Genius Presents: The Year in Lyrics 2016

2016 really caught us off guard. From surprise albums by superstars like Beyoncé and Frank Ocean to out-of-nowhere No. 1 smashes by new artists like Desiigner and The Chainsmokers, this year has taught us to expect the unexpected.

Each day, millions of music fans come to Genius to read lyrics and learn about their favorite artists, and our Top Songs Chart reflects what the world is listening to. Now that the year is almost over, we’ve crunched the numbers and compiled Genius' annual Year In Lyrics retrospective.

In 2016, Genius song pages were viewed over 1 billion times—we’ve broken down this data into the following categories: Top Artist, Top Song, Top Lyric, Top Album, Top Producer, and Top Featured Artist.

Even if VIEWS wasn’t the critically acclaimed masterpiece fans were waiting for, Drake overwhelmingly dominated 2016. With a blockbuster 20-track album and a slew of high-profile features (including one on our top song of the year), Drake was the Top Artist on Genius this year, with his songs pulling in nearly 30 million views. Kanye, Rihanna, Beyoncé, and Frank Ocean rounded out the top five, while new artists like Lil Uzi Vert, Young M.A., and French rap group PNL made waves in the top 20.

1. Drake (28,400,109 views)
2. Kanye West (18,994,086 views)
3. Rihanna (13,894,438 views)
4. Beyoncé (10,587,496 views)
5. Frank Ocean (8,000,969 views)
6. The Weeknd (7,529,755 views)
7. The Chainsmokers (5,252,608 views)
8. Travis Scott (4,651,041 views)
9. Chance The Rapper (4,633,806 views)
10. DJ Khaled (4,232,255 views)
11. ​gnash (4,223,878 views)
12. PNL (4,176,257 views)
13. Lil Uzi Vert (3,677,314 views)
14. Ariana Grande (3,588,195 views)
15. Future (3,556,565 views)
16. Young Thug (3,470,674 views)
17. Rae Sremmurd (3,020,161 views)
18. J. Cole (3,004,244 views)
19. PARTYNEXTDOOR (2,954,132 views)
20. Young M.A (2,606,917 views)

With its Patois-infused lyrics taking over pop radio, Rihanna’s “Work” was viewed almost 7 million times on Genius this year, making it the Top Song of 2016. Other global smashes by Drake, Beyoncé, The Chainsmokers, and Desiigner made the top five, while summer hits by Aminé, twenty one pilots, and D.R.A.M. brought in millions of curious listeners too.

1. Rihanna feat. Drake, “Work” (6,952,995 views)
2. Drake feat. Wizkid & Kyla, “One Dance” (4,957,648 views)
3. Beyonce, “Formation” (4,620,516 views)
4. The Chainsmokers feat. Halsey, “Closer” (4,580,173 views)
5. Desiigner, “Panda” (4,352,944 views)
6. Gnash feat. Olivia O'Brien, “i hate u, i love u (3,957,678 views)
7. The Weeknd feat. Daft Punk, “Starboy” (3,215,011 views)
8. Kanye West feat. Kid Cudi, “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1” (2,948,952 views)
9. Young M.A., “OOOUUU” (2,473,230 views)
10. Rae Sremmurd feat. Gucci Mane, “Black Beatles” (2,298,299 views)
11. Kanye West feat. Chance The Rapper, Kelly Price, Kirk Franklin & The-Dream, “Ultralight Beam” (2,094,755 views)
12. Aminé, “Caroline” (2,036,218 views)
13. Drake, “Summer Sixteen” (1,991,371 views)
14. Drake feat. Rihanna, “Too Good” (1,894,282 views)
15. DJ Snake feat. Justin Bieber, “Let Me Love You” (1,890,118 views)
16. twenty one pilots, “Heathens” (1,811,720 views)
17. Drake, “Child’s Play” (1,750,377 views)
18. Desiigner, “Tiimmy Turner” (1,692,751 views)
19. D.R.A.M. feat. Lil Yachty, “Broccoli” (1,670,534 views)
20. PARTYNEXTDOOR feat. Drake, “Come And See Me” ( 1,560,422 views)

Genius' Top Lyrics were determined by looking at the number of times each lyric was clicked on to reveal its annotation. The chorus of Rihanna’s “Work” was viewed over 1.3 million times, thanks to all the confused listeners struggling to understand what “haffi” means. And it’s no surprise that Desiigner—notorious for being difficult to understand—takes three of the four spots in our top five lyrics chart, including lines from both “Tiimmy Turner” and “Panda.” Other confusing lines from “One Dance” and “Starboy” also made the top 10.

1. Rihanna, “Work” (1,316,686 views)
   

   Work, work, work, work, work, work
   He said me haffi
   Work, work, work, work, work, work!
   He see me do mi
   Dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt!

