UK artists dominate Top 10 singles of 2022 for first time since records began
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- 17 Jan 2023
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A clean sweep led by Harry Styles was an ‘astonishing’ high note for the music industry – but the domination of older songs reflected the impact of streaming
For the first time since year-end charts were introduced more than 50 years ago, British artists have made up the entirety of the year’s 10 most popular songs in the UK.
Topping the biggest songs of 2022 in the UK was Harry Styles’ omnipresent As It Was; Ed Sheeran had two songs on the list, while new artists such as south London songwriter Cat Burns and Scottish dance duo LF System rubbed shoulders with Kate Bush, whose 1985 single Running Up That Hill topped the UK singles chart for the first time last year after being featured in the latest series of Netflix drama Stranger Things, having originally peaked at No 3.
Leon Neville, British Phonographic Industry (BPI)’s director of research and insight called it “astonishing” that British artists were dominating given the global competition created by streaming. “This outstanding achievement is a testament to the rich music talent that continues to emerge from across the UK’s nations and regions, fuelled by the passion, investment and skills of UK record labels.”
However, only the singles by Styles and LF System were actually released in 2022; with the exception of Bush’s 80s hit, the remainder of the Top 10 was released in 2020 and 2021. The chart illustrates the long-tail effect of streaming: Heat Waves by Glass Animals was released two years ago, but topped the US singles chart in early 2022 after a record-breaking 59-week climb to the top spot.
It also reveals the benefits of getting a superstar on a remix: Nigerian pop star Fireboy DML released his song Peru in summer 2021, though it found wider success when he released a version with Ed Sheeran six months later; Burns’ Go steadily grew on TikTok from its debut there in 2020, which led to a refreshed version with Sam Smith released this summer. All versions of the same song – with newly recorded guest verses or remixes – count towards the original’s chart placing.
The British singles sweep is just one of the booms reported for the UK music scene in 2022 by the BPI. The UK’s recorded music consumption has more than doubled in the past five years, and increased from 147bn audio streams in 2021 to 159bn in 2022.
More than 3bn audio streams were generated each week in 2022 on average: usually, it takes 1.3m streams to break into the UK Top 40 and a combined 7m audio and video streams to secure a No 1 single. Last year, 159m albums or equivalent streaming units were consumed; this year’s figure is 166.1m.
The Top 10 albums of the year was also dominated by old releases and greatest hits compilations. Only Styles’ Harry’s House, at No 1, and Taylor Swift’s Midnights, at No 3, were released in 2022. Ed Sheeran’s =, Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour, and the Weeknd and Little Mix’s respective greatest hits collections were released in 2021; similar older compilations from Eminem, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac and Abba filled out the rest of the list. Read More…
