American singer Britney Spears has released nine studio albums, eight compilation albums, nine box sets, three extended plays (EPs), 50 singles, 11 promotional singles, two charity singles, and has made three guest appearances. In 1997, Spears signed a recording contract with American record label Jive Records in order to launch her career.
"Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", also known as simply "Let It Snow", is a song written by lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne in July 1945 in Hollywood, California, during a heatwave as Cahn and Styne imagined cooler conditions. The song was first recorded that fall by Vaughn Monroe, was released just after Thanksgiving, and became a hit by Christmas.
Irish boy band Westlife have released twelve studio albums, sixteen video albums, one live album, three karaoke albums, thirty-eight singles, twenty-one promotional singles, nine compilation albums and fifty-four music videos. Formed on 3 July 1998, the group was made up of singers Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, and Brian McFadden. The band was signed under Simon Cowell, Clive Davis, and Jordan Jay and under record labels' BMG, S Records, Arista Records, Sony BMG, Syco Music, Sony Music Entertainment and RCA Records from 1998 to 2012 and currently on Universal Music Group and Virgin EMI Records from 2018. The last four members remained active until their last live concert performance in the Europe's third largest stadium Croke Park on 23 June 2012 and have reunited on 3 October 2018 for new music and tour. Based on the British Phonographic Industry certifications, the group have sold more than 32 million records and videos in the United Kingdom alone across their 20-year career–8.8 million singles, 12.5 million albums and 1.5 million videos. Their biggest selling album is their first Greatest Hits compilation, followed by Coast to Coast, with seven of their albums selling one million copies or more. Their biggest selling video is "Where Dreams Come True", which has sold 240,000 copies to date.
"Take a Bow" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna for Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded (2008), the re-release of her third studio album Good Girl Gone Bad (2007). The song was written and produced by Tor Erik Hermansen, Mikkel Eriksen, and Shaffer Smith under their stage names StarGate and Ne-Yo. "Take a Bow" was released as the first single on April 15, 2008 by Def Jam Recordings, from the re-release and the fifth single overall from the two releases. It is a pop and R&B song that contains elements of dance-pop. Critical reception of "Take a Bow" was mixed, with some critics praising the song's lyrics and powerful balladry, while others criticized StarGate's production as unoriginal.
English singer-songwriter Adele has released four studio albums, one video album, two extended plays, 17 singles and eleven music videos. Adele has sold over 72 million in pure album sales and over 100 million in album equivalent units worldwide over four studio albums and one video album as of December 2021. She was named the best-selling album artist of the 2010s decade in the US and worldwide. She has also sold over 100 million in single sales with total sales records over 170 million as of December 2021. She also became the best-selling female artist of the 21st century in the UK. Her album 21 became the best-selling album of the 21st century.
"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" is a popular Christmas song written in 1963 by Edward Pola and George Wyle. It was recorded and released that year by pop singer Andy Williams for his first Christmas album, The Andy Williams Christmas Album. However, the song was not released as a promotional single by Williams' record label that year, as they instead opted to promote his cover of "White Christmas" as the official promo single from the album. "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" has consistently made it onto pop singles charts around the world in the 2010s and 2020s. It peaked at No. 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 2020 and at No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart in 2021.
"Impossible" is a song by Barbadian singer Shontelle. It is the lead single from her second studio album, No Gravity (2010). The song was written by Arnthor Birgisson and Ina Wroldsen, and produced by Birgisson. It was released digitally on February 9, 2010. "Impossible" peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, number 33 in Canada, number nine in the United Kingdom and number five in Denmark.
"Rolling in the Deep" is a song by English singer-songwriter Adele from her second studio album, 21 (2011). It is the lead single and opening track on the album. The song was written by Adele and Paul Epworth. The singer herself describes it as a "dark blues-y gospel disco tune". In 2011, it was reportedly the biggest crossover hit in the United States since 1985; "Rolling in the Deep" gained radio airplay from many different radio formats. It was released on 29 November 2010 as the lead single from 21 in digital download format. The lyrics describe the emotions of a scorned lover. The song's official MV uploaded to YouTube on 30 November 2010 has accumulated over 2.58 billion views and 13 million "Likes" as of 19 October 2024, similar to that of Adele's another hit Someone Like You released 10 months later, which Adele considered as having changed her life.
