Loading AI tools
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The UK Singles Chart is one of many music charts compiled by the Official Charts Company that calculates the best-selling singles of the week in the United Kingdom.[1] Since 2004 the chart has been based on the sales of both physical singles and digital downloads, with airplay figures excluded from the official chart.[2][3] Since 2014, the singles chart has been based on both sales and streaming, with the ratio altered in 2017 to 150:1 streams and only three singles by the same artist eligible for the chart.[4][5] From July 2018, video streams from YouTube Music and Spotify among others began to be counted for the Official Charts. This list shows singles that peaked in the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart during 2021, as well as singles which peaked in 2020 and 2022 but were in the top 10 in 2021. The entry date is when the song appeared in the top 10 for the first time (week ending, as published by the Official Charts Company, which is six days after the chart is announced).
.jpg)
One-hundred and five singles were in the top 10 this year. Fourteen singles from 2020 remained in the top 10 for several weeks at the beginning of the year, while "Seventeen Going Under" by Sam Fender, "Coming for You" by SwitchOTR featuring A1 x J1, "Overseas" by D-Block Europe featuring Central Cee, "ABCDEFU" by Gayle, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee and "Come On Home for Christmas" by George Ezra were all released in 2021 but did not reach their peak until 2022. "Sweet Melody" by Little Mix, "34+35" by Ariana Grande, "Step into Christmas" by Elton John, "This Christmas" by Jess Glynne, "Whoopty" by CJ and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by Justin Bieber were the singles from 2020 to reach their peak in 2021. The Kid Laroi, Mimi Webb, Olivia Rodrigo, Sam Fender and Tom Grennan were among the many artists who achieved their first top 10 single in 2021.
"Last Christmas" by Wham!, originally released in 1984, topped the chart for the first time in the first week of 2021. The first new number-one single of the year was "Sweet Melody" by Little Mix. Overall, thirteen different songs peaked at number-one in 2021, with Ed Sheeran (4) having the most songs hit that position.
One hundred and five singles charted in the top 10 in 2021, with ninety-two singles reaching their peak this year (including the re-entry "Last Christmas").
On New Year's Day 2021 (7 January 2021, week ending), Wham!'s iconic festive classic "Last Christmas", written by the group's lead singer George Michael, finally reached the coveted number-one spot in the UK chart. Upon its initial release in 1984, the single peaked at number two for five consecutive weeks. It returned to number two in 2017, one year after George Michael's death. The single finally reached the top spot more than 36 years after its initial release, the longest amount of time for a song to reach number-one, surpassing Tony Christie's almost 16 year-long record for the longest time a single has taken to top the UK Singles Chart after its initial release with "(Is This The Way To) Amarillo?" in March 2005, which had itself taken 33 years 4 months to top the chart (with Peter Kay, though credited, only actually appearing in the video). Prior to it reaching number one, "Last Christmas" had for many years held the record as the highest-selling single never to top the charts, with 1.9 million copies sold (not including streams).[6][7][8]
On 28 May 2021 (3 June 2021, week ending), American singer Olivia Rodrigo became the youngest solo artist to achieve the coveted UK chart double at 18 years and 3 months old. Her single "Good 4 U" climbed to number-one in the UK Singles Chart after debuting at number two the previous week, while her debut album Sour entered the UK Albums Chart at number-one. Rodrigo became the first artist since Sam Smith in 2015 to garner a UK chart double with a debut album.[9]
On 29 July 2021, British girl group Little Mix became the first girl group to spend 100 weeks inside the Top 10 of the Official UK Singles Chart. Heartbreak Anthem, the trio's collaboration with Swedish music duo Galantis, and French DJ David Guetta, placed at number 7, marking their 100th week in the Top 10 across all of their releases.[1]
On 25 June 2021 (1 July 2021, week ending), rock group Måneskin, winners of the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, became the first act from Italy to have two singles in the top-ten of the UK Singles Chart simultaneously with "I Wanna Be Your Slave" at number six and "Beggin'" (a cover of the 1967 song by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons) at number ten.[10]
On 10 September 2021 (16 September 2021, week ending), Swedish pop music legends ABBA returned to the top-ten of the UK Singles Chart for the first time in almost forty years when "Don't Shut Me Down" debuted at number nine, becoming their 20th top-ten single. The group's last single to reach the top-ten of the UK charts was "One of Us", which peaked at number three in December 1981.[11]
2021 proved to be the comeback year for Elton John in the UK Singles Chart, with the British music icon earning the eighth, ninth and tenth number-one singles of his career in less than three months.
