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Adele vs. Beyoncé: Which Grammy Nominee Made the Most Money?

By:
Alicia Adamczyk
2 min read
Singers Adele (L) and Beyonce attend the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards at STAPLES Center on February 10, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. - Christopher Polk/Getty Images for NARAS
Singers Adele (L) and Beyonce attend the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards at STAPLES Center on February 10, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. Christopher Polk/Getty Images for NARAS

This Sunday, four megastars will go head to head for one of the Grammy Awards' most coveted prizes: Album of the Year. Adele, Beyoncé, Drake and Justin Bieber each had top-selling and streaming albums last year and successful tours that followed. Who was the year's top earner?

Using data culled from Forbes's 2016 Celeb 100 list that tracked celebrity earnings from June 2015 to June 2016 and 2016 touring data from Pollstar, here's a snapshot at the big four's likely bank accounts. (It's important to note that the figures listed are the touring grosses, so the stars took home far less than those numbers.)

Adele

Forbes estimate: $85 million

Touring Gross: $95 million

Brand deals: None

Beyoncé

Forbes estimate: $54 million

Touring Gross: $169.4 million

Brand deals: Ivy Park athleisure, Tidal, HBO

Justin Bieber

Forbes estimate: $56 million

Touring Gross: $90 million

Brand deals: Calvin Klein, T-Mobile, fragrances

Drake

Forbes estimate: $38.5 million

Touring Gross: $84 million

Brand deals: Apple Music, OVO Record label

Sturgill Simpson

Who? The country singer might not be a household name like the other four stars, but he's up for Album of the Year - and trying his hand at making a few bucks selling “Who the F*** Is Sturgill Simpson” shirts.

The moral of the story? Grammy gold is fine, but for an artist's wallet, it pays to diversify and tour.

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