Apple announced the winners of its third annual Apple Music Awards this Tuesday, with The Weeknd winning the top honor of Global Artist of the Year.

The Apple Music Awards recognizes and honors musical achievements across five categories — Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Top Song of the Year, and Top Album of the Year. Apple Music’s editorial team determines the winners, combined with data gathered from streaming services.

What separates this year’s awards from its predecessors is the announcement of a new category of awards, that of the Regional Artist of the Year. It will honor artists from five countries — Africa, France, Germany, Japan, and Russia. Oliver Schusser, vice president of Apple Music and Beats claimed that it would showcase “the impact of extraordinary talented musicians who are making waves globally.”

The Weeknd was named Apple Music’s Global Artist of the Year. His album “After Hours” holds the record for the most streamed R&B/Soul album in its first week in 73 countries. Singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo scored a hat-trick by winning Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, as well as Song of the Year awards. Her “driver’s license” registered the highest number of first-week streams for a debut single on Apple Music. R&B artist H.E.R. bagged the title of Songwriter of the Year for penning various chart-topping songs such as “Damage” and “Come Through”.

Here are the winners of Regional Artist of the Year by country:

• Africa- Wizkid
• Germany- RIN
• France- Aya Nakamura
• Russia- Scriptonite
• Japan- OFFICIAL HIGE DANDISM

In 2020, rapper Lil Baby won Artist of the Year, Taylor Swift was honored as Songwriter of the Year, and Meghan Thee Stallion was named Breakthrough Artist of the Year.

The Apple Music Awards celebrations will commence this year on December 7. You will be able to stream interviews and awards show content on Apple Music and the Apple TV app.

Do you agree with Apple’s choice of winners? If not, who do you think should have won? Let us know in the comments.