Ed Sheeran performs at the Victoria’s Secret fashion show on Dec. 2 in London.Image: Samir Hussein/Getty Images Ed Sheeran has won the world over, claiming the throne as Spotify‘s most-streamed artist this year, with 860 million listens in the 58 global markets where the service is available. The English singer-songwriter held off stiff competition from Eminem, who is Spotify’s all-time most-popular musician, Coldplay, Calvin Harris and Katy Perry. Perry, next year’s Super Bowl halftime show performer, dethroned Rihanna to become the top female. On Perry’s tail were Ariana Grande, Lana Del Rey, Beyoncé and Lorde. Sheeran’s sophomore studio album, x, also earned the title of top-streamed album, with 430 million streams since debuting at no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 200 chart in June. He beat out Sam Smith, Iggy Azalea, Pharrell Williams and Grande. Meanwhile, over on rival Rhapsody, Sheeran was absent from the service’s top global artists, as Eminem, Drake, Katy Perry, Beyoncé and Rihanna came out on top in 2014. Musicians’ streaming stats have become more important than ever in terms of their success on Billboard charts. Billboard and Nielsen announced last month that they would alter the Billboard 200 albums chart to now include audio streaming data to rank the top albums, while also taking into account physical sales and paid downloads of albums and tracks. However, streaming services are also embroiled in controversy over artist royalties. Here’s a breakdown of the best of the best on Spotify: Top five global artists 1. Ed Sheeran 2. Eminem 3. Coldplay 4. Calvin Harris 5. Katy Perry Top Five Global Males 1. Ed Sheeran 2. Eminem 3. Calvin Harris 4. Avicii 5. David Guetta Top five global females 1. Katy Perry 2. Ariana Grande 3. Lana Del Rey 4. Beyoncé 5. Lorde Top five global groups 1. Coldplay 2. Imagine Dragons 3. Maroon 5 4. OneRepublic 5. One Direction Top five global tracks 1. “Happy” – Pharrell Williams 2. “Rather Be” (feat. Jess Glynne) – Clean Bandit 3. “Summer” – Calvin Harris 4. “Dark Horse” – Katy Perry 5. “All of Me” – John Legend Top five global albums 1. x – Ed Sheeran 2. In The Lonely Hour – Sam Smith 3. The New Classic – Iggy Azalea 4. Girl – Pharrell Williams 5. My Everything – Ariana Grande Top five global viral tracks 1. “Take Me To Church” – Hozier 2. “Gooey” – Glass Animals 3. “Ojos Color Sol” – Calle 13 4. “Coffee” – Sylvan Esso 5. “Hey Mami” – Sylvan Most streamed artists in the U.S. 1. Eminem 2. Drake 3. Kanye West 4. Lana del Rey 5. Ariana Grande Most streamed tracks in the U.S. 1. “Fancy” – Iggy Azalea 2. “Dark Horse” – Katy Perry 3. “Happy” – Pharrell Williams 4. “Problem” – Ariana Grande 5. “All of Me” – John Legend Most streamed albums in the U.S. 1. x – Ed Sheeran 2. The New Classic – Iggy Azalea 3. In The Lonely Hour – Sam Smith 4. Native – OneRepublic […]
In a series of YouTube videos, 20-year-old Anthony Harrison shares his battle with cancer and his wish to meet Katy Perry before he dies. Harrison explains in his videos that after an ineffective bone-marrow transplant, the doctors told him “there’s not much they can do,” and gave him months to live. Harrison created a YouTube bucket list that includes activities such as skydiving, taking a helicopter ride and riding in a hot air balloon. His list also included one very special item: to meet his “celebrity idol,” Katy Perry. Harrison, a musician himself, is a fan of Katy and says that she seems like “a great person overall.” The singer’s fanbase, the “Katy Kats” have latched on to the video and used Twitter and Tumblr to send the message to Katy herself. trend #KatyMeetAnthony he has cancer & his dream is to meet @katyperry & he only has a few months left to live, please! — Brooke Bennett (@brookeloveskaty) July 8, 2012 Katy Perry dedicated tumblr, iheartkatyperry, posted the video (which currently has 12,758 views) and is quickly attracting