2. Desiigner, “Panda” (729,542 views)
   

   I got broads in Atlanta
   Twistin' dope, lean, and the Fanta

3. Drake feat. Wizkid & Kyla, “One Dance” (600,541 views)
   

   That’s why I need a one dance
   Got a Hennessy in my hand
   One more time ‘fore I go
   Higher powers taking a hold on me

4. Desiigner, “Panda” (599,422 views)
   

   Panda, Panda
   Panda, Panda, Panda, Panda, Panda

5. Desiigner, “Tiimmy Turner” (595,265 views)
   

   Tiimmy, Tiimmy, Tiimmy Turner
   He was wishin' for a burner
   To kill everybody walkin’

6. Desiigner, “Panda” (574,034 views)
   

   Black X6, Phantom
   White X6 look like a panda

7. Drake feat. Wizkid & Kyla, “One Dance” (563,600 views)
   

   Oti, oti, there’s never much love when we go OT
   I pray to make it back in one piece

8. twenty one pilots, “Heathens” (538,252 views)
   

   All my friends are heathens, take it slow
   Wait for them to ask you who you know
   Please don’t make any sudden moves
   You don’t know the half of the abuse

9. The Weeknd feat. Daft Punk, “Starboy” (493,697 views)
   

   20 racks a table cut from ebony
   Cut that ivory into skinny pieces
   Then she clean it with her face man I love my baby

10. The Chainsmokers feat. Halsey, “Closer” (476,462 views)
    

    So, baby, pull me closer
    In the backseat of your Rover
    That I know you can’t afford

Top Albums—which includes any collection of at least five songs, including EPs—looks at the highest average views of all songs in the collection. EDM bro-throbs The Chainsmokers took the top spot with their five song EP Collage, which averaged out at 1,050,067 views per song, led by their smash “Closer” alongside hits like “Don’t Let Me Down” and “All We Know.” Drake, Kanye West, Rihanna, Beyoncé, and Frank Ocean round out the top five, while December releases by J. Cole and Post Malone managed to make the top 20.

1. The Chainsmokers, Collage (1,050,067 average views)
2. Drake, Views (1,042,686 average views)
3. Kanye West, The Life Of Pablo (882,711 average views)
4. Rihanna, Anti (733,804 average views)
5. Beyonce, LEMONADE (661,014 average views)
6. gnash, us (599,158 average views)
7. The Weeknd, Starboy (348,035 average views)
8. Frank Ocean, Blonde (347,195 average views)
9. Chance The Rapper, Coloring Book (320,528 average views)
10. Desiigner, New English (319,869 average views)
11. Travis Scott, Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight (318,494 average views)
12. DJ Khaled, Major Key (283,337 average views)
13. Kendrick Lamar, Untitled Unmastered (254,389 average views)
14. J. Cole, 4 Your Eyez Only (235,816 average views)
15. 21 Savage, Savage Mode (227,517 average views)
16. Future, EVOL (216,953 average views)
17. Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Uzi Vert. Vs. The World (208,795 average views)
18. PNL, Dans la légende (207,400 average views)
19. Ariana Grande, Dangerous Woman(199,129 average views)
20. Post Malone, Stoney (198,436 average views)

Which producer’s songs were viewed the most times in 2016? This year’s Top Producer spot goes to Kanye West, who has a production credit on every track from his highly-collaborative The Life Of Pablo album, plus credits on tracks by Sia and Drake. Beyoncé also makes the top five thanks to her production on Lemonade, while hitmakers Boi-1da, Nineteen85, Mike Will defined the sound of 2016 with songs like Rih’s “Work” and Drake’s “One Dance,” and Rae Sremmurd’s “Black Beatles.”

1. Kanye West (20,672,828 views)
2. Boi-1da (15,710,451 views)
3. Noah “40” Shebib (12,546,776 views)
4. Beyoncé (9,927,018 views)
5. Nineteen85 (9,464,673 views)
6. Mike WiLL Made It (9,308,346 views)
7. Mike Dean (8,825,740 views)
8. Metro Boomin (6,433,603 views)
9. Frank Dukes (6,312,531 views)
10. CuBeatz (6,154,708 views)
11. Frank Ocean (5,628,979 views)
12. The Chainsmokers (5,251,469 views)
13. Kuk Harrell (5,030,623 views)
14. Vinylz (4,814,235 views)
15. Rick Rubin (4,495,291 views)
16. ​gnash (4,131,356 views)
17. Southside (4,019,053 views)
18. Allen Ritter (3,796,576 views)
19. Cardo (3,687,568 views)
20. Supa Dups (3,652,007 views)

Who put in the most work on collaborations this year? Lil Yachty takes the Top Featured Artist crown in 2016, with a whopping 65 guest verses outside of his own solo material, including his memorable verse on D.R.A.M.’s “Broccoli.” Ty Dolla $ign follows close behind with 63, while Lil Wayne, Future, and Young Thug all stacked up dozens of features to make the top five.

1. Lil Yachty (65 features)
2. Ty Dolla $ign (63 features)
3. Young Thug (58 features)
4. Future (45 features)
5. Lil Wayne (40 features)