We have all heard what the yesteryear brought and some of us did not like it. Apart from the music industry straying back to mainstream traditional pop, we all saw how the genres of R&B and Rock were put to aside to lead the way to Indie and EDM. I have already done the most influential artists/bands of 2014, but what is the difference between influential and successful - $$$. Artists like Miley Cyrus, Eminem and Lady Gaga can be influential even without releasing a single hit during a year, as they have a cult following. However, the crossover princess of country, Taylor Swift is once again numero uno on this list, as she earned her big bucks during 2014. At a close second is Pharrell Williams whose smash hit broke records worldwide, but his followup singles failed to gain the same recognition. So let's see who gobbled a piece of that cash pie last year:
- Taylor Swift
I doubt she ever believed that crossing over to mainstream pop
was the best choice she ever made in her career. While her breakups have inspired most of her
songs her fifth album 1989 released last year takes a look at her own
downfalls. The album sold more copies in its opening weekend than any album in
the preceding decade and became the best selling album of 2014. Her singles
Shake It Off and Blank Space both reached the top at the Billboard Hot 100 and
the top 10 in most countries while her third single Style reached No.6.
- Pharrell Williams
Following his success in 2013 being featured on Daft Punk’s
Get Lucky and Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines, Pharrell went on to release an
album titled G I R L in 2014 which peaked at No.2 on the Billboard 200 and No.1
in UK, Australia, France, Denmark etc. His song Happy from the Despicable Me 2
soundtrack served as the lead single of the album and peaked in almost all the
countries it charted and was the year-end number 1 in the US, UK, Australia
etc. and is one of the best selling singles of all time.
- Sam Smith
He first came into prominence after being featured on
Disclosure’s breakthrough single Latch and subsequently being featured on Naughty Boy’s
global hit La La LA. Thereafter, he won 2014 BRIT Critics’ Choice Award and
BBC’s Sound of 2014. His debut album In the Lonely Hour peaked in the top 10
worldwide and No.1 and No.2 in the UK and US. His second single Money on My
Mind reached No.1 in the UK whilst his third single Stay With Me became his
most successful hit to date reaching the top 10 in most countries and reaching
No.1 in UK and No.2 in the US. His follow-up singles I’m Not The Only One and
Like I Can were also global hits.
- Ed Sheeran
While by 2014 he was not new to the music scene, as his debut
album + was already a success, his second album x proved to be a bigger success
charting at No.1 in 12 countries including the UK and the US. The first three
singles Sing, Don’t and Thinking Out Loud were global hits with the first and third
single reaching No.1 in the UK and Don’t becoming his first song to reach the
top 10 in the US.
- Ariana Grande
She became a teen idol after being featured on the Nickelodeon
series Victorious and its spin-off Sam & Cat. While her debut album was also
a hit in 2013, her second album My Everything surpassed it in 2014. The album
reached the top in the US and the top 10 in most countries. The lead single
Problem ft. Iggy Azalea was a global hit which was followed by two others in
2014, Break Free ft. Zedd and Love Me Harder ft. The Weeknd. She was also a
part of the global hit collaboration Bang Bang with Jessie J and Nicki Minaj.
- Iggy Azalea
Being plagued with label issues did not prevent Iggy from
releasing a successful album. Her debuted studio album The New Classic took
some time to be released, but when it did, it reached No.3 in the US and No.5 in
the UK. Her fourth hit from the album Fancy ft. Charli XCX became No.1 in the
US, New Zealand and Canada and reached No.5 in the UK. Her follow-up single
Black Widow ft. Rita Ora was also a global hit. She was also featured in Ariana
Grande’s chart topper Problem and also T.I.’s No Mediocre and Jennifer Lopez’s
Booty.
- Pitbull
He is the most sought after artist to be featured with. You
can guarantee a hit with one of his verses. At the end of 2013 his extended
play Meltdown was released which spawned the global dance hit Timber ft. Kesha.
Timber was a hit in a few countries in 2013 but was a worldwide smash hit in
2014 reaching No.1 in the US, Canada, Germany etc. His eighth studio album
Globalization spawned the hit singles Wild Wild Love ft. G.R.L., Fireball ft.
John Ryan, Time of Our Lives with Ne-Yo and the official 2014 FIFA World Cup
song We are One (Ole Ola) ft. Jennifer Lopez and Claudia Leitte.
- Meghan Trainor
She found success in her revival of the doo-wop style of music
and her debut single All About That Bass was one of the best selling singles of
2014. It spent eight consecutive weeks atop the US Billboard Hot 100 and 4
weeks atop the UK chart. It was also a global success reaching the top 10 in
almost all countries. She thereafter released her debut EP Title which spawned
her next hit Lips Are Movin’. It too followed in the footsteps of Bass and
peaked within the top 10 internationally.
- 5 Seconds of Summer
Gaining a small following in 2012 with cover versions of
popular songs on YouTube, the band went big in 2014 with their debut single She
Looks So Perfect. The song topped the charts in the UK, Australia, Ireland and
New Zealand. Their follow-up singles Don’t Stop, Amnesia and Good Girls were
also global hits with Amnesia reaching the top 20 in the US. Their self-titled
debut studio album was a chart topper in the US, Spain, Italy, Australia etc.
and peaking at No.2 in the UK.
- Maroon 5
While the band is definitely not new to commercial success
2014 also proved yet another year to make money. While the band announced their upcoming fifth studio album V, it was preceded by the hit single Maps.
The song reached the top 10 in almost all countries. V debuted at No.1 on the US
Billboard 200 and spawned the hit single Animals thereafter which peaked at
No.3 in the US and No.2 in Canada.
Honourable
Mentions
- Katy Perry
- Nicki Minaj
- Calvin Harris
- Ella Henderson
- David Guetta
- Cheryl Cole
- Robin Schulz
- Beyonce
- George Ezra
- One Direction
Till the next chord…
At Ease!!!
(All
images used in the posts unless otherwise mentioned are drawn from https://images.google.com/ and the author
does not hold copyright over the photos used.)
