The year 2017 brought a lot of impressive artists who came up with captivating new albums and hit singles. But the top music artists of 2017 also churned up some interesting changes to the rankings, with international pop stars dropping out of the top 10, and some newcomers and returning members proving real potential. But who finally ended up in the coveted top spots, who is new to the top 10 and who managed to hold onto a spot despite the newcomers? One thing to look forward to is that some of the top music artists in 2017 have stuck around for the second year in a row!
1, 2 AND 3 – HERE ARE THE TOP MUSIC ARTISTS FOR 2017!
If you’ve followed our monthly updates on the top music artists of 2017, you may have guessed who took the year’s top spot: Ed Sheeran – English pop singer, comeback kid and king of the music artist charts for March, June, September and October of 2017! Ed managed to grab the throne for the year overall. Starting with his album “Divide”, which came out on March 3, Ed Sheeran replaced the former top spot holder Major Lazer, who nevertheless remained in second. Besides Major Lazer, we’ll encounter some other well-known faces in the rankings, such as Drake, who held spot 2 in 2016 and only slipped down one rank to spot 3. Armin van Buuren and Coldplay also reentered the top 10 of top music artists for 2017 at spots 7 and 9, respectively.
WELL KNOWN FACES AMONG TOP MUSIC ARTISTS OF 2017
No. 4: Metallica – “Hardwired… to Self-Destruct”
As a result of their latest album, “Hardwired… to Self-Destruct”, which dropped on November 18, 2016, Metallica exploded in popularity worldwide. During each month of the following year, Metallica was exceptionally present within the top 10 chart. Compared with spot 15 in 2016, Metallica leapt to No. 4 in 2017.
No. 7: Armin van Buuren – “The Best of Armin Only”
Dutch DJ and record producer Armin van Buuren managed to grab a well-earned spot among the top music artists for 2017 at No. 7. Although he didn’t release any studio albums, his compilation album, “The Best of Armin Only”, released on May 12, and his single “Sunny Days”, released on June 16, kept his popularity afloat.
No. 9: Coldplay – “Kaleidoscope”
Coldplay put on an excellent performance from month-to-month throughout the past year. With an average of around 28,000 P2P users sharing the English rock band’s music every day, Coldplay landed spot 9 in the top music artists chart of 2017. The band’s ongoing popularity is attributable to their thirteenth EP, “Kaleidoscope”, which was released on July 14, 2017.
NEW FACES AMONG 2017’S TOP ARTISTS:
By not releasing albums in the past year, former top spot holders like Adele, BrvndonP, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Kanye West and Beyoncé dropped completely from the top 10 music artists of 2017, with some of them as far behind as spot 20. However, some new artists have climbed up the charts to stand next to those remaining from last year!
No. 5: Lamar – “Damn”
Kendrick Lamar is the second American rap artist to get hold of one of the incredibly sought-after spots among the top music artists of 2017. In April he released “Damn”, instantly making him one of the most popular artists. As a result of this ever-increasing demand for his music throughout the year, Kendrick Lamar’s fans lifted him up to spot 5 – 15 ranks higher than in 2016.
No. 6: Pink Floyd – “The Early Years”
Although Pink Floyd hasn’t released a studio album in years, the legendary rock band managed to squeeze into the ranks of the top music artists 2017. Jumping seven spots up the ladder as compared with 2016, Pink Floyd landed at No. 6. Their unforeseen increase in popularity was most likely propelled by their compilation box set release, “The Early Years”, at the end of November 2016.
No. 8: The Weeknd – “Starboy”
The club of world-charting artists gained another member: The Weeknd, who worked hard to ensure spot 8, which is a big jump compared with his No. 12 ranking in 2016. At the end of 2016, he dropped his studio album “Starboy”, followed by three singles off the album in the following year. As a result of “Reminder” and “Rockin”, released in May, and “Die for You,” released in September, The Weeknd kept his fans downloading and sharing his music, which finally got him a ranking in the top music artists 2017.
No. 10: Linkin Park – “One More Light”
Nearly two months after their studio album “One More Light” was released in May, Linkin Park’s front man Chester Bennington tragically passed away, the news of which permeated online magazines and social media channels all over the world. As a result, the American rock band attracted a lot of attention. You may remember from our monthly list of the most popular artists for July 2017 that we had reported file sharing activity for Linkin Park’s music increased heavily and lifted them into spot 2 for July. Following the tragic news, increasing demand for songs from the alt-rock band propelled file sharing numbers even higher, pushing Linkin Park into spot 10 of the top music artists 2017.
No. 15: Luis Fonsi – “Despacito”
The Puerto Rican pop star Luis Fonsi should not go unmentioned when talking about the top music artists for 2017. Even though he’s not among the top 10 of the most popular music artists of 2017 – this artist made the whole world dance in the past summer! After dropping 2017’s song of the summer, “Despacito”, he steadily climbed his way up the charts throughout the summer months. Yet despite becoming a global superstar, Luis Fonsi did not manage to get into the rankings for the top music artists of 2017. Nevertheless, he did land close, at spot 15, which clearly shows his popularity the past year!
Are you curious how the top spot holders will develop in the future?
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Source: TECXIPIO PIC Definition: Number of file sharers: How many peers shared at least one file of the respective top music artist in 2017?