Billboard's No. 1 Artist of the Year Is ...

Bruno Mars
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Dec 13, 2013 6:00 PM CST

Miley Cyrus twerked her way to the top of the charts, and Justin Timberlake returned to music after a seven-year hiatus, but another artist owned music in 2013: Bruno Mars. Billboard announced today that the pop crooner is the year's top overall artist. The singer's year included a No. 1 hit with "When I Was Your Man" and a top 5 hit with "Treasure." His sophomore album, Unorthdox Juxebox, was released late last year and has sold more than 1.8 million units. It's the second best-selling album of the year behind Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience. Mars' impressive year also includes four Grammy nominations.

Raves Billboard: "Between the timeless quality of his music and the precision spectacle of his TV and stage performances, Mars is on track to become that seemingly rare industry entity: a career artist." Taylor Swift is the year's top female artist for Billboard, while Mars is the leading male. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis is the top group and new act. Timberlake ruled the R&B charts, while groups Flordia George Line and Imagine Dragons topped the country and rock charts, respectively. (More Bruno Mars stories.)

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