By Mesfin Fekadu, Music Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --The Grammys may have dissed Ed Sheeran, but Spotify says he is the most streamed artist of the year.
The streaming service announced Tuesday that Sheeran tops its 2017 list with 6.3 billion streams. He also has Spotify's biggest album of the year with "Divide," streamed 3.1 billion times, and the top song with "Shape of You," logging 1.4 billion streams.
Sheeran received two Grammy nominations last week, but was shut out of the major categories, including album, song and record of the year.
No female acts were in the Top 5 most streamed acts of the year: Sheeran is followed by Drake, The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar and The Chainsmokers. Rihanna is the most streamed female performer of the year, followed by Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez.
Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's "Despacito" remix, co-starring Justin Bieber, was the second-most streamed song of the year. The original version of the song was ranked third.
Drake's "More Life," which he didn't submit for consideration at the upcoming Grammy Awards, is the second-most streamed album of the year. Lamar's "DAMN.," The Weeknd's "Starboy" and Post Malone's "Stoney" round out the Top 5.
Spotify says hip-hop increased by 74 percent in the last year, while Latin music jumped 110 percent.
Eleanor Adds Director Candice Vernon To Its Roster For Spots and Branded Content
Director Candice Vernon has joined production house Eleanor for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content. She has already wrapped several jobs at Eleanor, which waited to announce her until they had a body of work together.
Via Eleanor, Vernon made history as the first Black director on a Febreze commercial. The “Small Spaces” campaign marks a major departure from Febreze’s typical blue-and-white world. The home of the “Revolving Door” commercial is a beautiful array of bold sunset hues, African prints, and African art.
Vernon said, “I asked myself, what feels right to me? What feels new? I wanted to bring an essence of not just Black Americans but the full diaspora. I wanted to make a statement that we’re not a monolith.”
Following the success of the “Small Spaces” campaign, Febreze brought Vernon back for a comedy-infused trifecta exploring the hilarious situations that call for an air freshening hero.
Febreze Brand VP Angelica Matthews said, “About two years ago, we realized the consumers that were the most loyal to Febreze were the African American consumers. And the more we learned, the more we realized the richness that we were really missing. So we said we have to go beyond just Black casting, we need to get Black directors that truly understand the culture that truly understand how to bring authentic performances out on screen. We really looked around the industry and noticed there’s actually a shortage of African American directors who have experience doing commercials. When we all saw Candice’s reel, we could all tell the passion for the craft, passion for really trying to help us from where we are to where we’re trying to go.”
Vernon brings a unique lens to... Read More