Nickelback Has Three Albums in Billboard US’s All-Time Chart

It’s always nice to see Canadian recording artists triumph in foreign lands. Billboard US has compiled all-time charts in celebration of the magazine’s 60th anniversary. It would be difficult to compile all-time charts at home because a consistent official chart for Canada has not been in place over the years. They would tell a different story as musical tastes, releases, and content regulations differ among countries. Still, let’s take a look at what Canadian artists, songs, and albums became massive hits south of the border.

The all-time songs chart begins at #100 with synth-driven power ballad “Waiting for a Girl Like You” by Britus act foreigner.

The first maple-glazed entry appears at #85 – “You’re Still the One” from country pop superstar Shania Twain, her crossover hit from 1998.

At #81, find “Sugar, Sugar” by virtual group The Archies, composed by Jeff Barry and Canada’s Andy Kim. The song was included on the “Stars on 45” medley which topped the year-end RPM chart in Canada for 1981.

Americanadian Robin Thicke beat out Elton John’s Princess Di tribute song and Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” with “Blurred Lines” perched at #51.

Carly Rae Jepsen one-ups Robin at #50 with “Call Me Maybe” the most downloaded song in the world in 2012.

Alberta’s Nickelback lands at #45 with 2001’s smash “How You Remind Me”. It was apparently the most played song on US radio through the entire 2000s decade.

Justin Bieber’s feature in Fonsi & Yankee’s “Despacito” helps it climb up to #33 beating out Irene Cara’s “Flashdance”.

Percy Faith and His Orchestra edges out Chic’s “Le Freak” to grip the #23 spot with easy listening masterpiece “Theme from a Summer Place”.

Bryan Adams anchors himself at #21 with 1991’s “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You”. The song was featured in Kevin Costner’s feature film “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves”.

And that’s it! The number one song on the chart is Chubby Checker’s 1960 cover of Hank Ballard and the Midnighters’ “The Twist” in case you were wondering.

Were there Canadian songs you were surprised didn’t make the all-time Hot 100?

The all-time Hot 100 artists has Bryan Adams at #45, Paul Anka at #69, and Céline Dion at #87 (with The Beatles at #1).

The all-time Billboard 200 albums (with Adele’s 21 at #1) sees the following:

7. Jagged Little Pill, Alanis Morissette
9. All the Right Reasons, Nickelback
14. Come on Over, Shania Twain
21. Falling Into You, Céline Dion
58. Let Go, Avril Lavigne
78. My World 2.0, Justin Bieber
162. Silver Side Up, Nickelback
164. Let’s Talk About Love, Céline Dion
169. Reckless, Bryan Adams
177. Harvest, Neil Young
182. Dark Horse, Nickelback

2017 Hits Internationally by or Featuring Canadians

Find below a list of all songs by or featuring a Canadian artist that made it into the year-end Top 100 of Canada (17), The United Kingdom (10), Australia (11), The United States (12), and Japan (3). It is interesting to note that Shawn Mendes’ “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back” was biggest in Australia where it finished 10th of the year. Aussies also liked “Stay” with Alessia Cara more than the other countries. Brits preferred Drake’s “Passionfruit” over the other nations, while Americans had it in for “Both” featuring the rapper. Enjoy the table below.

TITLE	ARTIST	CA	UK	AU	US	JP
Despacito	Ft. Justin Bieber	2	2	2	2
Starboy	The Weeknd	6	59	42	20
There’s Nothing Holdin’…	Shawn Mendes	16	16	10	23
Stay	Zedd & Alessia Cara	22	37	14	17	66
I Feel It Coming	The Weeknd	23	66	39	34
Passionfruit	Drake	33	30	66	65
Let Me Love You	Ft. Justin Bieber	41			46
Fake Love	Drake	49	91		37
Signs	Drake	52
2U	Ft. Justin Bieber	54	64	69
Scars To Your Beautiful	Alessia Cara	70		87	30
Treat You Better	Shawn Mendes	71			92
Friends	J. Bieber + BloodPop	83	93	63
Mercy	Shawn Mendes	84			54
Reminding Me	Shawn Hook	86
Party Monster	The Weeknd	91
Portland	Drake	95
What Do You Mean?	Justin Bieber					21
Sorry	Justin Bieber					92
Both	Ft. Drake				83
How Far I’ll Go	Alessia Cara			76
Never Be Like You	Ft. Kai			97
One Dance	Drake		80