On 15 October 2021 (21 October 2021, week ending), he achieved his first UK number-one single in sixteen years when his collaboration with Dua Lipa, "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)", rose to the top of the UK Singles Chart during its fifth week in the top-ten.[12]
On 10 December 2021 (16 December 2021, week ending), his festive collaboration with Ed Sheeran, "Merry Christmas", entered the chart at number-one. The song claimed 76,700 chart sales in its first week, including 22,100 pure sales (physical + digital downloads) and 7.6 million streams. It also earned the biggest week of CD single sales of 2021, with 8,100 copies sold on disc during its first week of release.[13]
On 24 December 2021 (30 December 2021, week ending), after two weeks at number-one, "Merry Christmas" was denied the Christmas number-one single by Sheeran and John's collaboration with LadBaby, "Sausage Rolls for Everyone".[14]
On 22 October 2021 (28 October 2021, week ending), Adele returned to the UK Singles Chart after a five-year absence when her single "Easy on Me" entered the chart at number-one. The song amassed 217,300 chart sales in its first week, the highest first week figure since Ed Sheeran's "Shape Of You", which earned 226,800 in January 2017. Adele also set a new chart record with the single as "Easy On Me" racked up 24 million streams in the UK in its first week of release, the most streams for a song in one week – topping Ariana Grande's record of 16.9 million set back in January 2019 with "7 Rings". "Easy On Me" also earned the biggest week of digital download sales of 2021 so far, with 23,500.[15]
LadBaby made chart history this year when his song "Sausage Rolls for Everyone", a sausage roll-themed parody of Ed Sheeran and Elton John's number-one single "Merry Christmas", and also featuring Sheeran and John, debuted at number-one in the UK Singles Chart on 24 December 2021 (30 December 2021, week ending), giving the Nottingham-born YouTuber and musician his fourth consecutive Christmas number-one single. LadBaby became only the second act in history, after The Beatles, to secure four Christmas number-one singles, but was the very first to achieve four consecutive Christmas chart-toppers, surpassing the records of both The Beatles and The Spice Girls. "Sausage Rolls for Everyone" also became the 70th Christmas number-one single in the history of the UK Singles Chart since its introduction in 1952.[14]
Thirty-one artists achieved their first charting top 10 single in 2021, either as a lead or featured artist. Of these, five artists went on to record another hit single that year: A1 x J1, Ardee, The Kid Laroi, Måneskin and Polo G. Central Cee and Tom Grennan both scored two more chart hits this year. Olivia Rodrigo achieved three more chart hits in her breakthrough year.
The following table (collapsed on desktop site) does not include acts who had previously charted as part of a group and secured their first top 10 solo single.
1 Whilst Saweetie is a featured artist on the single version of "Confetti", the Official Charts does not recognise her as a featured artist for this particular entry.
Jesy Nelson earned her first UK top ten debut in October 2021 with "Boyz". This also became her first top 10 since her departure from UK girl band Little Mix in December 2020.
Ed Sheeran had the best-selling single of the year with "Bad Habits". The song spent 22 weeks in the top 10 (including eleven weeks at number-one), sold over 1,700,000 copies and was certified 2× platinum by the BPI. "Good 4 U" by Olivia Rodrigo came in second place, while Olivia Rodrigo's "Drivers License", "Save Your Tears" by The Weeknd and "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" by Lil Nas X made up the top five. Songs by Dua Lipa, The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber, Glass Animals, The Weeknd ("Blinding Lights") and Russ Millions and Tion Wayne were also in the top ten best-selling singles of the year.
