Top 25 Canadian Digital Songs by Decade

From the 1960s, the top 25 Canadian artist digitally downloaded songs from that decade. Digital downloads began being tracked in 2005. Data from Nielsen / Billboard to end of 2016. More on the Canada 150 charts here.  More charts…

1960s

1 Steppenwolf BornTo Be Wild
2 Steppenwolf Magic Carpet Ride
3 The Band The Weight
4 Guess Who These Eyes
5 Joni Mitchell Both Sides Now
6 Leonard Cohen Suzanne
7 The Band Up On Cripple Creek
8 Irish Rovers The Unicorn
9 The Band The Night They Drove Old Dixie
10 Gordon Lightfoot Early Mornin’ Rain
11 Gordon Lightfoot Canadian Railroad Trilogy
12 Guess Who No Time
13 Stompin’ Tom Connors Bud The Spud
14 Anne Murray Snowbird
15 Stompin’ Tom Connors Sudbury Saturday Night
16 Steppenwolf The Pusher
17 Robert Charlebois Lindberg
18 Guess Who Undun
19 Gordon Lightfoot Song ForA Winter’s Night
20 Guess Who Laughing
21 Irish Rovers The Black Velvet Band
22 Hank Snow I’ve Been Everywhere
23 RobertCharlebois Les Ailes D’un Ange
24 Guy Lombardo Auld Lang Syne
25 Irish Rovers The Orange And The Green

1970s

1 Neil Young Heart Of Gold
2 Neil Young Old Man
3 Trooper We’re Here For A Good Time (Not A Long Time)
4 Stompin’ Tom Connors The Hockey Song
5 Trooper Raise A Little Hell
6 Gordon Lightfoot The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzge
7 Gordon Lightfoot Sundown
8 Guess Who American Woman
9 Bachman-Turner Overdrive You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet
10 Gordon Lightfoot If You Could Read My Mind
11 Bachman-Turner Overdrive Takin’ Care Of Business
12 Rush CloserTo The Heart
13 Trooper The Boys In The Bright White s
14 Stampeders Sweet City Woman
15 Neil Young Cinnamon Girl
16 Joni Mitchell Big Yellow Taxi
17 April Wine Tonite Is A Wonderful time to
18 Rush The Spirit Of Radio
19 Guess Who No Sugar Tonight /New Mother Nature
20 Chilliwack Fly At Night
21 Neil Young Hey Hey, MyMy (Into The Black
22 Nick Gilder Hot Child In The City
23 Bachman-Turner Overdrive Let It Ride
24 April Wine You Could Have Been A Lady
25 Neil Young Southern Man

1980s

1 Bryan Adams Summer Of ‘69
2 Tragically Hip New Orleans Is Sinking
3 Leonard Cohen Hallelujah
4 Blue Rodeo Try
5 Rush Tom Sawyer
6 Bryan Adams Heaven
7 Alannah Myles Black velvet
8 Tragically Hip Blow at high dough
9 Neil Young Rockin’ In The Free World
10 Tragically Hip 38 Years Old
11 Loverboy Turn Me Loose
12 Corey Hart Sunglasses At Night
13 Kim Mitchell Patio Lanterns
14 Loverboy Working For The Weekend
15 Glass Tiger Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone)
16 Bryan Adams Run To You
17 Jeff Healey Band Angel Eyes
18 Bryan Adams Cuts Like A Knife
19 Tom Cochrane & Red Rider Big League
20 Rush Limelight
21 Kim Mitchell Go For Soda
22 Harlequin Innocence
23 Tragically Hip Boots Or Hearts
24 Aldo Nova Fantasy
25 Cowboy Junkies Sweet Jane

1990s

1 Sarah Mclachlan Angel
2 Tom Cochrane Life Is A Highway
3 Celine Dion My Heart Will Go On
4 Bryan Adams Everything I Do, I Do For You
5 Spirit Of The West Home For A Rest
6 Tragically Hip Wheat Kings
7 Shania Twain Man! I Feel Like A Woman!
8 Tragically Hip Bobcaygeon
9 Sarah Mclachlan I Will Remember You
10 Neil Young Harvest Moon
11 Tragically Hip Ahead By A Century
12 Blue Rodeo Lost Together
13 Barenaked Ladies If I Had $1,000,000
14 Celine Dion Because You Loved Me
15 Shania Twain Any Man Of Mine
16 Alanis Morissette You Oughta Know
17 Alanis Morissette Ironic
18 Great Big Sea Ordinary Day
19 Shania Twain You’re Still The One
20 Celine Dion The Power Of Love
21 Barenaked Ladies One Week
22 Great Big Sea When I’m Up (I Can’t Get Down)
23 Chantal Kreviazuk Feels Like Home
24 Blue Rodeo Hasn’t Hit Me Yet
25 Blue Rodeo 5 Days In May

2000s

1 Hedley Perfect
2 K’naan Wavin’ Flag
3 Nickelback Burn It To The Ground
4 Nickelback Rockstar
5 Deadmau5 Ghosts ‘N’ Stuff
6 Hedley For The Nights I Can’t Remember
7 Finger eleven Paralyzer
8 Nickelback Gotta Be Somebody
9 Karl Wolf Africa
10 Hedley Cha-Ching
11 Michael Buble Haven’t Met You Yet
12 Avril Lavigne Girlfriend
13 Down With Webster Your Man
14 Down With Webster Whoa Is Me
15 Nelly Furtado feat. Timbaland Promiscuous
16 Nickelback If Today Was Your Last Day
17 Marianas Trench All To Myself
18 Kardinal Offishall Dangerous
19 Nickelback Photograph
20 Marianas Trench Cross My Heart
21 Drake feat. Eminem, Kanye West Forever
22 Daniel Powter Bad Day
23 Feist 1234
24 Billy Talent Rusted From The Rain
25 Michael Buble Home