A Comparison of Drake’s Hits Among the Major Anglo Markets

There’s no question that Drake completely cleaned up at last night’s 2017 Billboard Music Awards breaking the record with 13 trophies. As a sole main artist, Drake here at home has thus far placed 74 tracks onto the Billboard Hot 100. Forty of these have made the Top 40, nine the Top 10, with his lone number one hit being “One Dance”. Another way of looking at it is that 19 of the tracks spent more than 20 weeks on the chart, six more than 30, and two more than 40. His success on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 has been even more impressive. In the beginning of his music career, Drake’s success in the United States far exceeded success elsewhere including Canada. As he frolicked his way from rapping over to singing and from rap music over to R&B, dance, and pop, his tracks, while retaining success in the US, did better in the other Anglo markets (The United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia). The following table shows this. All Top 10 hits in any of the four major Anglo markets are included. There are a total of 15.

TITLE	CA	AU	UK	US
Best I Ever Had	24			2
Forever	26	99	42	8
Find Your Love	10		24	5
Make Me Proud	25	95	49	9
Take Care	15	9	9	7
Started from the Bottom	36	93	25	6
Hold On, We’re Going…	5	8	4	4
Hotline Bling	3	2	3	2
Summer Sixteen	12	25	23	6
One Dance	1	1	1	1
Too Good	9	3	3	14
Fake Love	10	16	10	8
Passionfruit	2	4	3	8
Portland	6		27	9
Blem	8		10	38

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).

Canadian Albums that Topped the UK Charts

The Official Charts of the United Kingdom recently released lists of the all the number one albums in Britain, the top album each year, and the 60 best-selling albums of all time in the country. Three of the latter are from Canadian artists. We eyeballed through the lists and our findings are below. Only a baker’s dozen Canadian artists have placed an album at the summit of the British charts over the years.

The first number one album by a Canadian artist in the United Kingdom was Neil Young‘s Harvest in 1972. It took 19 years for another Canadian album to top the British charts, Bryan Adams‘ Waking Up the Neighbours in 1991. In 1994, his So Far So Good also reached the summit. Céline Dion was next thanks to The Colour of My Love in 1995 followed by Falling Into You in 1996. The same year Alanis Morissette‘s Jagged Little Pill hit #1 and is now the third best-selling Canadian album of all time in the UK (41st overall as of July 2016). It was the best-selling album of the year 1996. Bryan Adams returned to the zenith in 1996 via 18 Til I Die. Let’s Talk About Love from Céline Dion did the trick in 1997.

In 1999, Come on Over by Shania Twain was the best-selling album of the year and became the highest selling LP from a Canadian of all-time in the UK (15th overall), remarkable in a country not known for its zeal towards country music. Céline Dion’s All the Way a Decade of Song managed to squeak itself into the top spot that year as well. Nickelback did the honours in 2002 with Silver Side Up back to back weeks with Dion’s A New Day Has Come. In 2003, Avril Lavigne kicked off the year with her #1 Let Go. Her Under My Skin scaled the heights in 2004, and The Best Damn Thing in 2007.

It was Michael Bublé‘s turn in 2010; his Crazy Love is now the second best-selling Canuck LP in Britain (24th overall). Arcade Fire made an appearance on top the same year with The Suburbs. Bublé returned in 2011 thanks to Christmas. Justin Bieber‘s Believe was on top in 2012 and Bublé’s To Be Loved in 2013. AmeriCanadian Robin Thicke was #1 in 2013 as well thanks to album Blurred Lines. Arcade Fire returned to the summit in 2013 with Reflektor. 2015 saw a number one Canadian album from The Weeknd (Beauty Behind the Madness). Drake‘s Views went #1 in 2016.

