Billboard released its year-end charts, and it appears Taylor Swift and Kanye West are going to have to share another stage. Taylor Swift landed the top spot on the Billboard's Top 20 list and she was named Female Artist of the Year, and Kanye West was named Male Artist of the Year and finished as the 6th overall artist on the Top 20.
Rounding out the top five are Beyonce Knowles, Lady Gaga, The Black Eyed Peas, and Miley Cyrus. The only other country acts that finished in the Top 20 were Rascal Flatts and the Zac Brown Band at 19th and 20th respectively.
This recent success serves as a nice birthday present for Taylor, as she celebrated her 20th birthday on December 13th.
The rankings are a result of Billboard combining album sales and Hot 100 song rankings. Billboard noted that Taylor sold more albums this year than any artist outside of Michael Jackson.
"When I was growing up I didn't watch much kid television," Taylor told Billboard in a special Q&A. "When I was 10, I watched a special on Faith Hill and how she went to Nashville and made it in country music. I watched how Garth Brooks kept his ticket prices low. I watched how Shania Twain was able to be a blend of different genres. I just love what I get to do so much that there's never a moment of my day when I'm not thinking about a certain aspect of it, and there's never a point when I feel like I know all I need to know about the music industry."
Taylor added that she will "possibly" release a new record next year, and she hopes that "the feelings I'm feeling right now will be accurately portrayed."
Source: The Boot