2010s

1 Robin Thicke feat. T.I. & Pharrell Blurred Lines
2 Carly Rae Jepsen Call Me Maybe
3 Classified feat. David Myles Inner Ninja
4 Justin Bieber Love Yourself
5 Justin Bieber Sorry
6 Hedley Kiss You Inside Out
7 The Weeknd Can’t Feel My Face
8 Magic! Rude
9 Justin Bieber feat. Nicki Minaj Beauty And A Beast
10 Drake Feat. Wizkid & Kyla One Bance
11 Justin Bieber Boyfriend
12 Serena Ryder Stompa
13 Drake feat. Majid Jordan Hold On, We’re Going Home
14 Martin Solveig & Dragonette Hello
15 The Weeknd The Hills
16 Justin Bieber What Do You Mean?
17 Simple Plan Summer Paradise
18 Young Artists For Haiti Wavin’ Flag
19 Justin Bieber Feat. Big Sean As Long As You Love Me
20 Drake Hotline Bling
21 Shawn Mendes Stitches
22 Drake feat. Rihanna Take Care
23 Kiesza Hideaway
24 Justin Bieber feat. Ludacris Baby
25 The Weeknd Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Grey)

Top 100 Singles of 2002 in Canada (Unofficial)

From the Niesen SoundScan charts, we have created a Top 100 singles in Canada for the year 2002. It is important to note that it is unofficial.

This chart does not represent radio airplay but strictly the week to week sales of CD singles in Canada. As a number of them continued to sell well for many years, we have excluded singles released prior to 2001 for the chart below. Note that a number of popular songs on the radio were not released as singles, availability was limited, or Canadians opted to buy the full album rather than the single. Thus, take this chart with a grain of salt. It is a snapshot view of the relative popularity of CD single purchases through the calendar year of 2002. We determined the rankings by a points system, taking each weekly Top 40 position, subtracting it from 41, and tallying the results. For example, if a song was in the Top 40 for two weeks in the year, first at #1 and then #31, its points would be 41-1+41-31=50.

From this, we can say that Faith Hill had the biggest song of 2002 (again in terms of CD singles sales) with “There You’ll Be” which was featured in the soundtrack for Hollywood blockbuster film Pearl Harbour starring Kate Beckinsale and Ben Affleck. The top Canadian artist song was “Hero” by Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger. It was featured in motion picture Spider-Man. Sixteen of the Top 100 are from Canadians. We have bolded the artists’ names in red. More charts…

RANK	TITLE	ARTIST
1	There You’ll Be	Faith Hill
2	Hero	Chad Kroeger
3	Hot in Herre	Nelly
4	Rapture	IIO
5	Canadian Man-Hockey	Paul Brandt
6	Stuck in a Moment	U2
7	Heaven	DJ Sammy
8	Murder on the Dance Floor	Sophie Ellis-Bextor
9	Without Me	Eminem
10	Hindu Times	Oasis
11	Girlfriend	NSYNC
12	Hands Clean	Alanis Morissette
13	Just Like a Pill	Pink
14	Days Go By	Dirty Vegas
15	Gotta Get Thru This	Daniel Bedingfield
16	By the Way	Red Hot Chili Peppers
17	Hero	Enrique Iglesias
18	Soulbreaking	The Tea Party
19	Electrical Storm	U2
20	Knives Out	Radiohead
21	In My Place	Coldplay
22	Moment Like This/B4 Your Love	Kelly Clarkson
23	I Won’t Be Home For Christmas	Blink-182
24	A Little Less Conversation	Elvis vs. JXL
25	I Need a Girl	P. Diddy
26	Where’s Your Head At	Basement Jaxx
27	Love at First Sight	Kylie Minogue
28	Everyday	Bon Jovi
29	Super Sex World	One Ton
30	A New Day Has Come	Celine Dion
31	Whenever Whereever	Shakira
32	What It Feels Like For a Girl	Madonna
33	Somebody Like You	Keith Urban
34	Baby’s Got a Temper	The Prodigy
35	Insatiable	Darren Hayes
36	Don’t Say Goodbye	Paulina Rubio
37	Ketchup Song	Las Ketchup
38	In Your Eyes	Kylie Minogue
39	Revolution	Stone Temple Pilots
40	Cry	Faith Hill
41	Points of Authority	Linkin Park
42	Life Goes On	Leann Rimes
43	Greatest View	Silverchair
44	Stop Crying Your Heart Out	Oasis
45	Bring It Home	Swollen Members
46	Die Another Day	Madonna
47	Just a Friend	Mario
48	Precious Illusions	Alanis Morissette
49	Pyramid Song	Radiohead
50	Little by Little	Oasis
51	All Rise	Blue
52	Star Guitar	Chemical Brothers
53	I Am Mine	Pearl Jam
54	Nothing Could Come Between Us	Theory of a Deadman
55	Hey Sexy Lady	Shaggy
56	O Canada	Fabian/Foster
57	I’m Gonna Getcha Good	Shania Twain
58	Whatchulookinat	Whitney Houston
59	A Sorta Fairytale	Tori Amos
60	Surrender	Laura Pausini
61	Dirrty	Christina Aguilera
62	Prayer	Disturbed
63	Uh Huh	B2K
64	Underneath Your Clothes	Shakira
65	What’s Your Flava	Craig David
66	Hard to Explain/NYC Cops	The Strokes
67	Eternal Flame	Atomic Kitten
68	My Friends Over You	New Found Glory
69	Zephyr Song	Red Hot Chili Peppers
70	Elevation	U2
71	Radio	Mark Farina
72	Through the Rain	Mariah Carey
73	Movin’ On	Boomtang Boys
74	Always on Time	Ja Rule
75	Jenny from the Block	Jennifer Lopez
76	Your Song	Elton John ft. Alessandro Safina
77	Dilemma	Nelly
78	Thoughtless	Korn
79	From a Lover to a Friend	Paul McCartney
80	Marry Me	Amanda Marshall
81	Help Me	Nick Carter
82	It’s Over	Tuuli
83	Get the Party Started	Pink
84	Like I Love You	Justin Timberlake
85	Home and Dry	Pet Shop Boys
86	I Want Love	Elton John
87	Landslide	Dixie Chicks
88	I’ve Been Waiting for You	David Bowie
89	Legal	Snow
90	U Got It Bad	Usher
91	Survivor	Destiny’s Child
92	Wanderland	Kelis
93	Stillness of Heart	Lenny Kravitz
94	Wherever You Will Go	The Calling
95	You Rock My World	Michael Jackson
96	Feel It Boy	Beenie Man
97	Complicated	Avril Lavigne
98	In My Memory	Tiesto
99	Come Into My World	Kylie Minogue
100	Drowning	The Backstreet Boys

 

Top 100 Singles of 2001 in Canada (Unofficial)

From the Niesen SoundScan charts, we have created a Top 100 singles in Canada for the year 2001. It is important to note that it is unofficial.