The best-selling album of all-time in the United Kingdom was not Michael Jackson’s Thriller (6th), rather 1981’s Greatest Hits by Queen. In second spot is 1992’s Gold (Greatest Hits) by Sweden’s ABBA. The Beatles are in at #3 and biggest studio album with 1967’s Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Adele’s 21 is 4th and Oasis’ What’s the Story Morning Glory 5th.

Drake Tops the UK Singles Chart

Canada’s most internationally famous rapper, Drake, has scored his first number one single as a lead artist … in Britain. The track in question is the newly released “Once Dance”. As a lead artist, Drake has never reached the top in either his homeland of Canada or where he has been the most successful among the big Anglo markets – the United States. Prior to “One Dance”, all of Drake’s singles as a lead artist have charted higher in the US than in Canada or the UK with the exception of “Crew Love”, which made the top 40 in Britain. (“Hold On, We’re Going Home” reached #4 in Both the US and UK and #5 in Canada). A reasonable explanation for his superior popularity in the States is that that country likes rap music more than Commonwealth nations. The UK updates its charts on Fridays as opposed to Tuesdays in the US and Canada which may explain why “One Dance” debuted higher there. Below is a chronological list of all of Drake’s hit singles – 24 in total – that made the top 40 in Canada, the US, or UK with peak chart positions in the three countries for comparison. Note that the list excludes tracks where Drake is a featured or co-credited artist.

TRACK	CA	US	UK
Best I Ever Had	24	2
Successful		17
I’m Going In		40
Forever	26	8	42
Over	17	14	50
Find Your Love	10	5	24
Miss Me	73	15
Fancy	54	25
Marvin’s Room		21
Headlines	18	13	57
Make Me Proud	25	9	49
Take Care	15	7	9
The Motto	38	14	80
Crew Love	80	80	37
Started from the Bottom	36	6	25
Hold On, We’re Going Home	5	4	4
All Me	72	20
0 to 100 / The Catch Up	59	35	68
Energy	53	26	71
Back to Back	27	21	77
Hotline Bling	3	2	3
Summer Sixteen	12	6	23
One Dance	13	21	1
Pop Style	20	16	33

3 Canadians in IFPI’s Top 10 of 2015

International music trade organization IFPI has announced the 10 most successful recording artists of 2015 in countries that track music consumption, and the list includes three Canadians: Justin Bieber #4, Drake #9, and The Weeknd #10. The recipient of 2015’s Global Recording Artist of the Year award is the UK’s Adele. The global recording artist of 2014 was Taylor Swift and 2013 was One Direction.

Measurements to rank the Top 10 in the IFPI’s own words:

The independently verified Global Recording Artist chart includes sales of albums – across digital, CD and vinyl formats; singles, both downloaded and physical; on-demand audio streams and music videos across the calendar year. The chart includes all the music of each artist featured, not just one track or album. It uses track and album equivalents to combine measurements of downloads, physical sales and streams.

The Top 10:

1. Adele
2. Ed Sheeran
3. Taylor Swift
4. Justin Bieber
5. One Direction
6. Coldplay
7. Maroon 5
8. Sam Smith
9. Drake
10. The Weeknd

Shawn Mendes’ “Stitches” Hits #1 in the UK

It has peaked on the Canadian charts at #10, in the United States at #8, and in Australia at #4, but “Stitches” by Shawn Mendes has managed to tap right into the British soul as it tops the UK’s official singles chart this week. With it, Mendes becomes only the 11th Canadian artist in the history of the British singles charts to reach the top. His cracking into the British market happened later than in both Canada and The United States. “Life of the Party” barely scratched the Top 100 spending only 1 week at #99. He got his foot in the door by way of a feature in The Vamps’ “Oh Cecilia” single which reached #9. “Stitches” knocked Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself” (#1 for six weeks) off the top spot in Britain by selling only 1,500 more (combined sales) last week.

