Top 10 Artists of 2009

2009 brought us mixtapes, assaults, award-winning music videos, crazy costumes, memorable performances and iconic passings. But before we break into a new decade, check out the top 10 artists that reigned AOL Radio's search engine. Whether it was because of their music, tragic passing, or controversy, they were the most popular of 2009.

10) Drake

We've all heard his upbeat 'Best I Ever Had.' Girls treat it like it's their anthem; guys –albeit being slightly jealous of the rapper's popularity – recite all the lyrics. And this all happened so quickly, starting with Aubrey "Drake" Graham's successful February-released mixtape 'So Far Gone.' The hype encouraged the Canadian rapper/singer to release the mixtape as an EP in September (which features Trey Songz, Lil Wayne, Bun B and Young Jeezy). He even joined forces with supergroup Young Money, singing on 'Every Girl' and 'Bedrock.' And in 2009 alone, he has guest-starred on songs by Jamie Foxx, Mary J. Blige, Trey Songz, Birdman, Timbaland and DJ Khaled. With Lil Wayne as his mentor, Young Money / Universal Motown as his label, two Grammy nominations and a forthcoming album 'Thank Me Later' (featuring Lil Wayne and Kanye West), this rap/singer mogul is as big as Kanye West and Snoop Dogg, when they first debuted. Expect big things.

9) Chris Brown

2009 may have not been the best year for Brown. Immediately after the domestic assault this past February with then-girlfriend Rihanna, his performance was withdrawn at the 2009 Grammy Awards, commercial ads were postponed, and his songs were pulled from radio playlists. Even after his famous statement plastered on the tabloids a week later, "Words cannot begin to express how sorry and saddened I am over what transpired," the public and fans remained wary. Now with his Dec. 8-released 'Graffiti,' we find it awkwardly uncomfortable to listen to Brown croon about having a second chance in his second single 'Crawl,' and the apologetic 'So Cold,' even if we enjoy the upbeat synth tracks of 'I Can Transform Ya' featuring Lil Wayne and Swizz Beatz. And with Rihanna's 'Rated R,' which debuted two weeks before 'Graffiti,' it's hard to not compare the two, and somehow relate any, if all of the lyrics on the tracks to the unfortunate incident.

8) Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus has been a living, breathing corporation for some time, with albums, sold-out tours, a memoir, a clothing line, and the Hannah Montana series to fuel the franchise. But 2009 was more important as ever, as the 17-year-old transitions from a Disney Hannah Montana tween product into a full-blown adult, with not nearly as much time as other Disney alums Britney, Justin, or Christina. But so far, Miley is holding her ground. She was featured on Timbaland's most recent album, 'Shock Value II.' She launched her 2009 North American Tour and released two singles that hit the top 20 charts: 'The Climb' and 'Party In the USA.' The latter was so popular, it was even given a sign-language video. And even though the catchy song is more age appropriate for a 17-year-old, mothers of Hannah Montana fans were still critical of her video, especially Miley's revealing dress attire. But this won't hurt Miley's reputation -- the pole dancing at the VMAs surely didn't. After all, the British Royal Family still loves her. She (along with Lady GaGa) were invited to perform for the Queen in December.

7) Michael Jackson

June 25 will always be associated with the King of Pop. But since that day, facebook updates, tweets, and web news have flooded the Internet, all of us paying tribute and trying to make sense of the death of one of our most beloved performers. MTV even returned to playing music videos (yay no reality T.V.!) of MJ for a brief period, to honor the late singer's paramount discography. And then there was the much publicized public memorial at the Staples Center, which not only brought in family, friends, and music industries moguls, but also 17,500 lucky fans who won tickets to the memorial. Spike Lee even created a music video to coincide with MJ's posthumous single. But it was the concert rehearsal documentary 'This Is It,' where we saw Michael for the first time; a person more human, humble, and vulnerable. The film grossed $200 million worldwide, causing the two-week showcase to be extended through Thanksgiving. Even Elizabeth Taylor pleasingly tweeted, "To say the man is a genius is an understatement. He cradles each note, coaxes the music to depths beyond reality."

6) Akon

So he may have embellished his duration in jail and his auto theft history; and he may have a notorious past of throwing a fan off stage. But his distinctive West African-styled vocals and hip-hop soul trumps all. And in 2009, he continued to release new singles (the Michael Jackson tribute 'Cry Out of Joy' and singles off his 2008 'Freedom') as well as utilized his producing skills on Whitney Houston's 2009 comeback album 'I Look to You.' His collaborations this year include international genres: Bachata-sounding group Aventura ('All Up to You,') and reggaeton rapper Pitbull ('Shut It Down'). But his biggest break was his collaboration with French DJ David Guetta with the summer anthem 'Sexy B----,' (which even made our 2009 Top Dance Songs) featuring the memorable line: "I'm trying to find the words to describe this girl without being disrespectful." The song was such a hit, Akon and Guetta paired up again on recently-released 'Nosy Neighbor' (about being a peeping Tom). What's next? Akon plans to release his fourth studio album, 'Stadium Music' next year.

