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Drake, 'The Martian' and 'Game of Thrones' top Apple's 2016 charts

"One Dance" danced to number one this year.

Richard Trenholm Former Movie and TV Senior Editor
Richard Trenholm was CNET's film and TV editor, covering the big screen, small screen and streaming. A member of the Film Critic's Circle, he's covered technology and culture from London's tech scene to Europe's refugee camps to the Sundance film festival.
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Drake performs at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado on October 2, 2016.

Seth McConnell/Denver Post/Getty Images

Greetings pop pickers, and welcome to Apple's smash hit chart of the year!

Apple has released its countdown of the top-selling songs, movies, apps, books and podcasts downloaded or streamed through the iTunes Store or Apple Music. Apple bods have also picked their favourites, including breakthrough band Christine and the Queens, the movie "Kubo and the Two Strings", and Michael Chabon's novel "Moonglow".

Drake topped the single and album charts with his hit song "One Dance" and album "Views". Adele's "25" album, although released late in 2015, has been a top-seller throughout 2016, as has the soundtrack to the musical "Hamilton". Rihanna, Calvin Harris, Justin Timberlake and Chainsmokers also made the hit parade.

Photo-editing app Prisma was a top pick in the apps category, while Snapchat was the most-downloaded free iOS app.

On the movies front, "Deadpool", "The Martian" and "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" topped the charts. On TV, loyal viewers enjoyed sixth and seventh seasons of "Game of Thrones", "The Walking Dead", "The Good Wife". Interestingly, Netflix's "House of Cards" is also a top seller on iTunes.

The various charts are available as playlists on iTunes.

This week, Apple Music hit 20 million subscribers just eighteen months after launching. That's half the size of Spotify's paying audience, but Apple hit that number in a much quicker time.