Zayn

Okay, Zayn was pretty famous before 2016, but this is the year that everybody got to know who he is as an individual, and not just as a member of a group. The former One Direction boybander wasted no time in separating himself from the singing troupe that made him rich and famous, immediately going for a bad boy image. His single "Pillowtalk" became one of the few songs that was powerful enough from the get-go to debut at No. 1, and his debut album as a solo act did the same. Now the other members of One Direction are all off planning on solo efforts, and Zayn has set the bar pretty high.

Desiigner

Sometimes all it takes is one incredible track to capture the attention of some of the biggest names in the business and make it all the way to the top. Eccentric rapper Desiigner shot to the highest spot on the Hot 100 earlier on in 2016 with “Panda,” the oddly titled, incredibly catchy hip-hop tune, which sounds absolutely nothing like anything that had come before it. His uniqueness caught the attention of Kanye West, who sampled the tune for his album The Life Of Pablo and signed him to his label immediately.