Even though he may be taking a back seat commercially to Kendrick Lamar at the moment, in 2016, there wasn’t a more popular musical artist on Planet Earth than Aubrey Drake Graham. According to The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which is apparently a real organization, Drake had both the best-selling single of the year last year with “One Dance,” and the third best-selling album; his icy, 20-track project Views. Taken together, it was enough to make him No. 1 across the globe.
“I’m delighted to be able to honor Drake as the IFPI Global Recording Artist 2016,” IFPI chief executive Frances Moore said in a statement. ”Drake’s phenomenal success reflects how deeply his unique sound appeals to an enormous global audience. The Global Top 10 list features a number of amazing artists, and the variety and vibrancy of their art speaks volumes about the exciting state of music today.”
Beyonce actually took home the top mark in the album category with her most recent release Lemonade, which probably feels especially good, considering she managed to top Adele’s seismic 25 while doing so. Coming in just behind Drake, and rounding out the rest of the top Global artists were David Bowie whose sales were bolstered by his final album Blackstar, followed by Coldplay, Adele, and Drake’s Canadian contemporary Justin Bieber.
