Top Songs of 2021: Canada

Only eight days into 2021, Olivia Rodrigo released “drivers license” and, in an instant, the year’s undisputed breakout star had been found. “drivers license” became the most listened-to song on Apple Music in Canada in 2021, with “good 4 u”, also from Rodrigo’s huge debut SOUR, two spots behind it. The music had never stopped in 2020, but 2021 marked the moment we were all truly able to dance again—and the world’s biggest artists stepped up. Ed Sheeran’s mighty comeback single “Bad Habits” was one of the year’s most inescapable hits, while DVBBS’s “West Coast” featuring Quinn XCII took a victory lap on the dance floor (as did songs from other homegrown heroes The Weeknd and Shawn Mendes). But while the country’s biggest names—Justin Bieber and Drake among them—enjoyed more chart-topping success, 2021 was also the year that Calgary pop star Tate McRae and Toronto rapper Pressa properly arrived on the global stage, signalling that Canada’s wellspring of young new talent continues to run deep.