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ‡ | Single peaked in 2020 but still in chart in 2021. |
| ♦ | Single released in 2021 but peaked in 2022. |
| (#) | Year-end top-ten single position and rank |
| Entered | The date that the single first appeared in the chart. |
| Peak | Highest position that the single reached in the UK Singles Chart. |
| Entered (week ending) |
Weeks in top 10 |
Single | Artist | Peak | Peak reached (week ending) |
Weeks at peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singles in 2020 | ||||||
| 8 October 2020 | 12 | "You Broke Me First" ‡ [O] | Tate McRae | 3 | 29 October 2020 | 1 |
| 5 November 2020 | 13 | "Sweet Melody" [A] | Little Mix | 1 | 14 January 2021 | 1 |
| 12 November 2020 | 6 | "34+35" [B][N][R] | Ariana Grande | 3 | 28 January 2021 | 1 |
| 19 November 2020 | 6 | "Levitating" ‡ (#6) [M] | Dua Lipa | 5 | 3 December 2020 | 2 |
| 10 December 2020 | 10 | "All I Want for Christmas Is You" ‡ [C][OO] | Mariah Carey | 1 | 17 December 2020 | 2 |
| 10 | "Last Christmas" [D][PP] | Wham! | 1 | 7 January 2021 | 1 | |
| 9 | "Fairytale of New York" ‡ [E][RR] | The Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl | 4 | 17 December 2020 | 2 | |
| 17 December 2020 | 8 | "Merry Christmas Everyone" ‡ [F][QQ] | Shakin' Stevens | 6 | 17 December 2020 | 6 |
| 4 | "Do They Know It's Christmas?" ‡ [G][H] | Band Aid | 7 | 24 December 2020 | 1 | |
| 5 | "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" ‡ [I][SS][VV] | Michael Bublé | 7 | 17 December 2020 | 2 | |
| 3 | "Step into Christmas" [J] | Elton John | 8 | 7 January 2021 | 1 | |
| 24 December 2020 | 3 | "This Christmas" [K] | Jess Glynne | 3 | 7 January 2021 | 1 |
| 5 | "Whoopty" [L] | CJ | 3 | 14 January 2021 | 1 | |
| 31 December 2020 | 2 | "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" | Justin Bieber | 4 | 7 January 2021 | 1 |
| Singles in 2021 | ||||||
| 14 January 2021 | 5 | "Afterglow" | Ed Sheeran | 2 | 14 January 2021 | 1 |
| 6 | "Anyone" | Justin Bieber | 4 | 14 January 2021 | 1 | |
| 8 | "Get Out My Head" [S] | Shane Codd | 6 | 14 January 2021 | 1 | |
| 10 | "Without You" | The Kid Laroi | 2 | 4 February 2021 | 1 | |
| 9 | "Paradise" | Meduza featuring Dermot Kennedy | 5 | 4 February 2021 | 1 | |
| 21 January 2021 | 10 | "Drivers License" (#3) [Z] | Olivia Rodrigo | 1 | 21 January 2021 | 9 |
| 28 January 2021 | 12 | "Don't Play" | Anne-Marie, KSI & Digital Farm Animals | 2 | 28 January 2021 | 1 |
| 4 February 2021 | 14 | "Wellerman" | Nathan Evans, 220 Kid & Billen Ted | 1 | 25 March 2021 | 2 |
| 11 February 2021 | 1 | "Money Talks" | Fredo featuring Dave | 3 | 11 February 2021 | 1 |
| 18 February 2021 | 1 | "Bringing It Back" | Digga D & AJ Tracey | 5 | 18 February 2021 | 1 |
| 12 | "The Business" | Tiësto | 3 | 18 March 2021 | 1 | |
| 5 | "Goosebumps (Remix)" [U] | Travis Scott & HVME | 8 | 11 March 2021 | 1 | |