As a number of singles continued to sell well for many years, for this 2001 chart, we removed songs released prior to 2000 with the exception of Delerium’s “Silence” (1999) as it grew in popularity from a number of remixes over the period. This chart does not represent radio airplay but strictly the week to week sales of CD singles in Canada. A number of popular songs on the radio were not released as singles, availability was limited, or Canadians opted to buy the full album rather than the single. Thus, take this chart with a grain of salt. It is a snapshot view of the relative popularity of CD single purchases through the calendar year of 2001. We determined the rankings by a points system, taking each weekly Top 40 position, subtracting it from 41, and tallying the results. For example, if a song was in the Top 40 for two weeks in the year, first at #1 and then #31, its points would be 41-1+41-31=50.

From this, we can say that Destiny’s Child had the biggest song of 2001 (in terms of CD singles sales) with “Survivor”. The top Canadian artist song was Delerium’s “Silence” featuring Sarah McLachlan followed closely by Sugar Jones’ “Days Like That”. Eleven of the Top 100 are from Canadians. We have bolded the artists’ names in red. More Charts…

RANK	TITLE	ARTIST
1	Survivor	Destiny’s Child
2	Elevation	U2
3	Lady/Hear Me Tonight	Modjo
4	What It Feels Like For a Girl	Madonna
5	Pop	NSYNC
6	Sandstorm	Darude
7	S*** On You	D12
8	Silence	Delerium
9	Days Like That	Sugar Jones
10	Pyramid Song	Radiohead
11	Music	Madonna
12	Don’t Tell Me	Madonna
13	One More Time	Daft Punk
14	Fill Me In	Craig David
15	Walk On	U2
16	Knives Out	Radiohead
17	Desert Rose/Brand New Day	Sting
19	Let’s Get Married	Jagged Edge
20	O Canada	Fabian/Foster
21	South Side	Moby
22	Beautiful Day	U2
23	Independent Woman	Destiny’s Child
24	Get Over Yourself	Eden’s Crush
25	Bootylicious	Destiny’s Child
26	Astounded	Bran Van 3000
27	Dream On	Depeche Mode
28	Butterfly	Crazy Town
29	Played-A-Live	Safri Duo
30	Love Doesn’t Cost a Thing	Jennifer Lopez
31	Shape of My Heart	The Backstreet Boys
32	Hampsterdance Song	Hampton the Hampster
33	Around the World	ATC
34	Money	Jelleestone
35	Hero	Enrique Iglesias
36	Feel the Beat	Darude
37	Lovin’ Each Day	Ronan Keating
38	All For You	Janet Jackson
39	No Means No	Ricky J
40	Thank You	Dido
41	I Want Love	Elton John
43	You Rock My World	Michael Jackson
44	I Won’t Be Home For Xmas	Blink-182
45	Whiter Shade of Pale	Sarah Brightman
46	Nobody Wants to Be Lonely	Ricky Martin
47	Stuck in a Moment	U2
48	Loverboy	Mariah Carey
49	Crystal	New Order
50	It Began in Afrika	Chemical Brothers
51	I’m Real	Jennifer Lopez
52	Jaded	Aerosmith
53	Play	Jennifer Lopez
54	I Don’t Believe In You	Joee
55	Someone to Call My Lover	Janet Jackson
56	New Year’s Dub	Musique Vs. U2
57	Liquid Dreams	O-Town
58	It’s Raining Men	Geri Halliwell
59	Where the Party At?	Jagged Edge
60	Itch	Vitamin C
61	L’amour Toujours	Gigi D’Agostino
62	All or Nothing	O-Town
63	He Loves U Not	Dream
64	H*** Pipe	Weezer
65	In a Beautiful Place…	Boards of Canada
66	From a Lover to a Friend	Paul McCartney
67	Relax	Keoki
68	It’s Over Now	One Twelve
69	Fiesta	R. Kelly
70	Little L	Jamiroquai
71	Jonathan David	Belle & Sebastian
72	Rapture	IIO
73	B.O.B.	Outkast
74	Completely	Serial Joe
75	And Then There Was Silence	Blind Guardian
76	Hit ‘Em Up Style	Blu Cantrell
77	Slave 4 U	Britney Spears
79	Imitation of Life	R.E.M.
80	U Remind Me	Usher
81	She Bangs	Ricky Martin
82	He Wasn’t Man Enough	Toni Braxton
84	Lady Marmalade	Christina Aguilera
85	Castles In the Sky	Ian Van Dahl
86	Only Time	Enya
87	Get UR Freak On	Missy Elliott
88	Star Spangled Banner	Whitney Houston
90	Stutter	Joe
91	Music’s No Good…	Cher
92	Drowning	The Backstreet Boys
93	Receiver	New Deal
94	Romeo	Basement Jaxx
95	Holler/Let Love Lead…	The Spice Girls
96	Pigin Poetry	Bjork
97	Everybody Wants to Be…	Snow
98	Emotions	Destiny’s Child
99	I Feel Loved	Depeche Mode
100	Irresistible	Jessica Simpson

BLACK

Nielsen Year-End Report

Nielsen Music has released a year-end report for 2016. Now we have the actual numbers of album and tracks sales. You can read the whole report here. Some highlights below. Total consumption refers to full albums purchased (whether digital or physical) plus track equivalent albums (10 tracks is equivalent to 1 album) and streaming equivalent albums (1,500 streams is equivalent to 1 album). 

