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Chart Beat

Drake Ranked No. 2 on Billboard's Top Artists of the 21st Century Chart

The Weeknd and Justin Bieber also rank in the top 10 of the new chart, which measures performance from the start of 2000 through the end of 2024. Find out which other Canadian artists made the mark here.

Drake

Drake

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Drake just earned a major distinction to start the year. The Toronto rapper has been ranked No. 2 on Billboard’s Top Artists of the 21st Century chart.

He falls just one spot behind Taylor Swift, who takes the top crown, and one above Rihanna at No. 3.


The just-released chart tallies the first 25 years of the 21st century, tabulating performance on the Billboard 200 albums chart and the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart from the start of 2000 through the end of 2024.

Drake is undoubtedly one of the biggest artists of the streaming era, setting multiple records for his near-unmatched popularity.

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Dating to his 2009 breakthrough, Drake dominated with 13 No. 1s on both the Billboard 200 albums chart and the Hot 100 No. 1 songs chart through the first 25 years of the century. The pop/hip-hop cornerstone also amassed a record 78 Hot 100 top 10s. In 2021, he became the first artist since The Beatles in 1964 to lock down the Hot 100’s top five in a single week.

Drake isn't the only Canadian artist achieving heights on the 21st century chart. His former friend/collaborator The Weeknd is at No. 6. Since he burst onto the Billboard charts in 2011, he's had four Billboard 200 No. 1 albums and seven Hot 100 No. 1 songs through the first 25 years of the century.

Justin Bieber also hits the top 10, coming in at No. 8. The Stratford, Ontario-born pop star has been a chart mainstay since his early teen years, ringing up eight No. 1s on both the Billboard 200 albums chart and the Hot 100 No. 1 songs chart through the first 25 years of the century. 2015’s Purpose spun off his first three Hot 100 leaders: “What Do U Mean?,” “Sorry” and “Love Yourself.”

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Other Canadians on the chart include rockers Nickelback (No. 26), Avril Lavigne (No. 47), Michael Bublé (No. 67) and Shawn Mendes (No. 91). Check out the full 100-entry Top Artists of the 21st Century chart here.

With files from Gary Trust and Billboard.com

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Canadian Government Introduces Canada Creative Credit to Support 'Artistic Production'
Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash
Business News

Canadian Government Introduces Canada Creative Credit to Support 'Artistic Production'

The Mark Carney government's new federal budget also confirms a $600 million investment to provide relief to the audiovisual sector for 2026-27, which was first announced in June.

Canada has built a new support for the creative sector into the new federal budget.

The Carney government's 2026 federal budget was tabled Thursday afternoon (Nov. 5), and it includes a new and forthcoming Canada Creative Credit, described as a tax relief "for Canadian artists to foster creativity, artistic production and cultural entrepreneurship." In a subsequent message posted to X, prime minister Mark Carney revealed that Canadian artists can benefit from an exception of up to $45,000.

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