Apple Announces Winners of Third Annual Apple Music Awards

Apple has announced the winners of the third annual Apple Music Awards, which recognize "the best artists of 2021 and their influence on global culture."

apple apple music awards 2020 hero 11182020 big
The awards honor achievements in music across five categories, with winners chosen through a process that reflects both ‌‌Apple Music‌‌'s editorial perspective and what customers around the world have been listening to most.

Apple has named The Weeknd as Global Artist of the Year, while Olivia Rodrigo is Breakthrough Artist of the Year. Rodrigo also bagged the Album of the Year award for her debut album, "SOUR," and Single of the Year for "drivers license." The Songwriter of the Year award went to multi-instrumentalist H.E.R. especially in recognition of her 21-track R&B album "Back of My Mind."

This year, the ‌Apple Music‌ Awards also introduces 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, according to Apple.

"The 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. "This 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. Apple's full article has a more complete list of details on all of the artists that are to be honored with a special Apple-designed award.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. iPhone 17 Pro's alleged design via Front Page Tech Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone...
iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive a New Perk

Thursday March 20, 2025 12:01 am PDT by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost. The new perk is the ability to create invitations in the Apple Invites app for the iPhone, which launched in the App Store last month. In the Apple Invites app, iCloud+ subscribers can create invitations for any occasion, such as birthday parties, graduations, baby showers, and more. Anyone ...
Generic iOS 18

Apple Seeds iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 Release Candidate With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music and More

Monday March 24, 2025 10:07 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after Apple released the fourth betas. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update. With iOS 18.4, Apple is adding the Priority Notifications...
Generic iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Soon With These New Features for Your iPhone

Tuesday March 25, 2025 6:45 am PDT by
Apple is expected to release iOS 18.4 to the general public as soon as next week, following more than a month of beta testing. Apple's website says some iOS 18.4 features will be released in "early April," so the update should be out as early as Tuesday, April 1. Apple this week seeded the iOS 18.4 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, barring the discovery of any...
airpods max 2024 colors

Don't Buy Into Apple's Hype About AirPods Max Gaining Lossless Audio

Monday March 24, 2025 4:24 pm PDT by
Apple today announced that AirPods Max with a USB-C port will be gaining support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio with a firmware update next month, alongside the release of iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS 15.4. For context, audio files are typically compressed to keep file sizes smaller. There are lossy compression standards like MP3 and AAC (Advanced Audio Codec), which...
iOS 18

Top 5 New Features Coming in iOS 18.4

Friday March 21, 2025 3:26 pm PDT by
We're not getting new Siri Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18.4 as expected, but the upcoming update does have quite a few new additions that will be worth upgrading for. We've rounded up the five best features to look forward to, and if you're not running the beta, you can expect to get access to these in early April. Priority Notifications If you have an iPhone or iPad that supports...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Iridescent Search

Foldable iPhone Expected to Launch Next Year, Costing Around $2,000

Monday March 24, 2025 3:43 am PDT by
Apple will launch its long-rumored foldable iPhone next year with a ~$2,000 premium price tag attached, expects well-connected Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman. Gurman's comments on Apple's launch plans for its first foldable device appeared in the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter. Earlier this month, the reporter said Apple's foldable iPhone could be arriving "as early as 2026,"...
ios 19 messages app

Here's What Apple's iOS 19 Messages App Might Look Like

Tuesday March 25, 2025 11:52 am PDT by
Leaker Jon Prosser today shared a mockup of what he says the Messages app will look like in iOS 19, demoing an interface with rounded, translucent bubble-shaped navigation buttons at the top and softer, rounder corners for the keyboard and word suggestions. Jon Prosser's Messages app mockup The return button, a button for going back to the Messages list, and the FaceTime button have a deeper...

Top Rated Comments

TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
43 months ago
Well deserved! The weekend Wins!

Congratulations!!!


The Weekend wins Global Artist of the Year at the third annual Apple Music Awards.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bandaman Avatar
43 months ago
Ugh no.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bug-Creator Avatar
43 months ago

Aya Nakamura for France?
Dunno, but considering that they went with a 100% talent free autotune "rapper" for Germany gives me a hint....
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Upeo Avatar
43 months ago

She’s the exact opposite of an artist. She is an empty product created for mass consumption with no idea of what she’s doing. She even recognized herself that she didn’t know what the lyrics she’s been writing meant (because they don’t mean anything whatsoever). Appart from the lyrics, the music is also quite… appalling.
I never really understood this argument regarding pop music, regardless of how I feel about it. Let's say she is an empty product created for mass consumption, doesn't that mean the appetite for whatever it is she's producing is out there? You think it's just ignorance that has people consuming what she's producing? Can't it be that they're simply looking for something in their music that you're not looking for in yours?

Music is meant to elicit an emotional response out of people. Whether to energise, help contemplate or think, inform, emotional processing, or what else, it's popular with human beings precisely because it affects the way we feel and it can do so in multiple different ways.

You can't judge a song for what it's not trying to be, she's not going after a Pulitzer. It's music meant to help you decompress. That has its value too. Apple Music is a streaming platform, they go by what people listen to. We may not enjoy it, but for something as utterly and completely subjective as music, who are we to either say they're not allowed to or the music we listen to is better?

If these people are doing good, more power to them. Music you like is still out there, music I like is still out there. There's room for both. Not everything has to be for everybody.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RobertoDLV Avatar
43 months ago

Why do you say that?
She’s the exact opposite of an artist. She is an empty product created for mass consumption with no idea of what she’s doing. She even recognized herself that she didn’t know what the lyrics she’s been writing meant (because they don’t mean anything whatsoever). Appart from the lyrics, the music is also quite… appalling.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Stevez67 Avatar
43 months ago
Industry awards like these are intended to continue the corporate revenue stream from performers who are already part of that stream. These awards go to performers in whom the music industry has already invested. It's a bit like slapping insurance policy onto an asset. I've listened to all the awardees and they're listenable, but unremarkable. They break no new ground, musically.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)