Justin Bieber Breaks Another UK Chart Record

The Canadian invasion continues in Britain with new chart records being broken all the time. This week’s chart has all four top spots occupied by Canadian artists. Shawn Mendes’ “Stitches” vaulted from last week’s #12 to #4 this week. It is the Ontarioan’s first Top 40 hit in the UK. The top three spots on the singles chart are all taken by The Biebs. “Love Yourself” is #1, “Sorry” #2, and “What Do You Mean” #3. This is a new chart record in Britain as no artist has ever claimed the top 3 simultaneously since the UK charts began in 1952.

At home, Justin Bieber’s Purpose has just been declared a triple platinum album by Music Canada for pure sales of 240,000 units. It is his third album to achieve the milestone, the others being Under the Mistletoe and My World 2.0.

International Canadian Hits of 2015

Not all countries have official charts and of those that do, not all have annual or year-end charts. Measurements of the success of songs are not standardized internationally. Some counties use karaoke charts, some sales or digital downloads only, some radio airplay, some streaming, and some various combinations of these with different weightings for each parameter. Also, whereas Billboard (which Canada uses) considers the chart year differently from the calendar year, many countries use the strict calendar year. Below is a table of all hits involving Canadian artists that made the official 2015 year-end charts of Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States. Below that are notes on charts for selected other countries.

Both the UK and Australia preferred Justin Bieber’s “What Do You Mean” over all other Canadian songs, which is 9th of the year on both charts. The United States favoured The Weeknd’s “Earned It” at #9 overall. Canadians sided with The Weeknd’s “Can’t Feel My Face” at 8th of the year.

Japan: Japan is currently the world’s second biggest music market (after the USA). The most successful non-Japanese artist song in the Billboard Japanese Hot 100 year-end chart for 2015 was Carly Rae Jepsen’s “I Really Like You” at #6. Justin Beiber’s “What Do You Mean” was #87. Carly Rae Jepsen’s collaborative song with Owl City, though a few years old, was popular in Japan in 2015 and was #88 on the chart.

China: Mainland China is massive and Greater China even more so. There is no official chart for the region. Radio station Hit FM from the Republic of China has year-end charts on its website from 2003 which give an idea of the more popular songs. The Top 100 of 2015 has Justin Bieber’s “What Do You Mean” at #15, Carly Rae Jepsen’s “I Really Like You” at #37, and Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” at #51.

The Netherlands: The Dutch chart has similar year-end entries for Canadian artists as the UK and Australia, an exact dozen total. Justin Bieber’s “What Do You Mean” was tops at #10.

Denmark: Justin Bieber’s “What Do You Mean” was tops at #6 for the year.

Austria: The top entry involving a Canadian was “Sugar” by Robin Schulz featuring Francesco Yates (#10).

Switzerland: As with Austria, tops was “Sugar” by Robin Schulz featuring Francesco Yates (#18).

UK’s First Chart of 2016: All Top 20 Commonwealth Artists

U.S. Billboard published an article today about the first UK singles chart of 2015 which has Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself” at #1. What the article did not mention is that there is no track from an American artist in the entire Top 20 of the chart. All tracks are from Commonwealth artists. United Kingdom artists have 12 of them: Adele’s “Hello” #3, Fleur East’s “Sax” #6, One Direction’s “History” #7, Coldplay’s “Adventure of a Lifetime” #8, Sigala’s “Sweet Lovin'” #9, Mnek’s “Never Forget You” (with Sweden’s Zara Larsson) #10, Little Mix’s “Love Me Like You” #11, Jess Glynne’s “Take Me Home” #13, Wstrn’s “In2” #14, 99 Souls’ “Girl Is Mine” #15, Stormzy’s “Shut Up” #17, and One Direction’s “Perfect” #19.

