Global music streaming service Rdio has released its year-end charts for 2014, with Ed Sheeran’s x coming in at #1 on the Australian album chart, Pharrell Williams’, “Happy” ranking as the most-streamed song in Australia and Ed Sheeran grabbing #1 artist of 2014 according to listener preferences in Australia.

Music fans can now search Rdio’s charts spanning 30 countries on www.rdio.com/2014, and experience their own 2014 favourites via Your 2014, where listeners can find the songs and artists they loved the most throughout the year.

2014 was a major year for Australian music, and Rdio captured the pulse of what local listeners were enjoying the most with charts ranking top album and track streams both in Australia and globally. Several Australian artists broke through on the local charts including Peking Duk, Sia, 5 Seconds of Summer, Chet Faker and Iggy Azalea who also received top nods for The New Classic as the most listened to album globally in 2014, and the 8^th most listened to track for “Fancy”.

Rdio also returns with its highly popular Rdio Covers series, which features exclusive recordings from artists who provide a fresh take on some of 2014’s biggest hits and are destined to break out in 2015. Featured on the 2014 track list is local artist Brendan MacLean covering Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy” and indie pop quartet The Griswolds covering Magic!’s “Rude”.

In 2015, Rdio Australia will launch another new project to foster home-grown talent titled Artist to Watch – a program featuring a handpicked series of local artists that Rdio Australia will support in their rise to the top. Launched in the United States in 2014 with artists such as BANKS, Haerts and Strange Talk, Adelaide-based MC Tkay Midza will take the reins in Australia as Rdio Australia’s first Artist to watch in January, 2015.

Determined to keep its listeners ahead of the curve, Rdio also takes a look back at artists previously featured in the staff-selected Rdio Recommends monthly series and shows how those early picks ultimately fared in the charts this past year.

The top charts, including breakdown by countries and genres, along with Rdio Covers 2014 and the “Best of 2014: Rdio Recommends” playlists are available at www.rdio.com/2014.  The site also features Rdio staff picks of personal favourites from throughout the past year.

Rdio Year-End Charts:

TOP AUSTRALIAN ALBUMS:

1. ‘x’ – Ed Sheeran
2.  ‘100 Hot Songs Of Today’ – Various Artists
3. ‘Built On Glass’ – Chet Faker
4.  ‘In The Lonely Hour’ – Sam Smith
5. ‘The New Classic’ – Iggy Azalea
6.  ‘G I R L’ – Pharrell Williams
7. ‘MKTO’ – MKTO
8. ‘5 Seconds Of Summer’ – 5 Seconds Of Summer
9. ‘1000 Forms Of Fear’ – Sia
10. ‘This Is All Yours’ – alt J

TOP AUSTRALIAN TRACKS:

1. ‘Happy’ – Pharrell Williams
2. ‘Chandelier’ – Sia
3. ‘Stolen Dance’ – Milky Chance
4. ‘Rather Be’ – Clean Bandit feat. Jess Glynne
5. ‘Problem’ – Ariana Grande
6. ‘Free’ – Rudimental feat. Emeli Sandé
7. ‘Am I Wrong’ – Nico & Vince
8. ‘Addicted To You’ – Avicii
9. ‘Trumpets’ – Jason Derulo
10. ‘High’ – Peking Duk

TOP GLOBAL ALBUMS:

1. Iggy Azalea, The New Classic
2. Sam Smith, In The Lonely Hour
3. Rick Ross, Mastermind
4. Jason Derulo, Tattoos
5. Ed Sheeran, x
6. Schoolboy Q, Oxymoron
7. Childish Gambino, Because The Internet
8. Jorge and Mateus, Live In London at the Royal Albert Hall
9. Ariana Grande, Yours Truly
10. Lana Del Ray, Ultraviolence

TOP GLOBAL TRACKS:

1. Beyoncé, “Drunk in Love”
2. Ariana Grande, “Problem”
3. Idina Menzel, “Let It Go”
4. Katy Perry, “Dark Horse”
5. Pharrell Williams, Happy (From “Despicable Me 2”)
6. John Legend, “All of Me”
7. Magic!, “Rude”
8. Iggy Azalea, “Fancy”
9. DJ Snake, Lil Jon, “Turn Down for What”
10. Jason DeRulo, “Wiggle (feat. Snoop Dogg

TOP AUSTRALIAN RDIO RECOMMENDS TRACKS:

1. ‘Shelter Song’ – Temples
2. ‘Every Lie’ – Meg Mac
3. ‘Seasons (Waiting On You)’ – Future Islands
4. ‘Two Tone Melody’ – The Preatures
5. ‘Unfucktheworld’ – Angel Olsen
6. ‘Delete’ – DMA’s
7. ‘Hideaway’ – Kieza
8. ‘Mother & Father’ – Broods
9. ‘Busy Earnin” – Jungle
10. ‘Fur Eyes’ – Violent Soho
11. ‘Coffee’ – Sylvan Esso
12. ‘Love Me Less’ – One Day
13. ‘Violent Shiver’ – Benjamin Booker
14. ‘Tell Me’ – What So Not, RL Grime
15. ‘Creeper’ – The Acid
16. ‘Carriages’ – Tiny Ruins
17. ‘I Got U’ – Duke Dumont
18. ‘The Record’s Flawed’ – The Delta Riggs
19. ‘Beware The Dog’ – The Griswolds
20. ‘Arcadia’ – The Kite String Tangle