All 10 best-selling singles of 2022 were from British artists – a first in the history of the pop charts | Ents & Arts News

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British artists made history as they dominated the top 10 singles of 2022 for the first time since the music industry began publishing year-end sales charts more than 50 years ago.

Harry Styles leads the pack with his smash hit As It Was, which spent 10 consecutive weeks at number one on the Official Singles Chart and was the only track to pass 180 million streams during 2022, according to an analysis of Official Charts data by British Phonographic. Industry (BPI).

He was followed by singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, with his song Bad Habits coming in at number two, while his collaboration with Nigerian singer Fireboy DML, called Pero, came in at number three.

South London singer Kat Burns is fourth with her song Go, which went viral on TikTok, Sheeran’s Shivers is fifth, and Kate Bush’s 1985 single Running Up That Hill, which enjoyed renewed popularity last year after being featured on the Netflix show Stranger Things, She finished sixth.

Photo: Rising British star of 2023 Kat Burns

Oxford-based label Glass Animals placed Heat Waves at seventh, and former British Got Talent contestant Calum Scott’s collaboration with Belgian artist Lost Frequencies on Where Are You Now came eighth.

Scottish production duo LF System are at number nine with their track Afraid To Feel, and North Shields singer Sam Fender is rounding out the top ten with his Ivor Novello Seventeen award-winning song Going Under.

The list was based on combined broadcast and sales activity throughout 2022.

Pop megastar Styles was also behind the top 2022 album with Grammy and Mercury shortlist Harry’s House.

This makes him the first artist to have the best song and album of the year since Lewis Capaldi in 2019 with Someone You Loved and Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent respectively.

Photo: Ed Sheeran at the 2022 Brit Awards

Sheeran’s fifth studio album = (Equals) also ranked second for the second year in a row, while Taylor Swift’s latest release Midnights was the third biggest album of 2022.

Read more: Great vinyls are back again—and this bestseller might surprise you

This success achieved by British artists comes with the increase in the consumption of recorded music in the United Kingdom for the eighth year in a row in 2022, as the annual audio broadcast numbers exceeded the 150 billion barrier for the first time in the United Kingdom, according to BPI.

Global success

Yolanda Brown, musician and chair of the BPI, said: “It is fantastic to see so many exciting new artists stepping up to flourish alongside more established British artists – driving the next wave of British talent to global success thanks to the compelling mix of their creativity, dynamism, artistry, and opportunity. ever-increasing support provided by their record labels’ broadcasting.”

Leon Neville, Director of Research and Insights at BPI added: “This outstanding achievement is testament to the rich musical talent that continues to emerge from across the countries and regions of the UK, driven by the passion, investment and skill of British record companies.”

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