Singapore - Jay Chou is the most popular artist of the year on Spotify in Singapore, the music streaming service said today.

The Taiwanese R&B singer-songwriter topped Spotify's annual Singapore chart for the second year running, beating out American rockers Maroon 5 (at No.2) and British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran (No.3), British rockers Coldplay (No.4) and American singer Ariana Grande.

Chou is the only Asian artist in the top 10 of the year for Singapore. On a separate Spotify Asian artist chart for Singapore, he is at No.1, ahead of Taiwanese rockers Mayday at No.2, Singaporean singer JJ Lin at No.3, Chinese-American singer Wang Leehom at No.4 and South Korean pianist Yiruma at No.5.

Notably, Hong Kong singer G.E.M. - whose profile has increased this year after she competed on Hunan TV's I Am A Singer - is at No.10.

Worldwide, Sheeran is the most popular artist of the year on Spotify, with more than 860 million plays. His pop-folk record, X, has been streamed more than 430 million times and is the most popular album this year on the service.

Pharrell William's Happy, the sunny song from the animated movie Despicable Me 2, is the most popular single of the year on Spotify, with more than 260 million plays.

In Singapore, X is the most streamed album of the year and Canadian reggae group Magic!'s Rude is the most streamed track.

Started in Sweden in 2008, Spotify has 50 million active users, making it the world's biggest streaming service.

Spotify's top 10 most streamed artists in Singapore

1. Jay Chou

2. Maroon 5

3. Ed Sheeran

4. Coldplay

5. Ariana Grande

6. Katy Perry

7. Calvin Harris

8. OneRepublic

9. Imagine Dragons

10. Sam Smith

Spotify's top 10 most streamed Asian artists in Singapore

1. Jay Chou

2. Mayday

3. JJ Lin

4. Wang Leehom

5. Yiruma

6. Stefanie Sun

7. A-mei

8. Jacky Cheung

9. 2NE1

10. G.E.M.

Spotify's top 10 most streamed tracks in Singapore

1. Rude - Magic!

2. All Of Me - John Legend

3. Counting Stars - OneRepublic

4. Happy - Pharrell Williams

5. Maps - Maroon 5

6. Chandelier - Sia

7. Summer - Calvin Harris

8. A Sky Full Of Stars - Coldplay

9. Demons - Imagine Dragons

10. Am I Wrong - Nico & Vinz

Spotify's top 10 most streamed albums in Singapore

1. X - Ed Sheeran

2. In The Lonely Hour - Sam Smith

3. V - Maroon 5

4. My Everything - Ariana Grande

5. The New Classic - Iggy Azalea

6. 5 Seconds Of Summer - 5 Seconds Of Summer

7. G I R L - Pharrell Williams

8. Native - OneRepublic

9. The Fault In Our Stars: Music From The Motion Picture

10. Don't Kill The Magic - Magic!