Akon claims crown as premier pop artist of 2007

By Keith Caulfield

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Three years ago he debuted on the charts with the single "Locked Up." This year, Akon locks up Billboard's top pop artist honor.

The singer's "Konvicted" album (Konvict/Upfront/SRC/Universal Motown/UMRG), released in November 2006, may not have reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200, but its sturdy performance aided Akon's rise to the top of the pop heap.

"Konvicted" spent its first 30 weeks lodged in the top 30 of the Billboard 200 after its bow at No. 2. While Akon ends the year at No. 1 on the Top Artists recap, "Konvicted" ranks just behind Daughtry's self-titled album at the peak of the Top Billboard 200 tally.

Akon is also a heavyweight on the year-end Billboard Hot 100 Songs recap, where he earns six rungs on the tally: as a guest on Gwen Stefani's "The Sweet Escape" (No. 3), T-Pain's "Bartender" (No. 33) and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's "I Tried" (No. 58), and with three of his own songs: "I Wanna Love You" (No. 8, featuring Snoop Dogg), "Don't Matter" (No. 11) and "Smack That" (No. 15, featuring Eminem).

Akon kept himself busy collaborating with a host of artists, just like another male superstar: the No. 3 name on the Top Artists recap, Justin Timberlake. The Jive singer was frankly inescapable on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2007, notching numerous solo hits as well as smashes with the likes of Beyonce, 50 Cent and Timbaland.

All told, Timberlake scores seven slots on the year-end Hot 100 Songs recap, with his highest-ranking single coming in at No. 21: "Give It to Me" by Timbaland, which features Nelly Furtado and Timberlake.

FERGIE FIRST

In terms of sheer Hot 100 chart domination this year, the female equivalent of Timberlake would have to be Fergie. The will.i.am/A&M/Interscope artist finds herself at No. 2 on the Top Artists list and is the year's top female pop artist.

Her 2006 single "London Bridge," a No. 1 Hot 100 smash, was only a preview of what Fergie had in store for 2007. Her "The Dutchess" album unleashed four more hits, including the No. 1s "Glamorous" and "Big Girls Don't Cry." On the Billboard Hot 100 Songs year-end recap, she owns three of the top 20 singles (Nos. 4, 10 and 19).

It's a feat for one artist to place three singles on the year-end Hot 100 chart. It's another ballgame entirely when you can snag four (Timbaland), six (Akon) or seven (Timberlake and T-Pain). All told, if we add up the number of singles those four men racked up on the Hot 100 Songs recap, they own a whopping 21 titles, including hits with shared credit.

It shouldn't be much of a surprise that the ubiquitous Timbaland reigns as the No. 1 Hot 100 producer of 2007. He helmed 20 singles that reached the tally this year, from the obvious (Timberlake's numerous hits) to the not-so-obvious (Bjork's "Earth Intruders"). Akon is in the runner-up position on the Hot 100 Producers tally, with T-Pain at No. 8.

T-Pain also finds himself at No. 9 on the pop artist recap, behind Daughtry (No. 4), Carrie Underwood (No. 5) and Beyonce (No. 6).

After a few misfires with the early singles from her "B'Day" album, Beyonce found a massive smash with "Irreplaceable." Or, "Irreemplazable," for those checking out the Latin charts. The "Dreamgirls" artist's empowerment anthem is the year's No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs recap. It's one of only two appearances from Beyonce on the Hot 100 year-end tally, with the second, her "Beautiful Liar" duet with Shakira, coming in at No. 62.

"Irreplaceable" is Beyonce's fourth trip to the top 10 of the year-end Hot 100 Songs chart, but her first to crown the tally. In 2003, her "Crazy in Love" single finished out the year at No. 4. Before that, a pair of Destiny's Child hits reached the top 10: "Independent Women Part I" (No. 10 in 2001) and "Say My Name" (No. 6 in 2000).

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