IFPI reveals top global recording artists of 2019

8. Drake

I’m not sure Drake needs to really do anything to remain relevant at this point. He’s consistently been at the top of Spotify’s streaming artist list for almost a decade, dropping one chart smashing album after another. Though 2019 didn’t see much in the way of new material (aside from an odds-and-ends compilation in August) it didn’t hinder his popularity.

He’s also mentioned new work recently, stating that he doesn’t want to go overboard on the next one. As someone who wasn’t a huge fan of Scorpion that comes as somewhat of a relief and 2020 looks likely to be the year of Drake bangers. He may even be further up the list this time next year, which would be a shock to almost nobody.

Check out his recent track with Future called ‘Life Is Good’ below.

7. BTS

You can’t move on Twitter without seeing a mention of BTS, whose economic size in South Korea has now reached over $3 billion. As K-pop continues to permeate Western culture it ends up on these top lists more and more, so don’t be shocked if we see more groups like BTS reach international audiences this decade.

Their output is also impressive, with seven albums under their belts in seven years. Map of the Soul: 7 dropped just a few weeks ago and reached the number one spot almost everywhere around the world. It’s safe to say BTS are here to stay, and it’s unlikely that anything will come to a halt soon.

6. Ariana Grande

It was another steady year for Ariana Grande who continues to maintain her cultural gravitas, outgrowing her original Nickelodeon origins years ago. In 2019 she released ‘thank u next’ whose lead single with the same name was a worldwide meme and movement in its own right.

You can check out the video below if you’re in need of a Grande fix. 2020 could be a quieter year in terms of output, but it’s unlikely we won’t hear at least something to keep us going.

5. Queen

This one was both a little bit of a surprise and also not at all when you consider Queen’s lasting legacy, universal appeal, and the success of 2018s Bohemian Rhapsody film that became available on streaming services the following year.

Still, it’s mighty impressive to see a band that hasn’t been at its peak since the 1970s reach the top five global artists list. If it’s anything to go by then I imagine marketers and film execs are probably cooking up potential sequel films and Queen biopic spin offs as we speak. A Queen equivalent of a Marvel cinematic universe? Maybe not, but either way, the Queen estate is raking in the cash right now.

You can watch a trailer for Bohemian Rhapsody below.

4. Billie Eilish

What’s left to say about the eighteen year-old Grammy award winning singer songwriter Billie Eilish? Perhaps the first true Gen Z musical icon of our times, Billie has proved herself to be a master of lo-fi, understated emo pop music, and her career shows no signs of slowing.

She’s just released her original track for the new Bond film, and her 2019 single ‘everything I wanted’ was a smash hit, currently sitting at the top of her Spotify profile on a healthy 400 million listens.

If you somehow haven’t heard the track yet, give it a whirl below. If Billie drops another album in 2020 then I’m confident she’ll reach the top spot in a years’ time.

3. Post Malone

It makes sense that Post’s this far up the list given that he dropped Hollywood’s Bleeding in 2019, which spawned a handful of chart-topping singles including the indie inspired ‘Circles’. This year’s likely to be a quieter one albums wise but I’m sure we’ll get at least a couple of features or a single toward the end of the summer season.

Not too sure if the next one will be so heavily medieval inspired, mind. Check out the music video for ‘Circles’ below.

2. Ed Sheeran

Ed has proved himself to be an immovable force in popular music. He’s come a long, long way since his humble roots in the late noughties, originally working with local London artists Devlin and Just Jack before expanding into superstardom. Anybody who’s tuned into the radio in the last half decade will have heard an abundance of Sheeran tracks, and 2019 was no exception.

Though we didn’t get a mainline project we did get a collaborations LP, one that was filled to the brim with top celebrity musicians. I’m sure you will have heard ‘I Don’t Care’ with Justin Bieber, and my personal favourite from the project is ‘Antisocial’ with Travis Scott.

No news on when we’ll hear another Sheeran main album just yet, but here’s a single from the last LP to tide you over.

1. Taylor Swift

Well, it’s not exactly a curveball, but Taylor is the most successful global artist in the world for a second time. In 2019 she released her number one album Lover, which spawned a handful of successful singles, and she appeared in…erm… Cats, so it wasn’t all completely positive.

Jokes aside, Taylor is one of the biggest and most loved artists of the last decade, despite the rocky ride somewhere in the middle. From the ascending highs of 1989’s singles to ‘Me!’, it’s been a journey and a half watching her career flourish. It’s hard to predict where things will go from here but rest assured it definitely won’t slip under the radar.

Here’s the video for ‘Me!’ and no, don’t worry, it doesn’t include any anthropomorphic cats, only real ones.