TOP ALBUMS BY TOTAL CONSUMPTION

1. Views by Drake, 457,000 units
2. 25 by Adele, 266,000 units
3. Purpose by Justin Bieber, 240,000 units
4. Blurryface by Twenty-One Pilots, 172,000 units
5. Starboy by The Weeknd, 171,000 units
6. Anti by Rihanna, 170,000 units.
7. This Is Acting by Sia, 169,000 units.
8. Encore un soir by Celine Dion, 140,000 units.
9. Lemonade by Beyoncé, 138,000 units.
10. Collage by The Chainsmokers, 136,000 units.

TOP ALBUMS BY SALES

1. Views by Drake, 196,000 copies
2. 25 by Adele, 196,000 copies
3. Encore un soir by Celine Dion, 134,000 copies
4. You Want It Darker by Leonard Cohen, 106,000 copies
5. Hardwired to Self-Destruct by Metallica, 103,000 copies
6. Lemonade by Beyoncé, 101,000 copies
7. Purpose by Justin Bieber, 92,000 copies
8. Starboy by The Weeknd, 79,000 copies
9. Yer Favourites by The Tragically Hip, 75,000 copies
10. Blurryface by Twenty-One Pilots, 73,000 copies

TOP DIGITAL SONGS

1. Cheap Thrills by Sia, 367,000
2. 7 Years by Lukas Graham, 326,000
3. One Dance by Drake, 323,000
4. I Took a Pill in Ibiza, 303,000
5. Can’t Stop the Feeling by Justin Timberlake, 293,000
6. Stressed Out by Twenty-One Pilots, 283,000
7. Closer by The Chainsmokers, 276,000
8. My House by Flo Rida, 271,000
9. Love Yourself by Justin Bieber, 258,000
10. Cake by the Ocean by DNCE, 244,000

The 2016 Canadian Invasion

A number of Canadian artist singles made it onto 2016’s year-end charts in various countries. Not all countries have charts and only some who have them formulate annual ones. We looked at charts in the major Anglo country markets (Canada itself, the USA, UK, and Australia) and at Japan which is #2 in the world. In Canada itself, 32 of the Top 100 for the year were by or featured a homegrown artist. This is a new record in Canadian chart history. In the USA, there are 26 Canadian artist entries, 16 in the UK, and 14 in Australia. In Japan where, obviously, Japanese language songs are preferred, four songs from two Canuck label-mates made it into the year-end Top 100.

In the table below, you can see all Canadian artist songs that made it into at least one of the charts in the five countries. Canadian artists had the #1 song of the year in three of them (and all 3 are different songs). Canadians preferred Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” (they are stereotyped as being polite), while Americans went for “Love Yourself” (they are typecast as having narcissistic tendencies). The Brits favoured Drake’s “One Dance” (perhaps they’re asking for one more dance with Europe pre-Brexit) which was the top Canadian entry on the Australian chart at #2. Aussie artist Flume’s “Never Be Like You” which features Kai was 4th of the year down under. “One Dance” and “Treat You Better” were the most agreed upon in the four countries where they made the charts, as the positions were quite comparable. “Work” by Rihanna featuring Drake was a much bigger hit in the States (#4) than in Australia (#40). Carly Rae Jepsen continues to sweep the Japanese off their feet. “Call Me Maybe”, now over five years old, still made it onto the 2016 year-end chart. “I Really Like You” finished 6th in 2015 and squeaked into the 2016 chart as well (#95).

2016’s Biggest Canadian Hits, Both English and French

The most successful Anglo Canadian song of 2015 was “Sorry” by Justin Bieber which peaked at #1 on the weekly Billboard Canadian Hot 100 and was the biggest song of the year overall. This is the second time since the debut of the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 that a Canadian citizen has topped the year-end chart. Dual citizen Robin Thicke accomplished this in 2013 with “Blurred Lines”. Nine of the 2016 year-end Hot 100 songs that involved Canadian artists peaked at #1 on the weekly charts either in 2016 or 2015. Thirty-two songs involving Canadians made the year-end Top 100 songs which is a record, surpassing 31 in 1996. A number of the 32, however, had Canadians as featured artists. In addition, 24 songs involving Canadians made the weekly Top 40 through the year making for a total of 56 Canadian artist hit singles of 2016.

No Franco song appeared on the Hot 100 through the year. Ten Canadian artist Franco songs made the CKOI year-end Top 50 which we list below. Tops was Les Cowboys Fringants’ “Marine marchande”.

HY = Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart position
HW = Billboard Hot 100 weekly charts, peak position
CY = CKOI year-end Top 50 chart position

2016 Franco Hits

TITLE	ARTIST	CY
Marine marchande	Les Cowboys Fringants	6
M’aimerais-tu pareil	2Frères	13
Belle Montrealaise	Sam Harvey	15
Pas plus que ça	Gabrielle Goulet	24
33 tours	2Frères	29
Plaroid	Alex Nevsky	33
Black Black Heart	David Usher ft. Marie-Mai	38
Octobre	Les Cowboys Fringants	43
Liberte	Groenland	46
Crier tout bas	Coeur de Pirate	48

2016 Anglo Hits

TITLE	ARTIST	HY	HW
Sorry	Justin Bieber	1b	1a
Love Yourself	Justin Bieber	2	1
One Dance	Drake	4	1
Work	Rihanna ft. Drake	13	1
Cold Water	Major Lazer ft. Justin Bieber	18	1
What Do You Mean?	Justin Bieber	19b	1a
Treat You Better	Shawn Mendes	23	7
Hotline Bling	Drake	25b	3a
Too Good	Drake	26	9
Wild Things	Alessia Cara	27	14
Let Me Love You	DJ Snake ft. Justin Bieber	31	4
Starboy	The Weeknd	32	1
Can’t Feel My Face	The Weeknd	36b	1a
The Hills	The Weeknd	39b	1a
Stitches	Shawn Mendes	43b	10a
Lost Boy	Ruth B	46	14
Never Be Like You	Flume ft. Kai	51	21
2 Heads	Coleman Hell	54b	15a
Controlla	Drake	66	27
In the Night	The Weeknd	67	12a
Low Life	Future ft. The Weeknd	72	25
Pop Style	Drake	76	19
Spirits	The Strumbellas	77	23
Here	Alessia Cara	79b	19
Luv	Tory Lanez	82	28
I Know What You Did…	Shawn Mendes/C. Cabello	86	19
Fireproof	Coleman Hell	89	30
Lay You Down Easy	Magic!	90	36
Lose Control	Hedley	91	37
Where Are U Now	Skrillex/Diplo/Bieber	92b	5a
Might Not	Belly ft. The Weeknd	93	28
Hello	Hedley	94	20a
Party Monster	The Weeknd		8
Fake Love	Drake		10
Summer Sixteen	Drake		12
Scars to Your Beautiful	Alessia Cara		14
Sidewalks	The Weeknd		14
Used to This	Future ft. Drake		17
Hallelujah	Leonard Cohen		17
Sneakin’	Drake		20
Six Feet Under	The Weeknd		20
No Shopping	French Montana ft. Drake		25
Rockin’	The Weeknd		25
Bobcaygeon	The Tragically Hip		27
Secrets	The Weeknd		27
6 Inch	Beyonce ft. The Weeknd		31
Hype	Drake		31
With You	Drake ft. PartyNextDoor		32
True Colours	The Weeknd		32
False Alarm	The Weeknd		33
Grammys	Drake		34
Die For You	The Weeknd		35
Still Here	Drake		37
All I Know	The Weeknd		38
9	Drake		39
A Lonely Night	The Weeknd		40

