Brits are top of the pops! British artists have their top 10 best-selling hits of the year for the first time, with Harry Styles’ As It Was the most-listened-to single of 2022
- Harry Styles, Kate Bush and Ed Sheeran are among the artists who gave Brits their first clean win in the top 10 on record
- The singer’s single As It Was was streamed 180.9 million times and spent ten consecutive weeks at number 1 in the UK
- Sheeran, 31, came second and third on the list with his singles Bad Habits and Peru
- Kate’s 1985 classic Running Up That Hill ranks sixth after making a surprise chart return on the Netflix show Stranger Things
For years, British pop stars have struggled to match the record sales of their American counterparts.
But it seems the tide has really turned, as homegrown musicians made up the entire top 10 best selling singles of 2022 in the UK for the first time ever.
Harry Styles, Kate Bush and Ed Sheeran are among the artists who gave Britain a clean win in the top 10 for the first time since records began over 50 years ago.
Top spot: Harry Styles’ hit As It Was was the UK’s most-listened-to single of the year. It was streamed 180.9 million times and spent ten consecutive weeks at number 1 in the UK
As It Was by Styles, 28, was the most listened to single of the year in the UK according to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) based on their analysis of Official Charts Company data.
It was streamed 180.9 million times and spent 10 consecutive weeks at number 1 in the UK and 15 weeks at the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 – a record for a British artist.
Sheeran, 31, came second and third on the list with his singles Bad Habits and Peru, a collaboration with Fireboy DML. He also secured fifth place with his song Shivers.
Impressive: Ed Sheeran, 31, came second and third on the list with his singles Bad Habits and Peru
Top 10 UK Singles of 2022
1. Harry Styles – As It Was
2. Ed Sheeran – Bad Habits
3. Fireboy DML & Ed Sheeran – Peru
4. Cat Burns – Go
5. Ed Sheeran – Shivers
6. Kate Bush – Running up the hill
7. Glass Animals – Heat Waves
8. Lost Frequencies and Calum Scott – Where are you now?
9. LF System – to feel fear
10. Sam Fender – Seventeen Going Under
Source: Analysis of British Phonographic Industry Official Charts data
London-born singer Cat Burns’ single Go ranks fourth after going viral on TikTok, while Miss Bush’s 1985 classic Running Up That Hill sits in sixth after surprisingly appearing on the Netflix show Stranger Things returned to the charts.
Glass Animals’ Oxford-based sleeper hit Heat Waves was seventh and former UK Got Talent contestant Calum Scott’s collaboration with Belgian artist Lost Frequencies on Where Are You Now was eighth.
Rounding out the top 10 are Scottish duo LF System’s Afraid To Feel and singer Sam Fender’s Ivor Novello-winning song Seventeen Going Under.
This success for British artists comes as consumption of recorded music in the UK rose for the eighth consecutive year in 2022, with annual audio streaming figures breaking the 150 billion mark for the first time in the UK.
“At a time when streaming has created unprecedented competition from all parts of the world, it is amazing that in 2022 British artists were involved in all of the biggest hits of the calendar year UK Top 10,” said Leon Neville of BPI.
“This outstanding achievement is a testament to the rich musical talent that continues to emerge from every nation and region of the UK, driven by the passion, investment and skill of UK record labels.”
Back on the charts: Kate Bush’s 1985 classic Running Up That Hill landed at number six
37 years later: Kate’s hit made a surprise return to the charts when it was featured on the Netflix show Stranger Things (pictured).