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Apple announces third annual Apple Music Award winners

Apple today announced the winners of the third annual Apple Music Awards, recognizing the best artists of 2021 and their influence on global culture.

The Apple Music Awards honor achievements in music across five distinct categories β€” Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Top Song of the Year, and Top Album of the Year β€” and winners are chosen through a process that reflects both Apple Music’s editorial perspective and what customers around the world are listening to the most.

This year, the Apple Music Awards will introduce a new category of awards for Regional Artist of the Year, recognizing artists from five countries and regions: Africa, France, Germany, Japan, and Russia. The Regional Artist of the Year awards recognize artists who made the greatest impact culturally and on the charts in their respective countries and regions.

β€œThe past 12 months have proved to be a remarkable year for music, and we’re thrilled to honor the artists who are shaping culture and connecting with fans around the world on Apple Music,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music and Beats. β€œThis year we’re also recognizing more regional artists, showing the world the impact of extraordinary talented musicians who are making waves globally.”

The Apple Music Awards celebration kicks off Tuesday, December 7, 2021, with interviews, original content, and more all streaming worldwide on Apple Music and the Apple TV app. Music fans who are not already subscribed to Apple Music can sign up for a three-month free trial atΒ apple.com/apple-music.

And the winners are…

Global Artist of the Year: TheΒ Weeknd
Filtering R&B and pop through an ambitious widescreen lens, The Weeknd took over popular music and culture on his own terms. The global superstar’s 2020 album β€œAfter Hours” quickly surpassed one million pre-adds on Apple Music, and is the most pre-added album of all time by a male artist on the platform. β€œAfter Hours” also holds the record for the most streamed R&B/Soul album in its first week in 73 countries. The smash single β€œBlinding Lights” peaked at No. 1 on Apple Music’s Daily Top 100: Global chart, and ranks as one of the 20 most Shazamed songs of all time. The Weeknd also hosts the massively popular taste-making Apple Music Radio show β€œMEMENTO MORI,” celebrated for its eclectic playlists and major world premieres. He’s graced recent covers of TIME, Forbes, Variety, Rolling Stone, Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar, and GQ, and blew away fans with his 2021 Super Bowl LV Halftime Show, which was one of the most Shazamed moments of the year.

β€œI’m so grateful for this huge honor and want to thank Apple for all its support, not only for my work but also for great music by newer artists, where it matters so much for creators to be found and supported,” The Weeknd said.

Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year: OliviaΒ Rodrigo
For Olivia Rodrigo, 2021 will go down as the year of epic firsts. The 18-year-old singer-songwriter released her tear-soaked debut single, β€œdrivers license,” in January, which quickly topped the charts and became one of the most streamed new releases of the year. β€œdrivers license” registered the highest first-week streams ever for a debut single by an artist on Apple Music globally, reaching No. 1 on the Daily Top 100: Global chart, where it remained for over a month, and was the fastest-ever debut solo track by a US artist to accumulate five million Shazams. Her highly anticipated debut album, β€œSOUR,” followed in May, and was celebrated with an Apple Music First Listen virtual event with fans and an accompanying interview with Zane Lowe. β€œSOUR” carries the highest first-week streams for a debut album on Apple Music globally, with all 11 songs on the album ranked on the Daily Top 100: Global chart, as well as the Daily Top 100 chart in 66 additional countries. Rodrigo has been on the cover of Apple Music playlists Today’s Hits, A-List Pop, and New Music Daily, and closes her life-changing year as the deserving recipient of her first three Apple Music Awards. She took home Breakthrough Artist, Album of the Year (β€œSOUR”), and Song of the Year (β€œdrivers license”).

β€œI did my first interview for β€˜drivers license’ with Apple Music, and so much has happened since then,” Rodrigo said. β€œIt’s truly surreal. Thank you to Apple Music for these amazing awards.”

Songwriter of the Year: H.E.R.
Award-winning singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist H.E.R.’s work within the R&B genre grew even more expansive in 2021 with the release of her acclaimed 21-track album β€œBack of My Mind,” which captures the artist at her most brilliant, confident, and freewheeling. The chart-topping album was the third most streamed R&B/Soul album on Apple Music in its first week of release by a female artist this year, with singles β€œDamage” and β€œCome Through” (featuring Chris Brown) both spending multiple weeks on the Daily Top 100 chart in over 30 countries. The former Apple Music Up Next artist also penned the anthemic original β€œFight for You” for the celebrated motion picture β€œJudas and the Black Messiah,” and covered Marvin Gaye’sΒ β€œInner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)” for Apple Music’s exclusiveΒ β€œJuneteenth: Freedom Songs” compilation. H.E.R. is a regular guest on Zane Lowe and Ebro Darden’s shows on Apple Music 1, and she has been featured as the cover of popular Apple Music playlists New Music Daily, R&B Now, and more.