a – Weekly peak achieved in 2015
b – Also made year-end Hot 100 of 2015

LINKS

More Charts…

The Most Successful Canadian Singles of 2016

A total of 32 songs involving domestic artists made the year-end Billboard Canadian Hot 100 in 2016. This sets a new record in the history of the Canadian charts, one that had remained unbroken for 20 years since RPM’s year-end for 1996 which held the record at 31. In 1996, Alanis Morissette had both the #1 and #2 songs of the year for “You Learn” and “Ironic” respectively. Justin Bieber repeats her accomplishment in 2016 with “Sorry” and “Love Yourself” at #1 and #2 of the year. Last year, 2015, saw only 21 Canadian artist singles in the year-end top 100.

The table immediately below shows all songs by domestic artists that made the year-end Billboard Canadian Hot 100 with their position on the chart. Because a number of these songs were cross-overs from 2015, we have included the positions for those in the year-end chart for 2015. Also, find the weekly chart peak position of these songs and the year it reached the peak (either 2015 or 2016). We have also included all Canadian artist tracks that peaked within the weekly Top 40 of the Hot 100 through 2016 but didn’t make the year-end Top 100. Note that a number of these, still on the weekly charts, will reach new peak positions in 2017.

We have also listed any current Gold/Platinum certification levels achieved by the songs (these may receive higher certifications in the future). Those that haven’t received certifications have either not reached the numbers or the artist’s team hasn’t submitted applications for them through the Music Canada program. Later in 2016, the program, in the new Single Award, began including streaming data into the qualifications at the rate of 150 streams equivalent to 1 unit sold. That is in addition to digital downloads or any CD single sales. Gold is 40,000 units; platinum 80,000; double platinum 160,000, triple platinum 240,000; etc.

Because Franco songs have a tough time reaching the chart as they do not receive broadcast-wide airplay, we have included any songs that made the Hot 100 (non-Top 40). This year, Céline Dion’s “Encore un soir” was the only song to achieve this, making it to #92. Below the first table is a second listing all French language Canadian artist songs that made the year-end Top 50 at radio network CKOI. The good folks over there have published year-end Top 50 charts since 1976. The chart includes both Anglo and Franco (and occasionally Allo) tracks and both foreign and domestic ones. You can click on the tables to enlarge them and see the text more clearly.

The Most Successful 2016 Canadian Albums

The only Canadian album released in 2016 to be certified multiplatinum by the end of the year was Celine Dion’s Encore un soir (double platinum). Highest up on the Billboard year-end albums chart was Drake’s Views at #3. Eight Canadian albums released in 2016 hit #1 on the weekly charts. Below are two tables. The first in a list of all 2016 albums that received gold/platinum certifications by the end of the year, appeared on the year-end Billboard chart, or made the Top 5 of the weekly charts. The second table has all 2016-released albums that peaked at #6 to #10 on the weekly charts. Note that only albums released in 2016 are included. There were a number of albums released in previous years (especially 2015) that appeared on the weekly and year-end charts for 2016. A number of the 2016 albums will no doubt continue to sell in 2017 and may receive higher gold/platinum certification in the future. Thirty-five 2016 Canadian artist albums made the weekly Top 10 in the Billboard Canadian Albums chart. Sarah McLachlan’s Christmas record Wonderland did not make the Top 10 but managed to go gold through steady sales over a number of weeks.

2016 CKOI Year-End Top 50

Montreal radio station CKOI has published a year-end Top 50 chart annually since 1976. It includes international songs as well as both Canadian Anglo and Franco songs. While the latter have a tough time making it onto the national charts, the CKOI chart gives us a good idea of the most popular Franco songs by year. Of all the year-end charts, this one is the most inclusive offering a very balanced presentation. There is greater variety of genres with pop, rock, dance, R&B, folk, soul, and even country. Because of this and other factors, you may find on the chart international Anglo songs that are absent from English language radio playlists. It has been a tough year for Franco music in France, as Anglo music, due to materialistic forces, has taken over the charts in the country. Canada, and the province of Quebec in particular, has more effective legislation to protect music from such interests. The top Canadian Franco song of 2016 on the chart is Les Cowboys Fringants’ “Marine marchande” at #6 overall. In classic radio style, let’s count them down from #50 to #1. Canadian artists are bolded in red. Of the 50, 18 involve Canadian artists.

