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Drake, The Weeknd and Justin Bieber Among Canadians on IFPI’s Biggest-Selling Global Artists List in 2025
The organization represents the recorded music industry worldwide and releases its IFPI Global Artist Chart annually to recognize the biggest-selling artists of the previous calendar year — combining streaming, downloads and physical formats in every country with data sourced directly from over 8,000 participating record labels.
While pop star Taylor Swift holds down the No. 1 spot — for the fourth year in a row — Drake and The Weeknd come in at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively. Rounding out the top 20 is Bieber, who re-enters the ranking for the first time since 2021.
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The IFPI’s figures are converted using a unique methodology to form a single, global chart ranking that covers an artist’s entire discography, not exclusive to new material released in the calendar year.
Top 20 IFPI Global Artist Chart 2025
Drake celebrated last year's Valentine’s Day with a bang, releasing $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, an R&B collaborative album with PARTYNEXTDOOR. The record spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart, spawning some of the rapper’s catchiest hits, including the bombastic “Nokia,” which livened up the streets of Toronto and took off on social media — but only peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100. It marked Drake's first full-length release since his beef with Kendrick Lamar in 2024.
Later in the year, Drizzy teased his forthcoming record Iceman, with charting singles “What Did I Miss?”, “Which One” featuring U.K. rapper Central Cee and “Dog House” featuring Yeat and 2025’s Billboard Canada Global Rising Star, Julia Wolf.
Between the last two global artist rankings, Drake has shifted from No. 2 to No. 3, but maintaining a spot in the top five is a major feat for the Toronto rapper.
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One spot down, The Weeknd rises to No. 4 on this year’s ranking, following a spot at No. 7 the previous year. The Scarborough native kicked off the year with Hurry Up Tomorrow, the third and final installment of his After Hours/Dawn FM trilogy. The album became the first new release of the year to hit No. 1 on the Canadian Albums chart, marking the seventh chart-topping release for the artist, who reportedly will now go by his birth name, Abel Tesfaye.
The biggest single from Tesfaye’s album was “Timeless,” featuring Playboi Carti, a track that performed live as the R&B singer made his Grammys comeback last year. Despite peaking at No. 4 on the Canadian Hot 100, the soaring track represents the sole Canadian entry on IFPI’s top-selling Global Singles chart at No. 17, moving 0.94 billion units. That list is topped by Bruno Mars and Rosé’s No. 1 single “APT.”
The R&B singer spent the majority of the year on the road, touring the trio of albums across the globe and became one of the biggest tours of 2025. In his home country, he set a record for performing the most shows by a Canadian male artist at Toronto’s Rogers Centre last August. Over two weekends, he completed four sold-out dates at the venue.
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Hurry Up Tomorrow ranks at No. 14 on IFPI’s Global Albums chart, right behind Tate McRae’s So Close to What at No. 13 — the album that scored the pop star her first No. 1 album in her home country and recently climbed back to No. 2 following the deluxe release. Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl claims the No. 1 spot on IFPI’s ranking after breaking multiple records in Canada.
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Five years later, Bieber is back. After landing a spot on the ranking four years ago — presumably due to the success of 2021’s Justice — the pop and R&B singer dealt with a series of personal issues, releasing a dribble of singles over the last four years.
Last summer, everything changed. Bieber surprise-dropped his seventh studio album, Swag, in July. Leaning into the singer’s pop and R&B roots, the project prioritizes experimental production and instrumentation. The album hit the charts in a big way — landing the No. 1 spot on the Canadian Albums chart and scoring 17 entries on the Canadian Hot 100, including “Daisies” and “Yukon.” Two months later, he followed it up with Swag II.
Bieber has continued to ride the album’s momentum, reportedly securing the highest payout for a Coachella headliner, receiving four Grammy nominations and most recently, taking the stage at the ceremony with a captivating, stripped-back performance — that only took 15 minutes to rehearse.
Find the full ranking of IFPI’s lists here.
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