Top pop music artists

As 2015 draws to a close, we pause to reflect on the artists, albums and trends that left lasting impressions.

ALL ABOUT ADELE — Even though her long-awaited album 25 just hit stores last month, it's floated above all other 2015 music stories after snagging years' worth of sales in only a few weeks. What Adele's got, everyone wants. That was apparent for the months of anticipation leading to her new music, in the media blitz accompanying its release and in the frenzy created by thousands of frustrated fans trying to get tickets to one of her upcoming concerts. It's an understatement at this point to call Adele's voice powerful.

The Weeknd performs during the iHeartRadio Z100 Jingle Ball, an annual pop music showcase, at Madison Square Garden in New York, Dec. 11, 2015. (Chad Batka/The New York Times)

READY FOR THE WEEKND — If Adele made the biggest strides in sales and fan fervor in 2015, Canadians the Weeknd (a.k.a. 25-year-old crooner Abel Tesfaye) and Drake still stood out as the most influential. You could hear Tesfaye's uber-chill, reflective R&B approach not only in his monster hit songs ("Can't Feel My Face") but in the hits of others hoping to get on his wavelength (Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, Nick Jonas and so on). Alternatively boastful and reflective, Drake's is the voice of his generation. His highly addictive "Hotline Bling" slowly and steadily became the song of the year.

CURATION NATION — While on-demand access to almost everything is the top draw for streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music, the delivery and organization of all that music is starting to matter more to listeners. Apple's shiny new service got a leg up on its competitors this year thanks to its content-rich approach, including a cutting-edge worldwide radio station, Beats 1, as well as collections and exclusive content created by household names.

Luke Bryan (left) and Blake Shelton celebrate Bryan's winning of Entertainer of the Year during the 2015 Academy of Country Music Awards Sunday, April 19, 2015 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News)

COUNTRY IN THE CITY - Modern country music found a temporary home in North Texas. All of Nashville's elite descended on Dallas and Arlington in April for the Academy of Country Music Awards' 50th anniversary show at AT&T Stadium. One of this year's entertainer-of-the-year nominees, Garth Brooks, brought his comeback world tour to American Airlines Center for seven shows in September. Reigning ACM and CMA entertainer of the year Luke Bryan played a rain-soaked two-night stand at Gexa Energy Pavilion.

HOMETOWN HEROES — Accolades rained down on several homegrown talents in 2015. In April, the late Stevie Ray Vaughan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by his equally well-respected brother, Jimmie, among others. Also taking the stage in Cleveland for another part of that ceremony was Fort Worth soul singer Leon Bridges. That was one of countless highlights of a year in which he went from struggling singer-songwriter to Grammy-nominated sensation. Speaking of Grammys, St. Vincent and Pentatonix each won their first golden trophies. And in a case of association being as powerful as awards, Garland's Justin Mohrle co-wrote tracks and performed (as Justus) on Dr. Dre's long awaited return album, Compton.

Demi Lovato performs at KISS-FM's annual Jingle Ball 2015 concert at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Tuesday, December 1, 2015. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News

POP GO THE LOCALS — It's OK that One Direction permanently lost Zayn Malik and announced a coming group hiatus; there are plenty of pop stars to pick up those unclaimed teen screams, and this year's brightest stars have ties to North Texas. The inimitable Kelly Clarkson scored another hit with Piece by Piece and Barney alums Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato showed significant artistic growth on respective LPs Revival and Confident. The three Arlington singers in Pentatonix made their hometown proud with the a cappella group's No. 1 self-titled album. Dallas' Post Malone saw his song "White Iverson" become one of the most buzzed about and popular hip-hop tracks of the year.

THE NAUGHTY LIST — Allow me to share a few things that got under my skin. Although we live in a time with more new sounds to be consumed than ever before, certain tunes still get overplayed by radio and other media until they are akin to nails on a chalkboard. "Uptown Funk, " I'm looking at you. But I'd rather listen to an overplayed song than a disrespectful crowd chattering through a live performance. Unfortunately, I saw more than a few sets suffer greatly in 2015 because of ticket holders who acted as though they were on a happy hour patio. You'd think the concert experience would be more sacred, considering the hoops and headaches associated with purchasing tickets online. The fees, the wait times, the secondary-market price-gouging - all those issues popped up with every major concert event.

Alessia Cara

FAVORITE SONGS OF 2015 — The tunes I couldn't stop humming, to the detriment of folks around me: Justin Bieber had an earworm-filled winner in his single "What Do You Mean?" Kurt Vile's "Pretty Pimpin" was also incredibly difficult to shake from the brain. The introvert in me threw both hands up when young Alessia Cara dropped her lonely-at-a-party anthem, "Here." Leon Bridges brought the best kind of sigh every time he sang his stirring gospel tune "River." And I never got tired of hearing Lianne La Havas' confident runs on her piano-soul banger "What You Don't Do."

FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2015 — In no particular order, my personal picks are Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly, a jazz-and-funk-guided rap opus as listenable as it was socially conscious; Kacey Musgraves'