It’s Official: Drake Dethrones Adele As World’s Best-Selling Artist

Aubrey Drake Graham has been named the best-selling recording artist of 2016 by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), dethroning popular British singer Adele.

The Canadian star is the fourth recipient of the IFPI’s Global Recording Artist of the Year Award, which accounts for an artist’s worldwide sales in both physical and digital formats as well as streams.

He managed to achieve that millions of sales and billions of streams with his fourth album, Views, which topped the charts around the world.

A statement issued on Wednesday by Frances Moore, IFPI chief executive, read:

“Views became the first album to reach one billion streams on Apple Music, while ‘One Dance’, the album’s second single, was the first song to be played one billion times on Spotify.”


“Drake’s phenomenal success reflects how deeply his unique sound appeals to the enormous global audience.”

In the UK, Drake’s single One Dance topped the charts for 15 weeks, nearly beating the all-time record, held by Bryan Adams’ (Everything I Do) I Do It For You.

However, Views only ended the year as the country’s eighth best-selling album, behind Little Mix’s Glory Days and Adele’s 25 – which took the top spot for the second year in a row.

In Germany, the world’s third-biggest music market, the album was only the year’s 100th best-seller.

While Drake is certainly thankful for all his success in 2016, the Toronto rapper is focused on making 2017 even bigger.