Adele, Carly Rae Jepsen earn spots on best-of lists
One Direction is tops, says MTV
Adele's album 21 was once again the year's top-selling album, according to music service iTunes, but Call Me Maybe singer Carly Rae Jepsen and British boy band One Direction have also landed on several musical year-end lists.
Mission, B.C.’s Jepsen had the year's top-selling track on iTunes with her ubiquitous hit, though the company did not release sales figures. MTV agreed with the statistic, naming Call Me Maybe its song of the year, but chose One Direction as its artists of the year.
Selected Billboard picks
Best artists of 2012:
- Adele
- Rihanna
- Taylor Swift
- Drake
- Justin Bieber
Best new artists of 2012:
- One Direction
- Carly Rae Jepsen
- Gotye
- The Wanted
- Ellie Goulding
Meanwhile, over at Billboard, Adele reigns atop the best-artists list, while Canadians Drake and Justin Bieber made the music industry trade magazine's top five.
Billboard picked One Direction as its best new artists, with Jepsen coming second for her infectious Call Me Maybe and burgeoning pop career. Gotye, The Wanted and Ellie Goulding rounded out the new-artists tally.
Jepsen's breakout year
Jepsen, 27, has ridden a wave of attention since fellow Canadian Bieber promoted the Call Me Maybe video to his millions of Twitter followers and introduced her to his record label.
The B.C. singer has since toured with him, as well as release a new album, Kiss, that exploits her new status as a pop star.
She is No. 15 on Billboard’s 2012 best-artists list and eighth on its list of Hot 100 artists. In October, Billboard named her its rising star of the year.
Adele continues winning run
British singer Adele was the star of the Grammys Awards in February, taking home six awards on the strength of her album 21.
Released in early 2011, the album extended its winning run into a second year as the top-selling record on iTunes. In 2012, it outsold newer releases like Taylor Swift’s Red and Babel by Mumford & Sons, according to iTunes.
Adele also landed both Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe Award nominations this week for her sultry James Bond theme song Skyfall, making her a strong contender in the best song category during Hollywood's awards season.
She joins two other female superstar singers atop the Billboard list: Rihanna placed second and Swift third. Toronto rapper Drake earned a spot at No. 4 while Stratford, Ont.'s Bieber is in fifth place.
Teen favourite One Direction
One Direction is the British boy band that came together for Simon Cowell’s TV reality competition The X Factor. Having built a following among teen girls, the boys had a strong debut with their 2011 album Up All Night.
It was among 2012's top five bestselling albums on iTunes, though its follow-up Take Me Home also moved many copies, making One Direction a "clear choice" for artist of the year at MTV.
The group — comprising singers Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson — also made veteran broadcaster Barbara Walters' list of the most fascinating people of 2012.
