Images Courtesy of ABC/Lou Rocco; ABC/Richard HarbaughIf you want to a concrete example of how rock has changed and evolved in the new millennium, look no further than Billboard's Top Rock Artists of 2014. The publication has named Lorde the, well, lord of rock of the past year. The New Zealand-born singer is followed by Imagine Dragons and Bastille at numbers two and three, respectively.
Lorde ruled 2014 with her album Pure Heroine, featuring the hits "Royals" and "Team." Pure Heroine ends 2014 as the number one album on both the Alternative and Rock Albums chart. She was also asked to curate the soundtrack for the new Hunger Games movie, Mockingjay: Part 1. The soundtrack gave Lorde another huge hit in "Yellow Flicker Beat."
Like Lorde, Imagine Dragons rode a hot 2013 into an equally hot 2014. Coming off the release of their debut album, Night Visions, the Las Vegas band stormed the charts with singles "Radioactive," "Demons" and "It's Time." Late in the year, they released "I Bet My Life," a single from their forthcoming sophomore album, due out next year. With a new record on the horizon, Imagine Dragons will look to extend their hot streak into 2015.
Bastille charged to the top of the charts with their bombastic single, "Pompeii." The British band, with a French name and a single about a Roman city, claimed the number one spot on the Rock Songs chart for 12 straight weeks, giving it the top spot on the 2014 Hot Rock Songs chart.
Here are the top 10 Rock Artists of 2014, according to Billboard:
Lorde
Imagine Dragons
Bastille
Coldplay
Passenger
American Authors
Paramore
Arctic Monkeys
Kongos
Hozier
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