5) Lady GaGa

What's not to love about GaGa? She has dance hits that make us "turn [our] shirts inside out," dresses made of bubbles, orbital headwear, theatrical performances and award-winning videos, to start. But aside from glitter and the bombshell wig, it's clear this diva has pipes, and is setting trends that make it difficult for any other artist to release innovative dance hits without critics labeling them as a GaGa rip-off (i.e. Cascada: 'Evacute the Dancefloor' and Ke$ha 'TiK ToK'). And after the success of her debut 'The Fame,' she dropped a re-release 'The Fame Monster' Nov. 18 including eight, catchy new tracks such as: Beyonce-featured 'Telephone,' 'Bad Romance,' and my favorite 'Alejandro.' Now with a sold-out 'The Monster Ball' Tour including Kid Cudi and Jason DeRulo, we can't wait to see what trends GaGa will invent next year.

4) Eminem

After a three-year hiatus, Eminem satisfied fans with a successful sixth studio album released May 15. 'Relapse' -- a reference to Eminem's drug addiction following the death of his best friend and his failed marriage -- included more celebrity-targeted parodies ('We Made You'), and sociopath references and poetic violence ('3am'). But even after the album's success -- 600,000 albums sold in the first week -- Eminem dropped a re-release titled 'Relapse: Refill' Dec. 21, featuring seven bonus tracks: 'Forever' (featuring Drake, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West), 'Taking My Ball' and five new songs, with all the buzz beginning with 'Elevator' (which references typical Slim Shady vernacular) and crowd-pleaser 'Hell Breaks Loose' (a collaboration with long-time producer and friend Dr. Dre). And similar to Lil Wayne and Miley Cyrus, Eminem has been a target to Internet-rumored deaths this year -- August 16 and November 24, to be exact.

3) Taylor Swift

I guess we could confidently say that Swift has had a phenomenal year -- which really took off, shortly after this year's MTV Video Music Awards incident with Kanye West. Now the seventeen year-old fairy-tale princess persona is EVERYWHERE. Not only has she graced the cover of December's 'InStyle,' acted in the forthcoming 2010 film 'Valentine's Day,' smooched 'New Moon' heartthrob Taylor Lautner, and hosted 'Saturday Night Live,' she is collecting a slew of awards from her successful album 'Fearless': five American Music Awards, four CMA awards, and 8 Grammy nominations to be exact. And her success seems to leave everyone in a pickle: Is there anything controversial about her? Is she country or pop? Do we like her for her goody-goody persona or her music, or both?

2) Beyonce

Beyonce seems to continually produce catchy tunes that we just can't get out of our heads. And in 2009, she has had amazing success with her 2008 album 'I Am...Sasha Fierce.' This year she was even invited to perform Etta James' 'At Last' at Obama's inauguration. But despite some of the not-so-great happenings -- such as starring in the flopped film 'Obsessed' and currently involved with a copyright-infringement lawsuit for the Destiny's child song 'Cater 2 U,' the diva is leading the pack with 10 Grammy Nominations (the most out of any other artist for this year). This puts her at a tie with Lauryn Hill, who back in '99 was also awarded 10 Grammy noms for 'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.' Even Miley Cyrus wants to be like her.

1) Lil Wayne

We love Weezy. With his rapping freestyle hymns and catchy lyrics we can't help but recite all of his songs. But 2009 comes along and Lil Wayne is tired of rapping. He wants to rock. So he has been working on his debut, 'Rebirth,' which was supposed to release in April, then June, then Dec. 21 (the same day his Young Money Entertainment label is to release the collaboration album 'We Are Young Money'). Now we have to wait until Feb. 1, 2010 to get our hands on the new album. But let's not forget the slew of collaborations just this year: Drake, Jay Sean, Madonna and even Weezer among the bunch. He's MTV's No. 2 Hottest MCs for 2009. He's Drake's mentor. And he just keeps busting out kick a-- singles, recently 'On Fire,' sampling Amy Holland's track from the 'Scarface' soundtrack, 'Prom Queen,' 'Hot Revolver,' and 'Da Da Da.' It's too bad he just performed his last concert, at least until he serves his 365-day sentence for possession of a loaded firearm.