It's been an eventful year for music in Canada. Billboard Canada has released year-end editions of several charts: the Canadian Hot 100, Canadian Albums, Top Artists (combining data from both), Canadian Airplay, Canadian Streaming and Canadian Digital Song Sales. Each one tells a story about the Canadian music landscape in 2024.
It's no big surprise to see who tops the year-end Billboard Canadian Hot 100 chart. Shaboozey's “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” broke the record for longest running No. 1 hit this year, surpassing Lil Nas X's “Old Town Road” for 20 weeks at the top and then extending the record to 25 weeks at No. 1 It made a similar record on the US Hot 100, but did so first in Canada and for a longer time (on the US-End Hot). 100, “Tipsy” finishes second behind Teddy Swims' “Lose Control”.)
The biggest music story of the year was Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar. If a song can be declared a winner based solely on the charts, it's “Not Like Us.” Even in Canada, Drake's turf, Kendrick's irresistible diss track charted higher. The song is at No. 11 on the year-end Canadian Hot 100 and at No. 11 on the year-end Streaming Songs chart. That chart success has come with some controversy, however, with Drake taking legal action to accuse Universal Music Group, iHeartRadio and Spotify of conspiring to inflate the numbers. But the song was a good hit.
Drake's biggest hits, meanwhile, have little to do with Kendrick's beef. Yeat's “IDGAF” at No. 54, “Rich Baby Daddy” featuring SZA & Sexyy Red at No. 67 and “First Person Shooter” featuring J. Cole at No. 75 are all from his 2023 album. For all dogs. And on the 2024 Artists chart for Canada? Drake is at No. 4 and Kendrick at No. 17.
It's never a surprise to see Taylor Swift rule the year-end charts, but her unprecedented Eras tour – arguably the biggest-grossing of all time – gave her an extra boost this year as she wrapped it up in Toronto and Vancouver in November and December. All of Taylor's seasons (or albums, if you're old-fashioned) received a boost, making her a lock for No. 1 on the Artists chart, which combines data from the Canadian Hot 100 and the Canadian Albums chart. In the latest chart, Swift holds four of the top 10 spots: Department of Tormented Poets in No. 1, 1989 (Taylor Edition) in No. 4 and Lover and Midnight in Nos. 9 and 10.
See a full chart breakdown — including trends like the revival of Canadian icons, domestic radio hits and the success of French-speaking Quebecois and Punjabi artists — here. And find all year end 2024 charts here.
This story was originally published by Billboard Canada.
