Audacy presents our 2022 Most Played Artists

This year's KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas headliners Imagine Dragons had a successful year with the kick-off of their Mercury Tour and summer release of their latest album, the Rick Rubin-produced Mercury – Act 2 featuring the lead single, "Bones." The band also released a ten-year anniversary expanded edition of Night Visions in September featuring two previously unreleased demos. Listen to Imagine Dragons Radio and our Imagine Dragons-hosted I'm Happy, Wait I'm Sad stations now on the free Audacy app.

Up for a 2023 GRAMMY for his Doja Cat collab "I Like You (A Happier Song)," Post Malone followed the January release of his collaboration with The Weeknd, “One Right Now,” revealing his fourth studio album, Twelve Carat Toothache, would soon arrive supported by a 33-date tour. It dropped in the summer, preceded by the album's second single, "Cooped Up" with Roddy Ricch, in May, and a Saturday Night Live musical guest appearance, also joined by Fleet Foxes. 2022 also saw Malone cover the theme song for the 2022 Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers flick, and in August his documentary film Runaway premiered on Amazon Prime’s Freevee showing intimate moments from the first leg of his 2019 Runaway Tour and more. Listen to Post Malone Radio now on the free Audacy app.

Following a break at the end of 2021 to work on a new project, in January 2022 The Kid Laroi teased new music with Don Toliver, hinting at a new album. In February, Laroi announced the title of his studio debut, The First Time, but later changed it to Kids Are Growing Up and in April, Laroi dropped his new single and video for "Thousand Miles." He then went home to Australia to begin his first headlining tour, the End Of The World Tour, but after falling ill, needed to reschedule. This year, Laroi and rapper Fivio Foreign also dropped their collab, "Paris to Tokyo," and is featured on Nardo Wick's single, "Burning Up.” Listen to Progressive Pop now on the free Audacy app.

In March of 2022, cultural and musical sensation Lil Nas X returned from a hiatus teasing the songs "Late to da Party" featuring YoungBoy Never Broke Again, and "Down Souf Hoes" featuring Saucy Santana from an "almost finished" new album, and previewed the track "Lean on My Body.” April of this year saw the announcement of his first tour, the Long Live Montero Tour in support of his album Montero, which ran from September through November. In September, LNX and Riot Games collaborated for the 2022 League of Legends World Championship, releasing, "Star Walkin'," along with a music video. Listen to Lil Nas X Radio now on the free Audacy app.

6X 2023 GRAMMY nominee Harry Styles had a hell of a year, enjoying massive success with his third studio album, Harry's House, and the lead single for which, "As It Was," which debuted at the top of the U.S. and U.K. charts. Over the summer, Harry was a headliner at the 2022 installment of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and his track "Music for a Sushi Restaurant" was featured in AirPods ads. The second Harry's House single, "Late Night Talking," was released in July, just ahead of Harry's House being shortlisted for the Mercury Prize and at the 2022 MTV VMAs, Harry’s House received the Album of the Year trophy. Late summer and into the fall, Styles took his Love On Tour on the road, performing sold-out shows across the U.S., and won Favorite Male Pop Artist and Favorite Pop Song at the 2022 American Music Awards. Listen to Harry Styles Radio now on the free Audacy app.

Fans first caught wind of a new studio album from The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye) being completed in October of 2021 while at the same time finding out his upcoming tour, renamed The After Hours ‘til Dawn Tour, would begin in July of 2022 and visit cities in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Australia. After appearing on Swedish House Mafia's "Moth To A Flame” Post Malone's "One Right Now," Rosalía's "La Fama," FKA Twigs' "Tears in the Club” and Aaliyah's "Poison" singles, The Weeknd’s fifth studio album, Dawn FM, arrived at the beginning of January 2022 debuting at number two on the Billboard 200 supported by the singles "Sacrifice" and "Out of Time.” Remixes arrived soon after on an "alternate world" edition of the album. In February, The Weeknd premiered The Dawn FM Experience in partnership with Amazon Prime, and in April 2022, The Weeknd headlined the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Listen to The Weeknd Radio now on the free Audacy app.

Still riding high on the success of her 2020 Future Nostalgia album and singles with Elton John and PNAU, FKA Twigs, Miley Cyrus, and DaBaby, British-Albanian singer and songwriter Dua Lipa and Megan Thee Stallion released their collab "Sweetest Pie" in March 2022 which served as the lead single from Megan's second studio album, Traumazine. Before the summer hit, Dua also collaborated with Calvin Harris and Young Thug on "Potion," the lead single from Harris' sixth studio album, Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2. This year, Dua also launched a weekly lifestyle newsletter, called Service95, and a related podcast called Dua Lipa: At Your Service. Listen to Dua Lipa Radio now on the free Audacy app.

Nominated for five 2023 GRAMMYs, rapper Doja Cat closed 2021 as one of the best-selling female R&B and Hip-Hop artists and early in 2022 took home honors for Female Rapper of the Year and Performer of the Year at the XXL Awards and received a total of eight nominations at the 64th Annual GRAMMYs, the most for any female artist, while taking home the Best Pop Duo Performance trophy for "Kiss Me More" featuring SZA. Doja Cat kept the momentum going this year, dropping a cover of Hole’s "Celebrity Skin" for a Super Bowl LVI Taco Bell commercial that she starred in and later a collab with Tyga, called "Freaky Deaky.” Doja also contributed to the Baz Luhrmann ELVIS biopic soundtrack with her track "Vegas." Listen to Doja Cat Radio now on the free Audacy app.

U.K. singer and songwriter Ed Sheeran started off everyone’s 2022 exactly the way it should have been, releasing a duet version of "The Joker and the Queen," featuring Taylor Swift in February of this year. Sheeran followed that duet up in March on "Bam Bam," his 2023 GRAMMY nominated second collab with singer Camila Cabello and later joined up with J Balvin on a double-dose of singles, "Sigue" and "Forever My Love." Ed then kicked off his Mathematics Tour at the end of the month and then released his fifth single from =, "2step" featuring Lil Baby, and another version with Ukrainian band Antytila. Sheeran also dropped deeper into the Rock realm this year with the re-release of his "Bad Habits" single with British pop-rockers Bring Me the Horizon. In November 2022, Ed’s single "Shivers" became his eleventh to reach 1 billion streams. Sheeran is hitting the road in 2023 and is expected to drop a new album next year as well. Listen to Ed Sheeran Radio and Ed Sheeran's Favorites hosted by Ed himself, on the free Audacy app.

With two tracks on our Top 22 Songs of 2022 list, singer Justin Bieber started the year making a guest appearance on Beam's debut studio album Alien, on "Sundown," and in February 2022 headlined the "Homecoming Weekend" celebrations ahead of Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles, In March, Justin released a collab with singer Omah Lay, "Attention," followed by his own single, "Ghost," from his 2021 album Justice, which marked his 20th Top 5 hit and reached number one on Billboard's Pop Songs chart. It was a busy spring, as he was also featured on Kehlani’s single "Up at Night" and in April, Bieber surprised Coachella attendees with a performance on stage with Daniel Caesar. Justin then dropped his new single and video for "Honest" featuring Don Toliver. Over the summer, Bieber collaborated with the game Garena Free Fire, with an exclusive official song, titled "Beautiful Love." In September, following a Ramsay Hunt Syndrome diagnosis, Justin suspended his Justice World Tour in order to focus on his health. Listen to Justin Bieber Radio now on the free Audacy app.