50. Send My Love, Adele
49. Let It Go, James Bay
48. Crier tout bas, Coeur de Pirate
47. Cold Water, Major Lazer ft. Justin Bieber
46. Liberté, Groenland
45. Don’t Wanna Know, Maroon 5
44. Just Like Fire, P!nk
43. Octobre, Les Cowboys Fringants
42. My Way, Calvin Harris
41. Fireproof, Coleman Hell
40. That Love, Shaggy
39. Daniella Denmark, Jonathan Roy
38. Black Black Heart, David Usher ft. Marie-Mai
37. Adventure of a Lifetime, Coldplay
36. 24K Magic, Bruno Mars
35. Starboy, The Weeknd
34. Willing to Die, Gin Wigmore
33. Polaroid, Alex Nevsky
32. The Greatest, Sia
31. Ride, Twenty One Pilots
30. Hymn for the Weekend, Coldplay
29. 33 tours, 2Frères
28. Broken Arrows, AVICII
27. My House, Flo Rida
26. Can’t Stop the Feeling, Justin Timberlake
25. I Took a Pill in Ibiza, Mike Posner
24. Pas plus que ça, Gabrielle Goulet
23. Come, Jain
22. Honest Song, Ryan Kennedy
21. Can I Get a Witness, SonReal
20. Castle in the Snow, The Avener
19. Spirits, The Strumbellas
18. Way Down We Go, Kaleo
17. Love Yourself, Justin Bieber
16. Speeding Cars, Walking on Cars
15. Belle Montrealaise, Sam Harvey
14. Make Up, R. City
13. M’aimerais-tu pareil, 2Frères
12. Cake by the Ocean, DNCE
11. Human, Rag’n’Bone Man
10. Heathens, Twenty One Pilots
9. This Girl, Kungs
8. Faded, Alan Walker
7. Lost on You, LP
6. Marine marchande, Les Cowboys Fringants
5. Catch & Release, Matt Simons
4. Don’t Be So Shy, Imany
3. The Sound of Silence, Disturbed
2. 7 Years, Lukas Graham
1. Cheap Thrills, Sia

Billboard Canada 2016 Top Artists by Radio Format

	ALL-FORMAT	CHR
1	Justin Bieber	Justin Bieber
2	Adele	Drake
3	Twenty One Pilots	Alessia Cara
4	Alessia Cara	Twenty One Pilots
5	Shawn Mendes	The Chainsmokers
6	The Weeknd	Selena Gomez
7	Coleman Hell	Adele
8	DNCE	The Weeknd
9	Drake	Coleman Hell
10	Justin Timberlake	Hedley

	HOT AC	AC
1	Adele	Adele
2	Justin Bieber	Justin Bieber
3	Hedley	DNCE
4	Twenty One Pilots	P!nk
5	DNCE	Justin Timberlake
6	Shawn Mendes	Lukas Graham
7	P!nk	Taylor Swift
8	Justin Timberlake	Charlie Puth
9	Coleman Hell	Hedley
10	Meghan Trainor	Shawn Mendes

	ROCK	COUNTRY
1	Wintersleep	Keith Urban
2	Cage the Elephant	Luke Bryan
3	The Struts	Carrie Underwood
4	Kaleo	Florida Georgia Line
5	Twenty One Pilots	Tim McGraw
6	Red Hot Chili Peppers	Blake Shelton
7	The Strumbellas	Thomas Rhett
8	Monster Truck	Jason Aldean
9	Arkells	Eric Church
10	Blink-182	Dallas Smith

Billboard Canada’s Top 50 of 2016 at Country Radio

You’ll have to scroll down quite a bit to find a Canadian artist on Billboard Canada’s year-end country airplay chart. Tops was Eric Church’s “Record Year”. Dallas Smith had the most played song by a Canadian; “One Little Kiss” was 30th overall. Eleven of the Top 50 were by Canadian acts representing only 17.6% of the total spins. This is the lowest percentage by far among all radio formats. The 11 is down from 14 Canuck tunes in 2015. Canadian artists are bolded in blue in the list below. The data was collected between the dates of December 5, 2015 and November 26, 2016.

	TITLE	ARTIST	PLAYS
1	RECORD YEAR	Eric Church	20,486
2	DIFFERENT FOR GIRLS	Dierks Bentley	18,940
3	YOU LOOK LIKE I NEED A DRINK	Justin Moore	18,782
4	SNAPBACK	Old Dominion	18,638
5	MAKE YOU MISS ME	Sam Hunt	18,399
6	CONFESSION	Florida Georgia Line	18,078
7	BREAK ON ME.	Keith Urban	18,064
8	WASTED TIME	Keith Urban	17,877
9	T-SHIRT	Thomas Rhett	17,793
10	HUMBLE AND KIND	Tim McGraw	17,636
11	H.O.L.Y.	Florida Georgia Line	17,572
12	HEAD OVER BOOTS	Jon Pardi	17,040
13	CHURCH BELLS	Carrie Underwood	16,995
14	HUNTIN’, FISHIN’, LOVIN’…	Luke Bryan	16,979
15	AMERICAN COUNTRY LOVE SONG	Jake Owen	16,945
16	WE WENT	Randy Houser	16,690
17	DRUNK ON YOUR LOVE	Brett Eldredge	16,436
18	I LIKE THE SOUND OF THAT	Rascal Flatts	16,346
19	CAME HERE TO FORGET	Blake Shelton	16,302
20	SOMEWHERE ON A BEACH	Dierks Bentley	16,064
21	HOMEALONE TONIGHT	Luke Bryan	15,760
22	DIE A HAPPY MAN	Thomas Rhett	15,710
23	BEAUTIFUL DRUG	Zac Brown Band	15,420
24	THINK OF YOU	C. Young/C. Pope	15,262
25	PETER PAN	Kelsea Ballerini	15,150
26	HEARTBEAT	Carrie Underwood	14,861
27	MY CHURCH	Maren Morris	14,815
28	IT DON’T HURT LIKE IT USED TO	Billy Currington	14,658
29	LIGHTS COME ON	Jason Aldean	14,477
30	ONE LITTLE KISS	Dallas Smith	14,468
31	LAWN CHAIR LAZY	James Barker Band	14,207
32	SETTING THE WORLD ON FIRE	Kenny Chesney	14,184
33	CASTAWAY	Zac Brown Band	14,100
34	YOU SHOULD BE HERE	Cole Swindell	13,809
35	MOVE	Luke Bryan	13,799
36	NOISE	Kenny Chesney	13,758
37	I HATE YOU FOR IT	Chad Brownlee	13,302
38	PICK ME UP	Brett Kissel	13,246
39	SHOT OF GLORY	Washboard Union	13,244
40	GOOD KINDA LOVE	Jojo Mason	12,959
41	TAKE ME HOME	Jess Moskaluke	12,866
42	FIX	Chris Lane	12,841
43	STOMPIN’ GROUND	Tim Hicks	2,816
44	I LOVE THIS LIFE	LoCash	12,681
45	LOVE WOULD BE ENOUGH	Dean Brody	12,663
46	HEARD YOU IN A SONG	Gord Bamford	12,571
47	HEARTS ON FIRE	Chad Brownlee	12,542
48	NOBODY TO BLAME	Chris Stapleton	12,447
49	SHE’S GOT A WAY WITH WORDS	Blake Shelton	12,393
50	COME ON DOWN	High Valley	12,205

