Hello, everyone!
It’s Samantha!
From the King of Pop to Mother Monster, here are the Top Selling Digital Music Artists!
15.
The Weeknd
So far, the Weeknd has sold about forty-two million digital units, which includes downloads,
streams, and all other technological platforms.
This artist’s real name is Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, but we can see how “The Weeknd”
rolls off the tongue a little easier.
He was born in Canada in 1990.
The Weeknd released his first mixtape in 2011, titled House of Balloons.
While touring Toronto, he met Drake and began opening for the artist during his performances
at the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre.
His debut studio album, Kiss Land, came out in 2013.
His second record was released in 2015, titled Beauty Behind the Madness; it debuted at number
one on the Billboard 200.
Starboy dropped the next year, and its title song reached number one and platinum status
quickly in the United States.
So far, The Weeknd has taken home three Grammys for his work.
14.
Michael Jackson
One of the most iconic artists in history, Michael Jackson, is still a force in the music
industry even after his passing in June 2009.
He is only behind Elvis Presley and The Beatles as best-selling music artist of all time and
sold over three hundred fifty million records internationally.
Jackson also received the most awards out of any artist in popular music history.
Plus, he was inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame, Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame two times.
So, it probably isn’t too surprising that he’s still competing with the best of them
in the digital sales, at forty-two million units sold.
Jackson continues to influence musicians everywhere.
13.
Flo Rida
Also known as Tramar Lacel Dillard, this star was born in… you guessed it…
Florida!
He has sold over forty-nine million digital singles throughout his career but has yet
to win a Grammy.
You might not have known that Flo Rida has seven sisters, and the youngest is his twin.
He started out in the group GroundHoggz in ninth grade.
But, it wasn’t until 2008 that he released his solo debut album, Mail on Sunday.
His other records include Only One Flo (Part 1) and Wild Ones.
Flo Rida also came out with the EP My House in 2015, which made it to the number eight
spot on the Billboard Hot 100.
12.
Chris Brown
This one-time Grammy winner was born in Virginia in 1989.
He started out singing and dancing as a child and performed at his church and various talent
shows.
Brown was discovered at the age of thirteen by Hitmission Records, and he signed with
Jive Records in 2004.
His self-titled debut album came out in 2005 at the number two spot on the Billboard 200
chart.
Brown also dabbled in acting and made an appearance in The O.C. as a band geek.
His first film role was in Stomp the Yard in 2007, and he released Exclusive that same
year.
His other records include Fortune, X, and Heartbreak on a Full Moon.
Brown has sold around fifty million digital units to date.
Unfortunately, he hasn’t always gained attention for his success in the industry.
Most recently, Chris is in trouble for owning a monkey named Fiji with no permit.
11.
Ed Sheeran
Sheeran has sold around fifty-seven million digital singles according to the RIAA and
is a four-time Grammy winner.
This twenty-seven-year-old artist was born in England.
He started recording his music in 2004 and released his first project, Spinning Man,
that year.
But, it wasn’t until he released “The A Team” in 2011 that he garnered an immense
amount of recognition.
It was the lead single of his debut studio album, + , which dropped in September of the
same year.
His second record, x , came out in June 2014, which reached number one in the United States
and the United Kingdom.
It also made him New Zealand’s, the UK’s, and Ireland’s best selling iTunes artist.
You might not have known that Sheeran has written songs for other artists as well, including
“Love Yourself” for Justin Bieber in 2015.
After taking a year off from work and social media, he announced the release of his third
album, ÷ . It dropped in March 2017, and it debuted at the top of the charts in the
United States, UK, Australia, Germany, and Canada.
10.
Lady Gaga
This superstar got her start with her 2008 album The Fame.
Two singles from the record, “Poker Face” and “Just Dance,” topped the charts in
the United States.
The former became 2009’s best-selling single.
In 2011, Lady Gaga put out Born This Way, and the title track earned the Guinness World
Record for “fasted selling single on iTunes,” with over one million sales in five days.
Her other records include Artpop, Cheek to Cheek, and Joanne.
Plus, Gaga has become a successful actress.
She starred in the fifth season of American Horror Story as the owner of the hotel, Elizabeth
and took home a Golden Globe for “Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film.”
Lady Gaga also took a role in American Horror Story: Roanoke as the witch Scathach.
More recently, she played Ally in A Star Is Born alongside Bradley Cooper.
She has taken home six Grammy Awards for her work so far and sold approximately sixty-one
million digital units.
9.
Bruno Mars
You probably didn’t know that this star was only four years old when he joined his
family’s music group, The Love Notes, and spent five days a week performing with them.
Bruno became known as “Little Elvis” around his hometown of Honolulu because he would
impersonate the late singer.
But, it wasn’t until 2010 when Bruno was twenty-five that he released his first EP,
It’s Better If You Don’t Understand.
He released his first studio album the same year, titled Doo-Wops & Hooligans.
His other two records are called Unorthodox Jukebox and 24K Magic.
Bruno Mars has won a total of eleven Grammys so far and has sold over sixty-one million
digital singles.
8.
Maroon 5
This group originally formed in 1994 as Kara’s Flowers, but came together as Maroon 5 in
2001 after adding their lead guitarist, James Valentine.
They released Songs About Jane, their debut studio album, in 2002, which peaked at number
six on the Billboard 200 and eventually sold over ten million copies internationally.
They didn’t release their next record until 2007 after their original drummer, Ryan, left
the band due to medical issues.
This album sold four hundred thirty thousand copies its first week out.