β€œI am very honored and blessed to receive this recognition,” H.E.R. said. β€œAs a young Black and Filipino artist, and a woman who is on the stage giving my all, there’s no doubt that representation is important. Thank you so much, Apple Music.”
Artist of the Year (Africa):Β Wizkid
Singer-songwriter Wizkid is one of Africa’s biggest crossover acts, having worked with Drake, Skepta, and Chris Brown, among others. The Nigerian musician first found regional success in 2011 with the massively popular single β€œHolla at Your Boy,” which appeared on his debut album, β€œSuperstar.” Wizkid went global in 2016 after his collaboration with Drake on β€œOne Dance,” which soared to the top of the charts in 15 countries. Between 2019 and 2020, Wizkid was featured in Beyoncé’s projects β€œThe Lion King: The Gift” and its companion piece, β€œBlack Is King.” In October 2020, he released β€œMade in Lagos,” his critically acclaimed and most commercially successful album, which included his hit song β€œEssence,” a track that gained 125 million plays on Apple Music and over 2.8 million Shazams. This past year, he’s been the most streamed African artist on the continent on Apple Music and ranked on the Daily Top 100 charts in 60 countries, in addition to his monthly plays on Apple Music growing by more than 250 percent outside of Africa. He’s also been featured on Apple Music’s Today’s Hits and R&B Now playlists, and he’s a frequent guest on Apple Music Radio shows, including β€œAfrica Now Radio,” β€œThe Ebro Show,” β€œNew Music Daily with Zane Lowe,” and β€œOVO SOUND RADIO.”

β€œThank you to Apple Music for this award,” Wizkid said. β€œIt’s a blessing to get to do what I do, and I’m proud to be representing for Africa.”

Artist of the Year (France): AyaΒ Nakamura
French-Malian pop singer Aya Nakamura is the most streamed Francophone artist in the world. Best known for her hit song β€œDjadja,” she has released three albums featuring countless chart-topping songs, including β€œCopines,” β€œPookie,” β€œPlus Jamais,” and β€œJolie nana,” and she has been on the cover of Apple Music’s Hits FranΓ§ais playlist. In France, Nakamura is one of the only female artists to consistently appear in the streaming charts in a market dominated by male rappers, and her album β€œAYA” garnered the highest first-week streams for an album released by a female artist on Apple Music. Her songs β€œJolie nana” and β€œPlus Jamais” hold the top two spots for the highest first-week streams for a song by a female artist on Apple Music in France, and all 15 songs on the album entered the Daily Top 100 chart in France, Belgium, and Niger, with β€œJolie nana” peaking at No. 1 in those countries. Her song β€œBobo” also peaked at No. 1 on the Daily Top 100 chart in France, Niger, Cape Verde, and Micronesia. It marked her fifth single topping France’s Daily Apple charts.

β€œI am extremely honored to be the very first Francophone artist to win an Apple Music Award as Artist of the Year (France),” Nakamura said. β€œThank you, Apple!”

Artist of the Year (Germany): RIN
Rapper Renato Simunovic, aka RIN, was born in 1994 in Bietigheim-Bissingen near Stuttgart in the south of Germany. After releasing his first EP, β€œGenesis,” in 2016, his debut album, β€œEros,” followed quickly in 2017. A 25-time gold and three-time platinum artist, RIN has performed countless live shows, done features with legends, and collaborated with some of the world’s most influential brands. With his third album, β€œKleinstadt,” RIN freed himself from the idea of what German rap should sound like, and fans and critics alike cite this album as hugely influential in shaping the current sound of rap in the south of Germany. He was the first German artist to host his own show on Apple Music, β€œKLEINSTADTRADIO,” tied to the new album, and he has graced the cover of Apple Music’s HYPED and Deutschrap 100 playlists.

β€œ2021 was such a good year for me because it has borne a lot of fruit of things that I postponed for a long time,” RIN said. β€œMy music has evolved in the same sense. I am much more personal.”