Canadian artists have 7 of the Top 20: Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself” #1, “Sorry” #2, and “What Do You Mean” #4; Shawn Mendes’ “Stitches” #12; Drake’s “Hotline Bling” #16; and The Weeknd’s “The Hills #18 and “Can’t Feel My Face” #20.

Australia has one thanks to Grace’s cover of “You Don’t Own Me” #5.

Note that some of the featured artists or members of the predominantly British bands are non-Commonwealth, and Mnek is co-credited with Sweden’s Larsson on “Never Forget You”. For all intents and purposes, however, we can say that the entire Top 20 is Commonwealth which is quite remarkable.

“Stitches” is the first single from Shawn Mendes to make the Top 20 (as well as the Top 40) in Britain. As we mentioned previously, Justin Bieber is the first Canadian artist to score three number one singles in the UK.

Justin Bieber First Canadian with 3 UK Number Ones

Justin Bieber has become the first Canadian artist in history to score three number one hits in the United Kingdom. What’s more, he accomplished it in the same year, 2015. Previously, the only Canadian to place more than one single at the top of the British charts was Céline Dion, thanks to “Think Twice” and “My Heart Will Go On”. While in Canada, British singer Adele’s “Hello” has anchored itself at the crown, preventing Bieber’s “Sorry” and “Love Yourself” from topping the charts, those two tracks have reached number one in the UK. Earlier in Britain, as in many other countries, Justin’s “What Do You Mean” reached the top.

The Atlantic has proven to be a tough divide for Canadian hits to dazzle the masses in Britain. Bieber is only the 10th Canadian artist in history to score a #1 smash in the UK, the others being Paul Anka (“Diana”, 1957), Terry Jacks (“Seasons in the Sun”, 1974), Bryan Adams (“I Do It For You”, 1991), the aforementioned Céline Dion (“Think Twice”, 1995 and “My Heart Will Go On”, 1998), Nelly Furtado (“Maneater”, 2006), Carly Rae Jepsen (“Call Me Maybe”, 2012), Robin Thicke (“Blurred Lines”, 2013), Kiesza (“Hideaway”, 2014), and MAGIC! (“Rude”, 2014). Three additional Canadian artists reached the top via a collaboration: Andy Kim by way of outfit The Archies (“Sugar Sugar”, 1969), Drake featured with Rihanna (“What’s My Name”, 2011), and DVBBS with Borgeous and Tinie Tempah (“Tsunami Jump”, 2014). Moreover, Bryan Adams reached #1 via his feature with Chicane (“Don’t Give Up”, 2000) and Nelly Furtado with Timbaland (“Give It To Me”, 2007).

Justin Bieber’s Purpose Debuts at #1 in Australia

While in the United Kingdom, 1D beat out the Biebs in the albums race to number one and Justin dethroned Adele on the singles chart, it is the reverse situation in Australia this week. Justin Bieber’s Purpose debuts at #1 and One Direction settles for #2 on the official albums chart. On the singles chart, Adele’s “Hello” remains at #1 and Bieber’s “Sorry” at #2.

The Biebs Breaks an ARIA Chart Record

The Biebs has a total of 11 tracks on Australia’s singles chart this week, 8 of which are in the Top 50, and 3 in the Top 10. No other living artist has ever had 11 songs simultaneously in Australia’s Top 100. Michael Jackson’s passing landed 30 of his songs on the charts at once. This is the first time Bieber has had three simultaneous Top 10 singles down under.

Canadian Pop Royalty Down Under

Purpose is Justin Bieber’s third #1 album in Australia, the world’s sixth largest music market. ARIA noted that in terms of Canadian artists scoring number one albums in Australia, Michael Bublé and Céline Dion lead, each with five. Bieber is second with three. Bryan Adams, Alanis Morissette, Shania Twain, Avril Lavigne, and k.d. lang each have two.

