The Best-Selling Singles of 2016



Justin Timberlake’s exuberant “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” is the year’s top-selling digital hit. For an artist who has been turning out hits for nearly two decades, going back to his days with *NSYNC, that’s a remarkable achievement.

Here are the 15 best-selling songs of 2016, according to Nielsen Music.

15. DNCE, “Cake by the Ocean”
1,398,000 (286,000 in 2015)

14. Fifth Harmony, “Work From Home” (featuring Ty Dolla $ign)
1,425,000

This is the second year in a row that Fifth Harmony, who just parted ways with original member Camila Cabello, has had a hit in the year’s top 30. “Worth It” (featuring Kid Ink) ranked No. 26 for 2015. Both of these songs were the year’s biggest hits by all-female groups.

13. Desiigner, “Panda”
1,524,000

12. Mike Posner, “I Took a Pill in Ibiza”
1,525,000 (29,000 in 2015)

The song did significantly better than Posner’s first hit, “Cooler Than Me,” which was the No. 22 hit of 2010.

11. twenty one pilots, “Heathens”
1,636,000

The duo’s Tyler Joseph wrote it for the movie 'Suicide Squad.' This is the third year in a row that two or more of the year’s top 15 hits were written for movies.

10. Sia, “Cheap Thrills” (featuring Sean Paul)
1,666,000 (6,000 in 2015)

This is the second time that Sia has had a song in the year’s top 15. Flo Rida’s “Wild Ones,” on which she was featured, was the No. 11 hit of 2012. “Cheap Thrills” marks a big improvement over Sia’s first big hit as a lead artist, “Chandelier,” which was the No. 26 hit of 2014.

9. Rihanna, “Work” (featuring Drake)
1,758,000

This is the year’s top hit by a female lead artist. This is Rihanna’s first appearance in a year-end top 10 since 2013, when “Stay” (featuring Mikky Ekko) was the year’s No. 10 hit.

8. The Chainsmokers, “Don’t Let Me Down” (featuring Daya)
1,763,000

7. Justin Bieber, “Love Yourself”
1,805,000 (916,000 in 2015, when it ranked No. 69 for the year)

Surprisingly, this marks the first time that a Bieber song has ranked among the year’s top 10 hits. His previous highest-ranking song on a year-end Digital Songs chart was “Boyfriend,” which ranked No. 15 for 2012.

6. twenty one pilots, “Stressed Out”
1,839,000 (652,000 in 2015, when it ranked No. 107 for the year)

5. Drake, “One Dance” (featuring WizKid & Kyla)
1,982,000

Surprisingly, this marks the first time that a Drake song has ranked among the year’s top 10 hits. His previous highest-ranking song on a year-end Digital Songs chart was “Hotline Bling,” which ranked No. 22 for 2015.

4. Lukas Graham, “7 Years”
2,089,000 (29,000 in 2015)

“7 Years” is the year’s top hit by a foreign-born act.

3. The Chainsmokers, “Closer” (featuring Halsey)
2,124,000

This is the highest ranking for a song by a duo since 2013, when Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’s “Thrift Shop” (featuring Wanz) was the year’s No. 2 song. “Closer” is this year’s top collaboration and top EDM song.

2. Flo Rida, “My House”
2,217,000 (515,000 in 2015, when it ranked No. 139 for the year)

This is the third time that Flo Rida has had one of the year’s top five songs. “Low” (featuring T-Pain) was No. 3 for 2008. “Right Round” was No. 4 for 2009. This is the year’s top hip-hop song.

1. Justin Timberlake, “Can’t Stop the Feeling!”
2,438,000

This is the second time in the past three years that the year’s top-selling song was written for an animated feature film. Timberlake wrote this song for 'Trolls.' Pharrell Williams wrote “Happy,” the top-seller of 2014, for 'Despicable Me 2.'

The Top-Selling Albums of 2016



Adele’s 25 and Drake’s Views are the most popular albums of 2016. But which came out on top? That’s a surprisingly complicated question. Adele’s 25 has sold more copies than any other album this year, though Views pulls ahead if you factor in digital track sales and streaming activity — what the music industry calls “equivalent units.”

Here are the 15 best-selling albums in 2016, in terms of traditional album sales, according to Nielsen Music. At the end of each entry, I indicate the album’s rank on the year’s Track Equivalent Albums (TEA) chart. That chart factors in sales of digital tracks from the album.

15. Metallica, ‘Hardwired … to Self-Destruct’
432,000

Metallica has placed an album in the year-end top 10 four times. TEA rank: No. 26.

