Recording Artist of the Year". Billboard. Archived from the original on 23 April 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
- ^ a b Paine, Andrew (26 February 2019). "Drake named IFPI's global recording artist of 2018". Music Week. Archived from the original on 28 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
- ^ "Best Sellers and Global Artist of the Year". www.ifpi.org. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
- ^ Brandle, Lars (4 March 2021). "BTS Crowned IFPI Global Recording Artist of 2020". Billboard. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
- ^ a b Brandle, Lars (11 March 2021). "BTS Bag 'Unprecedented' 1-2 on IFPI's Global Album Sales Chart For 2020". Billboard. Archived from the original on 11 March 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
- ^ "BTS Again Wins Top Recording Artist in World First". Bloomberg. 24 February 2022. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
- ^ a b Paine, Andre (22 February 2023). "Taylor Swift wins IFPI's 2022 Global Recording Artist Of The Year Award". Music Week. Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ Brandle, Lars (21 February 2024). "Taylor Swift Crowned IFPI's Global Recording Artist For Record Fourth Time". Billboard. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ Brandle, Lars (31 January 2014). "One Direction Named 2013's Top Global Recording Artist". Billboard. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2022 – via The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ Sherwin, Adam (18 March 2014). "Music sales fail to go in One Direction as growth turns to 3.9%". The Independent. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
- ^ a b "Digital music matches physical sales". BBC News Online. 15 April 2015. Archived from the original on 15 April 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
- ^ a b Rhys, Dan (8 April 2016). "Adele, Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth Lead 2015 Global Albums and Digital Song Rankings". Billboard. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
- ^ Aswad, Jem (26 February 2018). "Ed Sheeran Named Best-Selling Global Recording Artist of 2017". Variety. Archived from the original on 26 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
- ^ a b "Global Music Report 2018" (PDF). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2022 – via FIMI.
- ^ Stutz, Colin (13 March 2019). "'The Greatest Showman' Soundtrack Edges Out BTS, Lady Gaga for IFPI's Best-Selling Album of 2018". Billboard. Archived from the original on 15 March 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
- ^ "Camila's Havana was biggest song of 2018". BBC News Online. 6 March 2019. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
- ^ Willman, Chris (2 March 2020). "Taylor Swift Named Top Global Music Seller of 2019; Universal Claims 8 of Top 10 Artists". Variety. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
- ^ "Arashi Best-Of Tops Taylor Swift for IFPI's Best-Selling Album of 2019". Billboard. 19 March 2020. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
- ^ Copsey, Rob (11 March 2020). "The biggest global singles of 2019 revealed". Official Charts. Archived from the original on 25 March 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
- ^ Suh, Jung-min (8 March 2021). "BTS named Global Recording Artist of 2020". Hankyoreh. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
- ^ Brandle, Lars (10 March 2021). "BTS Rule IFPI's Inaugural Global Album Chart". Billboard. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ Brandle, Lars (9 March 2021). "The Weeknd's 'Blinding Lights' Is IFPI's Top Digital Song For 2020". Billboard. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
- ^ Needham, Jack (24 February 2022). "BTS Named Global Recording Artist of the Year by IFPO for Second Straight Year". Music Business Worldwide. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
- ^ a b c Brandle, Lars (1 March 2022). "Adele's '30' Dominates IFPI's 2021 Album Charts". Billboard. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
- ^ Paine, Andre (28 February 2022). "IFPI reveals 2021's biggest global hits from The Weeknd, The Kid Laroi, Dua Lipa, BTS & Olivia Rodrigo". Music Week. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
- ^ @IFPI_org (27 March 2023). "And finally, this year's IFPI #GlobalAlbumSalesChart Top 10, representing the biggest album sales globally 👇🥇 Jay Chou (周杰倫) 🥈 @BTS_twt 🥉 @taylorswift13 4. @Stray_Kids 5. @pledis_17 6. @ENHYPEN 7. @BLACKPINK 8. @Stray_Kids 9. @pledis_17 10. @TXT_bighit Congrats! 👏" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 3 April 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ @IFPI_org (27 March 2023). "And here's IFPI's #GlobalVinylAlbumChart, the biggest selling vinyl albums globally👇 🥇 @taylorswift13 🥈 @Harry_Styles 🥉 @fleetwoodmac 4. @michaeljackson 5. @oliviarodrigo 6. @tylerthecreator 7. @kendricklamar 8. @pinkfloyd 9. @ChiliPeppers 10. @QueenWillRock Congrats all!👏" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ @IFPI_org (27 March 2023). "Here is this year's IFPI #GlobalStreamingAlbumChart Top 10, the most streamed albums of the year 👇 🥇 @sanbenito 🥈 @Harry_Styles 🥉 @EncantoMovie 4. @edsheeran 5. @taylorswift13 6. @MorganWallen 7. @oliviarodrigo 8. @DojaCat 9. @Drake 10. @thekidlaroi Congratulations! 👏👏👏" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ Stassen, Murray (24 February 2023). "Bad Bunny's Un Verano Sin Ti Was The Biggest Album In The World In 2022". Music Business Worldwide. Archived from the original on 24 February 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
- ^ Stassen, Murray (23 February 2023). "As It Was By Harry Styles Was The Biggest Single Globally In 2022, According To The IFPI". Music Business Worldwide. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
- ^ Brandle, Lars (21 February 2024). "Taylor Swift Crowned IFPI's Global Recording Artist For Record Fourth Time". Billboard. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ IFPI, IFPI (27 February 2024). "SEVENTEEN's FML announced by IFPI as biggest-selling Global Album of the Year". IFPI. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ^ Bayley, Jack (28 March 2024). "Taylor Swift, SEVENTEEN and Morgan Wallen top IFPI Global Album Charts". IFPI. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- ^ Brandle, Lars (26 February 2024). "Miley Cyrus' 'Flowers' Wins IFPI Global Single Award For 2023". Billboard. Retrieved 26 February 2024.