Australia Gets Sutured by Shawn Mendes

It is good news for Shawn Mendes as he has scored his very first Top 10 hit in Australia with “Stitches”.

This week, Canadian artists have five tracks in Australia’s Top 10 singles. Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” is #2, “Love Yourself” #3, and “What Do You Mean?” #7. “The Hills” by The Weeknd is #6, and “Stitches” by Shawn Mendes is #10.

Canadians have three discs in Australia’s Top 10 albums. Justin Bieber’s Purpose is #1, Michael Bublé’s Christmas is #6, and The Weeknd’s Beauty Behind the Madness is #10.

A Tribe Called Red at Sydney Opera House

In other exciting news, A Tribe Called Red is on tour in Australia for the first time. The JUNO-winning electric pow-pow group expressed feeling humbled and honoured to perform at the Sydney Opera House!

In Britain Bieber Bows to 1D But Dethrones Adele

The exciting chart battles between global A-listers releasing new music has played out the first round in the United Kingdom today, as British charts are updated Fridays. Canadian and U.S. charts are refreshed on Tuesdays, so we will have to wait for a few days on those. Chart battles are not to be taken too seriously, as they look only at indicators of the popularity of recordings relative to each other through one week. Many buy music from multiple artists involved. But if treated in a lighthearted way, they can be fun.

The good news for Canada’s Justin Bieber is that he has dethroned Adele on the British Singles chart, as his “Sorry” supplants her “Hello” to take the top spot. “Hello” slips to #2. “Love Yourself” off Bieber’s newly released album Purpose debuts at #3. The Biebs co-wrote the track with Britain’s Ed Sheeran. But perhaps the biggest news of all is that Justin Bieber has broken the record for the most simultaneous songs in the UK Top 40 from a living artist. This week he has eight of them!

The bad news for Justin is that he lost out to One Direction on the British Albums chart, as the band’s Made in the AM debuts at #1, while Bieber’s Purpose lands at #2.

Justin Bieber recently had fun with personality James Corden in his popular Carpool Karaoke sketch, singing Alanis Morissette’s “Ironic” and picking out clothes for each other while dodging the paparazzi. See the video below.

2 and 2 in Britain; 4 and 4 in the States

Adams and Bieber 2 and 2 in Britain

On this week’s official UK charts, Canadians Bryan Adams and Justin Bieber both debut at #2. Last month, they played together in Germany (see it here). Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” debuts at #2 on the British Singles Chart behind “Hello” by England’s Adele. Bryan Adams, on the other hand, debuts at #2 on the British Albums Chart with Get Up behind Sounds Good Feels Good by Australia’s 5 Seconds of Summer.

Bieber Performs on the Graham Norton Show

Justin Bieber performed “What Do You Mean” tonight on BBC’s The Graham Norton Show. In the cute interview that followed, the host commented, “That song, ‘What Do You Mean’, I like it. It’s your little cry from the heart to the women of the world, ’cause you don’t know what they mean. Is that the thing?” Justin replied, “I never know what they mean.” Norton returned, “But all boys don’t know what girls mean.” And Justin said, “Yeah, that’s why we needed an anthem.”

Four Canadians in Top 4 U.S. Billboard Spots

For the first time in U.S. Billboard Hot 100 history, four Canadian artists own the top four spots on the chart. The Weeknd is at #1 with “The Hills”, Drake is #2 with “Hotline Bling”, Justin Bieber is at #3 with “What Do You Mean”, and Shawn Mendes is at #4 with “Stitches”.

Mendes and Cara MAKE Billboard’s Hot PRE-21

Billboard magazine recently listed its picks for the 21 hottest stars under the age of 21. The list includes two Canadians: Shawn Mendes (ranked 4th) and Alessia Cara (ranked 11th). The latter’s hit “Here” entered the U.S. Hot 100’s Top 20 this week. She will be releasing her debut album Know It All November 13. You can view the article here.