14. David Bowie, ‘Blackstar’
448,000 copies

TEA rank: No. 25.

13. Prince & The Revolution, ‘Purple Rain’
487,000

It’s the year’s top-selling soundtrack. TEA rank: No. 17.

12. Panic! at the Disco, ‘Death of a Bachelor’
506,000

This is the band’s highest ranking on a year-end chart. Its previous highest rank came in 2006, when 'A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out' ranked at No. 26. TEA rank: No. 13.

11. Blake Shelton, ‘If I’m Honest’
522,000

This is the second time that Shelton has had an album in the year’s top 15. 'Based on a True Story…' was No. 9 for 2013. TEA rank: No. 12.

10. Justin Bieber, ‘Purpose’
543,000 (1,269,000 million in 2015, when it ranked No. 3 for the year)

This is the fifth time that Bieber has had one of the year’s top 10 albums. TEA rank: No. 7.

9. Rihanna, ‘Anti’
591,000

Surprisingly, this marks the first time that Rihanna has had one of the year’s top 10 albums. Her previous highest ranking on a year-end chart was in 2008, when 'Good Girls Gone Bad' ranked No. 16. TEA rank: No. 6.

8. Pentatonix, ‘A Pentatonix Christmas’
639,000

This is the second time that the vocal group has had an album in the year’s top 10. 'That’s Christmas to Me' was No. 4 for 2014. This is the third consecutive year that Pentatonix has had the year’s top Christmas album. Nobody else has taken that title three years in a row in the Nielsen Music era. TEA rank: No. 11.

7. Prince, ‘The Very Best of Prince’
660,000 (more than 2 million prior to this year)

This is the highest ranking for an album by an artist who had died since 2009, when Michael Jackson’s 'Number Ones' was the year’s No. 3 album. TEA rank: No. 8.

6. Twenty One Pilots, ‘Blurryface’
678,000 (592,000 in 2015, when it ranked No. 19 for the year)

This is the highest ranking for an album by a rock artist since 2013, when Imagine Dragons’ 'Night Visions' was the year’s No. 4 album. It’s the highest ranking for an album by a duo since 2013, when Florida Georgia Line’s 'Here’s to the Good Times' was the year’s No. 6 album. TEA rank: No. 5.

5. ‘Hamilton’ Original Cast Album
739,000 (169,000 in 2015, when it ranked No. 110 for the year)

This is by far the highest ranking for a Broadway cast album in the Nielsen Music era. TEA rank: No. 10.

4. Chris Stapleton, ‘Traveller’
1,042,000 (685,000 it sold in 2015, when it ranked No. 14 for the year)

This is the highest ranking for a country album since 2013, when Luke Bryan’s 'Crash My Party' was the year’s No. 3 album. This was Stapleton’s first solo album; it’s the year’s top debut album. TEA rank: No. 4.

3. Beyoncé, ‘Lemonade’
1,527,000

This is the eighth time Beyoncé has had an album in the year’s top 10 (counting two albums she recorded with Destiny’s Child). She’s the only artist in the Nielsen Music era who can make that claim. This is Beyoncé’s highest ranking to date. Her former personal best was shared by 'Dangerously in Love' (No. 6 for 2003) and 'Beyoncé' (No. 6 for 2014). TEA rank: No. 3.

2. Drake, ‘Views’
1,579,000

This is the fifth time that Drake has had an album in the year’s top 10. Among hip-hop artists, only Eminem has had more years with an album in the year’s top 10 (six). This is Drake’s highest year-end ranking to date, topping 'If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late,' which finished No. 5 for 2015. This is the highest ranking for a rap album since 2013, when Eminem’s 'The Marshall Mathers LP 2' was the year’s No. 2 album. It’s the highest ranking for an album by a Canadian artist since 2011, when Michael Bublé’s 'Christmas' was the year’s No. 2 album. TEA rank: No. 1.

1. Adele, ‘25’
1,684,000 (7,441,000 in 2015, when it also ranked No. 1 for the year)

This is the fourth time that Adele has had the year’s top-selling album. Her previous album, '21,' was No. 1 for both 2011 and 2012. No other artist has had the year’s top-seller more than twice. TEA rank: No. 2.

3. Beyoncé, ‘Lemonade’ 1,527,000 2. Drake, ‘Views’ 1,579,000

Originally posted by KillingYourCareer My House? congrats

Originally posted by trainsskyscrapers Bey! Give the girls a chance to shine! Dang...

Originally posted by SHICD She did. That's why Adele is no. 1

Originally posted by SHICD She did. That's why Adele is no. 1