TOP 10 RECORDING ARTISTS OF 2015

TOP 10 RECORDING ARTISTS OF 2015 

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 

Adele has topped another chart - a top 10 of the most popular acts in the world.

The Hello singer has been named as the most popular recording artist across the globe in 2015, according to an international music trade body.

British acts make up half of the top 10 artists on the list compiled by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).

Adele(27) is the third recipient of the IFPI Global Recording Artist of the year award - an accolade that reflects an artist's worldwide popularity across physical formats, downloads and streams.

Adele's place at the top of the chart was driven by the October release and subsequent global success of lead single Hello from the album.

The track was number one in more than 30 countries worldwide, including the US, Germany, France, Italy, Australia and the UK.

Adele's album 25 followed in November and has notched up worldwide sales of over 15 million.

Ed Sheeran took second place, one up from the third spot he occupied on the 2014 ranking.

The singer, who released his second studio album x in June 2014, sold out Wembley stadium on three consecutive nights last summer.

He also kept a high profile in 2015 due to a busy schedule of touring, award wins and personal appearances, while launching his own record label, Gingerbread Man Records, an imprint of Atlantic Records UK.

In third place this year was Taylor Swift, who was the recipient of the 2014 IFPI Global Recording Artist award.

Justin Bieber took the fourth spot and One Direction (recipients of the 2013 Global Recording Artist award) were placed fifth.

Coldplay are at six, Maroon 5 at seven, Sam Smith is at eight, Drake is at nine, and The Weeknd at 10.

IFPI's Global Recording Artist award and top 10 chart is the only ranking to accurately capture the popularity of artists across streaming channels, alongside digital and physical album and singles sales on a global basis.