reblogs. Reddit user OliverBoj also posted the video to Reddit with the comment “If he’s real, he’ll appreciate the support. If he’s fake, we’ll leave that to 4Chan” — in reference to questions over the video’s authenticity. OliverBoj also posted these photos from Harrison’s Facebook in an effort to substantiate Harrison’s story. Katy Cats and supporters of Harrison are currently tweeting #KatyMeetAnthony in an attempt to catch the singer’s attention. Image courtesy of flickr, Eva Rinaldi Celebrity and Live Music Photographer window._msla=window.loadScriptAsync||function(src,id){if(document.getElementById(id))return;var js=document.createElement(‘script’);js.id=id;js.src=src;document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0].parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}; _msla(“//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”,”twitter_jssdk”); Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/07/08/katy-perry-cancer/
Katy Perry has found an era that suits her perfectly — Victorian. The pop star went retro-chic in a visually stunning music video for power ballad “Unconditionally,” the second single from her “Prism” album. There are gowns, snow, pearls, flower petals, an owl, underwater scenes and a bed on fire — so nothing really out of the ordinary for Perry. Yes, unconditional love sometimes feels like being hit by a car… Or being on fire… How does it feel to you? — Katy Perry (@katyperry) November 20, 2013 The singer recently told MTV that this music video would be a departure from her other videos because it “doesn’t have a complete narrative.” “I usually have quite a big story line,” she said. “This time I wanted to give a lot of gorgeous, beautiful looks, which I don’t usually go for. But it’s mostly just a beautiful video that is supposed to evoke this power of love.” Mission accomplished, Katy. Image: Tumblr, iheartkatyperry Image: Tumblr, iheartkatyperry Image: Tumblr, myhouse-myrules-mypleasure Image: Tumblr, sttifler04 Perry also released a lyric video for the song in October, featuring models Janell Shirtcliff and Erika Linder. BONUS: 14 Ways Katy Perry Can Help You Take Life Less Seriously 14 Ways Katy Perry Can Teach You To Take Life a Little Less Seriously 1. Don’t stress over minor wardrobe malfunctions. Image: Tumblr katyperryphotos1 2. Dance like everyone’s watching, and like everyone thinks you’re an amazing dancer. Image: Tumblr fuck-adriannaa 3. Eat more cupcakes. Image: Tumblr musicvideogifs 4. Simplify your beauty routine and fill your new free time with funny cat videos. Image: Tumblr suckgifs 5. Invest as much time in your friendships as you do your ambitions. Image: Tumblr tigershout 6. Smile when you feel it — you never have to smile because someone tells you to. Image: Tumblr you-choose-which 7. Remember that almost any problem can be solved with a hot shower. Image: Tumblr jasmiinneee 8. If you’re embarrassed by some ridiculous thing you did, think of all the people who make a living that way. Image: Tumblr fuckyouigotohogwarts 9. Try something new, even if think you’ll fail. Image: Tumblr katycat9684 10. Don’t get hung up on other people’s expectations for your life. Image: Tumblr destinychange 11. If you’re over-thinking, draw a mustache on something that traditionally doesn’t have a mustache. It’s a tension breaker. Image: Tumblr mvgifs 12. Throw on an unusual outfit and don’t worry what others will think, concentrate on how it makes you feel. Image: Tumblr hello-katy 13. Don’t worry about how you look in every picture. Funny photos will be more entertaining to look back at than one that’s perfectly posed. Image: Tumblr romimahomie45 14. Make this face, preferably in the mirror. If the action of smiling makes you feel happier, this will make you feel like your problems will work themselves out. Image: Tumblr iheartkatyperry Read more: http://mashable.com/2013/11/20/katy-perry-unconditionally-video/