Artist of the Year (Japan): OFFICIALΒ HIGEΒ DANDISM
Formed in Shimane, Japan, in 2012, OFFICIAL HIGE DANDISM, aka HIGEDAN, consists of lead vocalist and keyboardist Satoshi Fujihara, guitarist Daisuke Ozasa, bassist and saxophonist Makoto Narazaki, and drummer Masaki Matsuura. They released their debut mini album, β€œLove to Peace wa Kimi no Naka,” in 2014. Their first full-length album, β€œEscaparade” β€” which includes their popular song β€œNo Doubt” β€” was released in 2018, but it was their second single, β€œPretender,” that rocketed to the top of the Apple Music charts in Japan. HIGEDAN entered Shazam’s emerging artists lists in Japan and Australia for the first time in June 2019, ahead of the release of the band’s follow-up album, β€œTraveler,” which became their first No. 1 album in Japan. The group has been featured in three different Apple Music Japan commercials, with their hit songs β€œStand by You” and β€œI Love…,” along with the 2021 song β€œApoptosis,” taken from their third album, β€œEditorial,” which carries the third-highest first-week streams for an album released in 2021 in Japan, and was recently featured in an Apple Music Japan spatial audio with Dolby Atmos commercial. The band has also made several guest appearances on β€œJ-Pop Now Radio” on Apple Music 1.

β€œWe didn’t know Japanese artists could win this award and were shocked when we were told,” the band said. β€œWe’re super happy to be the winners of the first Apple Music Award for Artist of the Year (Japan).”

Artist of the Year (Russia): Scriptonite
Rapper Scriptonite, aka Adil Zhalelov, was discovered by Basta and signed to his label Gazgolder in 2015. Scriptonite’s debut album, β€œHouse with Normal Activity,” became an instant classic and has been deemed one of the biggest records of the new Russian hip-hop revolution. In 2017, Scriptonite followed up with two more LPs on Gazgolder, rising to the top-ranked producer and performer of the current hip-hop era, with fans and critics crediting him as the most important voice and sound of the new generation. After starting his own label, Musica36, in 2019, Scriptonite’s β€œ2004” album was released exclusively on Apple Music to critical acclaim, becoming the No. 1 streamed record of the year. Scriptonite also holds the record for the two most streamed albums for its first week on Apple Music in five countries (Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Moldova). His single β€œBaby Mama” landed him in the Top 20 of worldwide Shazam charts. In 2020, Apple Music exclusively released the short film β€œBehind Scriptonite’s β€˜2004’” along with a β€œ36 Jam” live concert of all Musica36 artists. This year saw the release of his album β€œSvistki Y Bumazhki,” as well as a COVID-postponed show in Moscow, both released exclusively on Apple Music. Scriptonite has graced the covers of Apple Music’s Kirillitsa, Russian Hits, and New Music Daily playlists, and he’s currently working on his first English-language record in collaboration with Gee Baller, a young Nigerian rising star who recently signed to Musica36.

β€œThis award is the culmination of an incredible few years, and Apple Music has been with me for so much of it along the way,” Scriptonite said. β€œThank you for the recognition.”

About the Apple Music Awards

Apple designed a series of physical awards that represent the extraordinary craftsmanship integral to creating music. Each award features Apple’s custom silicon wafer suspended between a polished sheet of glass and a machined and anodized aluminum body. The result of this multi-month process, before it is sliced into hundreds of individual chips, is stunning and distinctive. In a symbolic gesture, the same chips that power the devices that put the world’s music at listeners fingertips sit at the very heart of the Apple Music Awards.

About Apple Music

Apple loves music. Apple revolutionized the music experience with iPod and iTunes. Today, Apple Music celebrates musicians, songwriters, producers, and fans with a catalog of over 90 million songs, expertly curated playlists, and the best artist interviews, conversations, and global premieres with the award-winning Apple Music Radio. With original content from the most respected and beloved people in music, autoplay, time-sync lyrics, Lossless Audio, and immersive sound powered by Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos, Apple Music offers the world’s best listening experience, helping listeners discover new music and enjoy their favorites while empowering the global artist community. Apple Music is available in over 165 countries and regions on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, HomePod mini, CarPlay, and online atΒ music.apple.com, plus popular smart speakers, smart TVs, and Android and Windows devices. Apple Music is ad-free and never shares consumer data with third parties. More information is available atΒ apple.com/apple-music.

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