Reflecting on 2025’s biggest music triumphs, Billboard year-end charts are, to no one’s surprise, dominated by the industry’s most prominent names – led by Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, and Rosé.
Swift leads the Billboard 200 year-end albums chart with The Life of a Showgirl, continuing her unparalleled streak of top-performing releases. The album’s long chart run, bolstered by Swift’s record-setting stadium tour, makes her year-end crown feel almost inevitable.
On the singles side, the biggest triumph of the year belongs to Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars. Their soaring duet “Die With a Smile” closes out 2025 as the No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart — Gaga’s first year-end Hot 100 topper and another colossal win for Mars, whose hitmaking streak now spans well over a decade.
“Die With A Smile” isn’t the only Mars hit topping the chart. His infectious duet with K-Pop star Rosé, “APT”, is crowned the No. 1 song on the Billboard Global 200 year-end chart – solidifying its popularity and viral impact around the globe. For Rosé, one fourth of the K-Pop girl group Blackpink, this marks a significant milestone as she is now the first K-Pop artist in history to achieve the feat.
They’re far from alone on the scoreboard. Other major names pepper the lists, including Bad Bunny — who dominated streaming and Wrapped metrics — Billie Eilish, whose latest album became a critical and commercial bright spot, and Olivia Rodrigo, continuing her grip on the pop-rock lane. Doja Cat, SZA, Kendrick Lamar and Huntr/x of “K-Pop Demon Hunters” fame also appear prominently across the year-end placements, reflecting a landscape where genre lines remain fluid and global influence is stronger than ever.