Their newest album is Red Pill Blues, and one of its singles, “Girls Like You,”
was at number one for seven weeks in a row on the Billboard Hot 100.
Maroon 5 has sold around sixty-seven million digital units total.
7.
Kanye West
There is no denying this guy’s talent, and he’s been proving himself since started
out in 1996.
Kanye Omari West was born in Atlanta in 1977.
He initially got credit by producing eight songs on the rapper Grav’s Down to Earth
album.
But, it was in 2000 that he began producing for Roc-A-Fella Records’ artists and got
his big break.
However, he aspired to be a rapper, and after his involvement in a near-fatal car accident,
he released “Through The Wire” in 2003, the lead single from his 2004 debut album,
The College Dropout.
The record eventually reached triple platinum status.
Since then, West’s success has been proven time and time again through his other albums,
including 808s & Heartbreak, Yeezus, The Life of Pablo, and Ye.
He is a twenty-one-time Grammy winner and has sold sixty-eight million digital units.
6.
Justin Bieber
This heartthrob was born in Ontario in 1994 and got his start in music early-on when he
was just thirteen years old.
After being discovered by Scooter Braun, who worked for So So Def Recordings, he signed
with Island Records in 2008 and moved to Atlanta, Georgia with his mother to further his career.
Bieber released the My World EP in 2009, and it was eventually platinum certified in the
United States.
His debut studio album, My World 2.0, came out in March 2010 at the top of the US Billboard
200 chart.
Bieber’s other records include 2012’s Believe and 2015’s Purpose.
Plus, this talented artist has sold over sixty-nine million digital units, according to the RIAA.
Bieber has one Grammy for “Best Dance Recording” for the Jack U collaboration “Where Are
U Now.”
5.
Katy Perry
Born Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson in 1984, she began performing at church at the age of nine
until she was seventeen.
In March 2001, she put out her first album, a gospel work called Katy Hudson.
However, the record only sold about two hundred copies.
She didn’t release her second studio album until 2008, which is titled One of the Boys.
The lead single from the record was “I Kissed a Girl,” which garnered Perry a lot of attention.
Many people believed the song was about Scarlett Johansson, but Katy noted it was about a girl
she met at seventeen.
Whatever the case, she has sold a total of ninety-nine million digital units so far.
More recently, she’s gained recognition by judging alongside Luke Bryan and Lionel
Richie on the American Idol reboot.
Surprisingly, Perry has yet to win a Grammy.
4.
Eminem
Eminem, also known as Marshall Mathers III, was born in 1972 in St. Joseph, Missouri.
When he was a kid, his mom traveled between his home state and Michigan; so, he spent
most of his childhood and teenage years in a neighborhood in Detroit.
Many of the kids on their block bullied and beat him up because he and his mother were
one of the three white families in the area.
Eminem began rapping at just fourteen years old, but it wasn’t until 1996 that he released
his first studio album titled Infinite.
His debut record wasn’t very successful; he started gaining recognition with the Slim
Shady EP, especially after it ended up with the Interscope Records CEO Jimmy Iovine.
He played it for Dr. Dre, who became immediately interested.
After signing with the label, Eminem released The Slim Shady LP in 1999, and it quickly
became one of the most popular albums, gaining triple platinum status by the time 2000 rolled
around.
Since then, he has put out numerous chart-topping records, including Encore, Recovery, and Kamikaze.
Eminem has won fifteen Grammys throughout his career so far.
3.
Taylor Swift
At one hundred twenty million digital units sold, Taylor Swift is a force to be reckoned
with, and she was born in Reading, Pennsylvania in 1989.
Her self-titled debut album dropped in October 2006.
Since then, she’s released several more, including Fearless, Speak Now, and Reputation.
Over the course of her career, she switched genres from country to pop, citing 1989 as
her first pop record.
Swift has taken home ten Grammy Awards for her work.
But, she’s dabbled in acting as well.
Did you know that T-Swift made her acting debut in an episode of CSI in 2009?
She also played Felicia in 2010’s Valentine’s Day and voiced Audrey in The Lorax in 2012.
2.
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty was born in Saint Michael, Barbados and has remained one of the most
sought-after artists since she stepped onto the scene in 2003.
It was during that year that she caught the attention of Evan Rogers, a record producer,
after auditioning for him with two of her friends.
Her debut single, “Pon de Replay,” was released in May 2005, and her first studio
album, Music of the Sun, came out three months later.
As of today, she has sold one hundred twenty-five million digital units and is a nine-time Grammy
winner.
Rihanna hasn’t only been successful in music, however.
She is also a businesswoman and fashionista who has made her mark in the worlds of cosmetics
and lingerie.
Her makeup line is called Fenty Beauty, which launched in 2017.
Her products are made for people of all skin colors, and TIME magazine named her brand
one of “The 25 Best Inventions of 2017.”
Rihanna also has a lingerie line called Savage X Fenty, which was revealed during New York
Fashion Week in September 2018.
1.
Drake
This artist is currently the best selling concerning digital music with around one hundred
forty-two million units sold.
He was born in Toronto in October 1986, and his full name is Aubrey Drake Graham.
He started his career out as an actor when he was fifteen years old in Degrassi: The
Next Generation, an angsty teenage drama series.
Drake didn’t release his first studio album until June 2010 titled Thank Me Later.
His other records include Nothing Was the Same and Scorpion.
The latter broke numerous streaming records and contains the chart-topping singles “God’s
Plan” and “In My Feelings.”
He is also a three-time Grammy winner.
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