As we approach the end of the year, Billboard, the New York City magazine that publishes the widely recognized Billboard Hot 100 tracking the popularity of music singles, has announced its end-of-year placements.
Arriving at the top of the list as the Hot 100’s most popular song of the year is Hip Hop duo’s Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ single “Thrift Shop.” Despite their successful single, R&B singer and scheduled Super Bowl Halftime performer Bruno Mars was awarded the honor of the Hot 100’s top ranking artist of the year with a total of three singles placed in the ranking’s Top 5.
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ single topped the list for more than a month with six full weeks at the #1 spot. Per Billboard’s latest report, “Thrift Shop” marks the first time that a duo has been awarded Billboard’s top ranking song of the year in more than thirty years. The accompanying video, which has been viewed more than 450 million times on Youtube, can be streamed below.
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Following in kind, “Thrift Shop” also serves as Billboard’s #1 song in the categories of R&B/Hip Hop Songs and Rap Songs both. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis claimed a separate Top 5 hit with their Ray Dalton featuring “Can’t Hold Us,” a song that spent five weeks on the Top 100. While not new to fans, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis also claimed the award for Top New Artist of the year given their premier on the charts.
The Billboard placement is only the latest in a string of successful honors for Macklemore and Ryan Lewis who are up for seven Grammy Awards stemming from their hit album The Heist. The Grammy nominations come in three separate categories for the duo who are up for Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist. The group also won the honors of Favorite Rap/Hip Hop Album at this year’s American Music Awards.
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Billboard’s year-end list also includes appearances from T.I. and Pharrell Williams for their role in Robin Thicke’s song “Blurred Lines.” That song came in as the #2 song of the year on the Top 100 for its twelve-week reign on the charts. “Blurred Lines” also earned Billboard’s coveted Song of the Summer award as well as a placement as the #1 R&B Song of the Year. Justin Timberlake, another R&B singer with a string of features from Hip Hop artists, clocked in as Billboard’s No. 4 artist of the year. Timberlake and rapper Jay Z shared two songs on the end of the year Top 100 with Timberlake’s “Suit & Tie” at #20 and Jay Z’s “Holy Grail” at #22.
A full recap of Billboard’s end of year placement awards is available on their site.