"Set Fire to the Rain" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Adele for her second studio album, 21 (2011). The song was written by Adele and Fraser T. Smith while the production was handled by the latter. It became Adele's third consecutive US number-one single from 21 and reached the top ten in most of other foreign markets. It is a pop power ballad with lush instrumentation and a swelling string arrangement, in contrast to the understated production of most songs on the album. The song has received acclaim from various critics with many complimenting on Adele's vocals. "Set Fire to the Rain" was voted by readers of Billboard as their favorite number one hit of 2012. Though no official music video was released for the song, a live performance from the DVD Live at the Royal Albert Hall was uploaded to video-sharing website YouTube. This rendition won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards.
"Another Love" is a song by English singer-songwriter Tom Odell, released in October 2012 as his debut single and lifted from his debut extended play, Songs from Another Love (2012). It serves as the first single on his debut studio album Long Way Down (2013).
"Sweater Weather" is a song by American alternative band the Neighbourhood. The song was written by group members Jesse Rutherford, Zach Abels and Jeremy Freedman, and was produced by Justyn Pilbrow. It serves as the lead single from their debut studio album, I Love You (2013). "Sweater Weather" reached number one on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart in June 2013, logging eleven non-consecutive weeks at the summit of the chart. Pentatonix covered the song for their 2018 album Christmas Is Here! with an accompanying music video. The song was also covered by Kurt Hugo Schneider, Alyson Stoner, and Max S in 2014. In mid-to-late 2020, the song experienced a resurgence in popularity due to it being used on the social media platform TikTok. The song gained over 5 million on-demand streams on Spotify within the month of November 2020. As of 10 January 2025, the song is the 7th most streamed on Spotify. In late 2023, for the 35th anniversary of Alternative Airplay, Billboard ranked the song as the 15th-most successful in the chart's history.
"Timber" is a song by American rapper Pitbull featuring American singer Kesha. The song was released on October 7, 2013, as the lead single from Pitbull's extended play (EP) Meltdown. The song was produced by Dr. Luke, Cirkut, and Sermstyle, with additional production by Nick Seeley. The song interpolates Lee Oskar's 1978 single "San Francisco Bay" and features harmonica player Paul Harrington, who plays through the entire song and was told to emulate Oskar.
"Without Me" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his fourth studio album The Eminem Show (2002). "Without Me" was released on May 13, 2002, as the lead single from the album, and re-released on his greatest hits compilation album Curtain Call: The Hits (2005). "Without Me" is one of Eminem's most successful singles, reaching number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and number one in fifteen countries.
"Shape of You" is a song by English singer Ed Sheeran. It was released on 6 January 2017 as one of the double lead singles from his third studio album ÷ (2017), along with "Castle on the Hill". The dancehall & R&B infused song was written by Sheeran, Steve Mac and Johnny McDaid. Due to its interpolation of "No Scrubs" by TLC, Kandi Burruss, Tameka "Tiny" Cottle, and Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs are also credited as writers. The song was produced by Sheeran and Steve Mac.
"Believer" is a song by American pop rock band Imagine Dragons. The song was released on February 1, 2017, through Interscope Records and Kidinakorner as the lead single from the band's third studio album, Evolve (2017). It was written by Dan Reynolds, Wayne Sermon, Ben McKee, Daniel Platzman, Justin Tranter and its producers Mattman & Robin.
"Something Just Like This" is a song by American electronic music duo the Chainsmokers and British rock band Coldplay. It was released on February 22, 2017, as the second single from the former's debut album Memories...Do Not Open and as the lead single of the latter's Kaleidoscope EP.
The Global Recording Artist of the Year is an award presented by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) to honor the year's commercially best-performing musician, based on global album-equivalent units earned, which includes music downloads, streaming and physical sales. It has been awarded every year since January 2014, starting with the British boy band One Direction, who won the accolade for 2013. American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift is the biggest winner of the accolade, having won four times—in 2014, 2019, 2022, and 2023.