Billboard Canada’s Top 40 of 2016 at Rock Radio

Halifax’s Wintersleep topped the rock radio year-end Billboard Canada chart with “Amerika” which received 19,724 spins in 2016, about 3000 ahead of the #2 track. Fifteen of the Top 40 were by Canadian acts representing 38.5% of the total spins. The 15 is up from 12 Canuck tunes in 2015. Canadian artists are bolded in green in the list below. The data was collected between the dates of December 5, 2015 and November 26, 2016.

	TITLE	ARTIST	PLAYS
1	AMERIKA	Wintersleep	19,724
2	DARK NECESSITIES	Red Hot Chili Peppers	16,716
3	BORED TO DEATH	Blink-182	15,187
4	AFRAID OF HEIGHTS	Billy Talent	14,738
5	PUSH + PULL	July Talk	14,135
6	MESS AROUND	Cage The Elephant	13,268
7	DITMAS	Mumford & Sons	13,207
8	SAINT CECILIA	Foo Fighters	13,005
9	SPIRITS	The Strumbellas	12,972
10	PRIVATE SCHOOL	Arkells	12,013
11	KISS THIS	The Struts	10,747
12	OPHELIA	The Lumineers	10,380
13	NO GOOD	Kaleo	10,369
14	BANG BANG	Green Day	9,836
15	WAY DOWN WE GO	Kaleo	9,615
16	IF YOU WANT IT	Sam Roberts Band	9,541
17	TRIP SWITCH	Nothing But Thieves	9,323
18	COULD HAVE BEEN ME	The Struts	9,076
19	IN A WORLD POSSESSED…	The Tragically Hip	8,858
20	SHINE A LIGHT	BANNERS	8,576
21	…MY BROKEN HEART	Chris Cornell	8,389
22	DON’T TELL ME HOW TO LIVE	Monster Truck	8,112
23	I’M GONNA BE MYSELF	The Sheepdogs	7,897
24	FOR THE PEOPLE	Monster Truck	7,865
25	OH LORRAINE	Temperance Movement	7,802
26	S.O.B.	N. Rateliff/Night Sweats	7,639
27	STRESSED OUT	twenty one pilots	7,512
28	TROUBLE	Cage The Elephant	7,128
29	VICTORIOUS	Wolfmother	6,918
30	ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME	Coldplay	6,687
31	HEATHENS	twenty one pilots	6,518
32	MOUNTAIN AT MY GATES	Foals	6,408
33	RISE	Sixx: A.M.	6,344
34	WASTE A MOMENT	Kings Of Leon	6,208
35	SWOONER	The Zolas	6,036
36	SOMETIMES ON A SUNDAY	The Glorious Sons	5,962
37	WASTED LOVE	City And Colour	5,932
38	LOVER COME BACK	City And Colour	5,927
39	RIVER	Bishop Briggs	5,823
40	WORK SHOES	USS	5,792

Billboard Canada’s Top 40 of 2016 at AC Radio

DNCE topped the Adult Contemporary radio year-end Billboard Canada chart with dance funk smash “Cake by the Ocean”. The top spun Canadian artist track at the format was Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself” at #2, the only Canuck tune in the top 17.  Sixteen of the Top 40 were by or featuring a Canadian artist representing 32.7% of the total spins. The 16 matches the number of Canadian tunes on the AC chart in 2015. Canadian artists are bolded in purple in the list below. The data was collected between the dates of December 5, 2015 and November 26, 2016.

	TITLE	ARTIST	PLAYS
1	CAKE BY THE OCEAN	DNCE	14,002
2	LOVE YOURSELF	Justin Bieber	12,530
3	CAN’T STOP THE FEELING!	Justin Timberlake	11,987
4	7 YEARS	Lukas Graham	11,821
5	JUST LIKE FIRE	P!nk	10,636
6	SEND MY LOVE	Adele	10,040
7	LIKE I’M GONNA LOSE YOU	Meghan Trainor	9,578
8	LOCKED AWAY	R. City	9,103
9	STAND BY YOU	Rachel Platten	8,966
10	CHEAP THRILLS	Sia	8,099
11	WHEN WE WERE YOUNG	Adele	7,957
12	ONE CALL AWAY	Charlie Puth	7,939
13	HELLO	Adele	7,799
14	WILDEST DREAMS	Taylor Swift	7,725
15	RENEGADES	X Ambassadors	7,648
16	LET IT GO	James Bay	7,254
17	PIECE BY PIECE	Kelly Clarkson	7,226
18	SORRY	Justin Bieber	7,096
19	TREAT YOU BETTER	Shawn Mendes	6,744
20	WASTED TIME	Keith Urban	6,686
21	LAY YOU DOWN EASY	MAGIC!	6,539
22	WHEREVER I GO	OneRepublic	6,516
23	2 HEADS	Coleman Hell	6,445
24	WILD THINGS	Alessia Cara	6,269
25	WHAT YOU WANTED	Andrew Allen	6,262
26	PERFECT	One Direction	6,190
27	ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME	Coldplay	6,142
28	HELLO	Hedley	6,059
29	PILLOWTALK	Zayn	5,380
30	EX’S & OH’S	Elle King	5,276
31	ON MY MIND	Ellie Goulding	5,034
32	THIS IS WHAT YOU CAME FOR	Calvin Harris	4,962
33	GOT YOUR NUMBER	Serena Ryder	4,924
34	WICKED	Tyler Shaw	4,913
35	SPIRITS	The Strumbellas	4,814
36	ONE LOVE	Marianas Trench	4,742
37	HOLD ON (THE BREAK)	Walk Off the Earth	4,554
38	LOST BOY	Ruth B	4,375
39	NOBODY BUT ME	Michael Buble	4,033
40	RELAPSE	Shawn Hook	4,024

Billboard Canada’s Top 40 of 2016 at Hot AC

DNCE topped the Hot Adult Contemporary radio year-end Billboard Canada chart with dance funk smash “Cake by the Ocean”. The top spun Canadian artist track at the format was Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself” at #3.  Seventeen of the Top 40 were by or featuring a Canadian artist representing 40.7% of the total spins. The 17 is up from 14 Canadian tunes in 2015. Canadian artists are bolded in orange in the list below. The data was collected between the dates of December 5, 2015 and November 26, 2016.

