These stars brought their A-game this year.
'Tis the season for year-end lists, and ETonline is breaking down the top music acts of 2014.
When it comes to ranking the year that was, who doesn't love a good list? Hey, we'll take any excuse to shower praise on Queen Bey! That said, who has time to read all these "best of" roundups? Luckily for you, we dove head first into the music biz's top lists so you don't have to. See which artists ruled the world in 2014, below.
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Beyonce: Facebook's Top Entertainer
Bey topped Pharrell Williams, Nicki Minaj, and Taylor Swift for the honor of Facebook's Top Entertainer in the U.S. Between her surprise album drop at Christmas last year, that infamous elevator scuffle between hubby Jay-Z and sister Solange, and a jaw-dropping Video Vanguard performance at the MTV Video Music Awards, there was plenty of fodder to chat about online.
Beyonce, "Drunk in Love": Rdio's Top Global Track
Of course it was.
Iggy Azalea, The New Classic: Rdio's Top Global Album
Gettin' "Fancy" from L.A. to Tokyo.
Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX, "Fancy": Most Streamed VEVO Video
What happens when you mix some ‘90s nostalgia with a catchy hook? Azalea’s Clueless-inspired music video for “Fancy” was the most-streamed VEVO video this year – and for good reason. Love the song or hate it, we were all at least a little bit curious to see Azalea’s take on Cher Horowitz. (For those of us who LOVED IT, we definitely watched more than once.) http://www.vevo.com/c/en/US/news/iggy-azalea-leads-vevos-top-10-music-videos-in-the-u.s.---2014
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Justin Bieber: Most Tweeted-About Artist
Bieber may not be the most followed celeb on Twitter, but people sure had a lot to say about the pop phenom this year.
Katy Perry: Twitter's Most Followed Artist
The KatyCats are in full-force on Twitter, with 61.7 million of them glued to her every word on the micro-blogging site. Coming in second is the Biebs, with 58 million followers, and Taylor Swift rounds out the top three with 48.7 million. The trio also falls into the same order when it comes to most followers gained over the last 12 months.
Ed Sheeran: Spotify's Most Streamed Global Artist
Now this is a pleasant surprise. While his buddy Taylor Swift unceremoniously pulled her entire catalogue from the streaming surface, Sheeran was kicking it and taking names as Spotify's most-streamed artist IN THE WORLD this year. His 2014 album x (pronounced 'multiply') was also Spotify's No. 1 album globally and in the U.S., while Eminem takes the prize for most-streamed artist stateside.
Sam Smith: MTV's Best Artist of 2014
Another British import having a banner year is newcomer Smith, who capped off his 2014 by tying Beyonce for the most GRAMMY nominations this year and with the title of MTV's Best Artist of the year. The 22-year-old former “Artist to Watch” was hand-selected by network executives based on his influence and pop culture impact.
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Luke Bryan: TouchTunes' Top Played Artist of the Year
What's more country than a good old fashioned jukebox? Bar patrons across the country were shakin' it to Bryan's hits all year long.
Brantley Gilbert, "Bottoms Up": TouchTunes' Top Played Song of the Year
Gilbert's call to action clearly resonated with party people in the states, but it’s worth noting that Katy Perry and Juicy J's "Dark Horse" was hot on its heels. "Bottoms Up" secured the honor of top played song overall, while "Dark Horse" was actually the top played track in 32 out of the 50 states.
One Direction, Where We Are Tour: Boxscore's Top Tour of 2014
The Brit boy band raked in more than $290 million with 69 shows in 2014. They are trailed by Justin Timberlake, The Rolling Stones, Eagles, and Katy Perry.
Coachella, Boxscore's Top Festival of 2014
The Indio, Calif. fest featuring a reunited OutKast, Arcade Fire, Pharrell Williams, Lorde, Lana Del Rey, and Ellie Goulding, among others, was the highest-grossing music festival of the year. With two weekends of shows, Coachella sold more than $78 million worth of tickets.
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Pharrell Williams, "Happy": Billboard’s No. 1 Hot 100 Song of 2014
Just when you thought you were free, get ready to get “Happy” stuck in your head all over again. The song beat “Dark Horse,” “All of Me,” “Fancy” and “Counting Stars” as Billboard’s top single of the year. http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2014/hot-100-songs
Karmin, Pulses: Billboard's Biggest Album Flop of 2014
These YouTube stars-turned-recording artists sold a measly 10,000 copies in first week sales in March (by comparison: that's less than half of what Robin Thicke's Paula sold in its first week), and had sold less than 30,000 copies by the end of the year. As Billboard notes, "One good thing about an album that flops this hard? It's almost like it never happened."
What was your favorite music moment of 2014? Hit the comments with your picks and join the conversation on Twitter using #ETnow.
Follow Sophie on Twitter: @SophieSchillaci