	TITLE	ARTIST	PLAYS
1	CAKE BY THE OCEAN	DNCE	39,899
2	CAN’T STOP THE FEELING!	Justin Timberlake	36,588
3	LOVE YOURSELF	Justin Bieber	31,090
4	JUST LIKE FIRE	P!nk	30,667
5	SEND MY LOVE	Adele	30,069
6	CHEAP THRILLS	Sia	29,075
7	7 YEARS	Lukas Graham	26,552
8	HELLO	Hedley	26,401
9	TREAT YOU BETTER	Shawn Mendes	25,937
10	WILD THINGS	Alessia Cara	25,427
11	HELLO	Adele	24,553
12	STRESSED OUT	twenty one pilots	24,141
13	THIS IS WHAT YOU CAME FOR	Calvin Harris	23,959
14	2 HEADS	Coleman Hell	23,836
15	SORRY	Justin Bieber	22,736
16	SPIRITS	The Strumbellas	22,608
17	PILLOWTALK	Zayn	21,317
18	LIKEI’MGONNALOSE YOU	Meghan Trainor	20,550
19	LAY YOU DOWN EASY	MAGIC!	20,081
20	WHEN WE WERE YOUNG	Adele	19,385
21	I TOOK A PILL IN IBIZA	Mike Posner	18,174
22	WICKED	Tyler Shaw	18,111
23	ONE DANCE	Drake	18,063
24	LOSE CONTROL	Hedley	17,068
25	WILDEST DREAMS	Taylor Swift	15,730
26	STAND BY YOU	Rachel Platten	15,720
27	ON MY MIND	Ellie Goulding	14,408
28	LOST BOY	Ruth B	14,173
29	I DON’T WANNA GO TO BED	Simple Plan	14,005
30	WORKFROMHOME	Fifth Harmony	13,998
31	ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME	Coldplay	13,798
32	RIDE	twenty one pilots	13,702
33	DON’T LET ME DOWN	The Chainsmokers	13,701
34	GOT YOUR NUMBER	Serena Ryder	13,691
35	OOH LOVE	Ria Mae	13,538
36	COLD WATER	Major Lazer Ft. Justin Bieber	13,415
37	HIDE AWAY	Daya	13,390
38	IN THE NIGHT	The Weeknd	12,765
39	LET IT GO	James Bay	12,501
40	WHEREVER I GO	OneRepublic	12,266

Billboard Canada’s Top 40 of 2016 at CHR

While DNCE and Justin Bieber dominated all-format airplay, when it came to CHR (contemporary hit radio), the king of the airwaves was Drake, as “One Dance” was 2016’s most spun track on the format. Australia’s Sia was in 2nd spot with “Cheap Thrills”. Seventeen of the Top 40 were by or featuring a Canadian artist representing 42.9% of the total spins. The 17 is up from 14 Canadian tunes in 2015. Canadian artists are bolded in red in the list below. The data was collected between the dates of December 5, 2015 and November 26, 2016.

	TITLE	ARTIST	PLAYS
1	ONE DANCE	Drake	45,764
2	CHEAP THRILLS	Sia	42,434
3	THIS IS WHAT YOU CAME FOR	Calvin Harris	40,977
4	WILD THINGS	Alessia Cara	37,593
5	SORRY	Justin Bieber	37,277
6	LOVE YOURSELF	Justin Bieber	37,195
7	I TOOK A PILL IN IBIZA	Mike Posner	35,708
8	CAN’T STOP THE FEELING!	Justin Timberlake	35,347
9	WORK FROM HOME	Fifth Harmony	32,463
10	DON’TLETMEDOWN	The Chainsmokers	31,709
11	STRESSED OUT	twenty one pilots	30,672
12	PILLOWTALK	Zayn	30,381
13	TREAT YOU BETTER	Shawn Mendes	29,530
14	TOO GOOD	Drake	28,015
15	MY HOUSE	Flo Rida	27,973
16	COLD WATER	Major Lazer Ft. Justin Bieber	27,812
17	2 HEADS	Coleman Hell	27,760
18	MIGHT NOT	Belly Ft. The Weeknd	27,597
19	CAKE BY THE OCEAN	DNCE	27,503
20	HELLO	Adele	26,910
21	ROSES	The Chainsmokers	26,512
22	CLOSER	The Chainsmokers	23,301
23	SAME OLD LOVE	Selena Gomez	22,247
24	LOSE CONTROL	Hedley	22,135
25	7 YEARS	Lukas Graham	21,617
26	DANCING KIZOMBA	Alx Veliz	21,456
27	SEND MY LOVE	Adele	20,501
28	IN THE NIGHT	The Weeknd	20,485
29	HANDS TO MYSELF	Selena Gomez	20,464
30	FIREPROOF	Coleman Hell	20,456
31	HOTLINE BLING	Drake	20,259
32	ME, MYSELF & I	G-Eazy x Bebe Rexha	19,565
33	RIDE	twenty one pilots	19,027
34	HELLO	Hedley	18,647
35	THIS GIRL	Kungs vs Cookin’ On 3 Burners	18,632
36	DANGEROUS WOMAN	Ariana Grande	17,606
37	HIDE AWAY	Daya	17,558
38	JUST LIKE FIRE	P!nk	17,468
39	LET ME LOVE YOU	DJ Snake Ft. Justin Bieber	16,566
40	LAY YOU DOWN EASY	MAGIC!	16,510