| 25 February 2021 | 6 | "Calling My Phone" | Lil Tjay & 6lack | 2 | 25 February 2021 | 2 |
| 14 | "Friday" | Riton & Nightcrawlers featuring Mufasa & Hypeman | 4 | 1 April 2021 | 1 | |
| 18 March 2021 | 1 | "What's Next" | Drake | 4 | 18 March 2021 | 1 |
| 1 | "Lemon Pepper Freestyle" | Drake featuring Rick Ross | 6 | 18 March 2021 | 1 | |
| 1 | "Wants and Needs" | Drake featuring Lil Baby | 10 | 18 March 2021 | 1 | |
| 25 March 2021 | 4 | "Latest Trends" [T] | A1 x J1 | 2 | 25 March 2021 | 2 |
| 2 | "Patience" | KSI featuring Yungblud & Polo G | 3 | 25 March 2021 | 1 | |
| 10 | "Bed" | Joel Corry, Raye & David Guetta | 3 | 29 April 2021 | 2 | |
| 1 | "Commitment Issues" | Central Cee | 9 | 25 March 2021 | 1 | |
| 1 April 2021 | 9 | "Peaches" | Justin Bieber featuring Daniel Caesar & Givēon | 2 | 15 April 2021 | 4 |
| 1 | "Hold On" | Justin Bieber | 10 | 1 April 2021 | 1 | |
| 8 April 2021 | 9 | "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" (#5) | Lil Nas X | 1 | 8 April 2021 | 5 |
| 2 | "Your Love (9PM)" | ATB x Topic x A7S | 8 | 8 April 2021 | 2 | |
| 8 | "Little Bit of Love" | Tom Grennan | 7 | 29 April 2021 | 1 | |
| 22 April 2021 | 5 | "Rapstar" | Polo G | 3 | 22 April 2021 | 1 |
| 1 | "Titanium" | Dave | 9 | 22 April 2021 | 1 | |
| 11 | "Kiss Me More" | Doja Cat featuring SZA | 3 | 13 May 2021 | 6 | |
| 29 April 2021 | 1 | "Let's Go Home Together" | Ella Henderson & Tom Grennan | 10 | 29 April 2021 | 1 |
| 6 May 2021 | 7 | "Body" (#10) [X] | Russ Millions & Tion Wayne | 1 | 13 May 2021 | 3 |
| 13 May 2021 | 1 | "Your Power" | Billie Eilish | 5 | 13 May 2021 | 1 |
| 14 | "Save Your Tears" (#4) [Y][DD] | The Weeknd | 2 | 17 June 2021 | 2 | |
| 20 May 2021 | 2 | "Anywhere Away from Here" | Rag'n'Bone Man & Pink | 9 | 20 May 2021 | 2 |
| 27 May 2021 | 9 | "Good 4 U" (#2) | Olivia Rodrigo | 1 | 3 June 2021 | 5 |
| 3 June 2021 | 2 | "Butter" | BTS | 3 | 3 June 2021 | 1 |
| 4 | "Deja Vu" | Olivia Rodrigo | 4 | 3 June 2021 | 2 | |
| 5 | "Traitor" [AA][CC] | 5 | 17 June 2021 | 1 | ||
| 12 | "Heartbreak Anthem" | Galantis, David Guetta & Little Mix | 3 | 15 July 2021 | 2 | |
| 5 | "Good Without" | Mimi Webb | 8 | 1 July 2021 | 1 | |
| 10 June 2021 | 3 | "Confetti" | Little Mix | 9 | 10 June 2021 | 1 |
| 17 June 2021 | 4 | "Oliver Twist" | ArrDee | 6 | 24 June 2021 | 1 |
| 24 June 2021 | 9 | "I Wanna Be Your Slave" | Måneskin | 5 | 8 July 2021 | 3 |
| 1 July 2021 | 6 | "Holiday" [EE] | KSI | 2 | 1 July 2021 | 1 |
| 8 | "Beggin'" | Måneskin | 6 | 29 July 2021 | 1 | |
| 8 July 2021 | 22 | "Bad Habits" (#1) | Ed Sheeran | 1 | 8 July 2021 | 11 |
| 1 | "You Right" | Doja Cat & The Weeknd | 9 | 8 July 2021 | 1 | |
| 2 | "By Your Side" | Calvin Harris & Tom Grennan | 9 | 15 July 2021 | 1 | |
| 15 July 2021 | 2 | "Three Lions" [BB] | Baddiel, Skinner & The Lightning Seeds | 4 | 15 July 2021 | 2 |
| 22 July 2021 | 6 | "Clash" | Dave featuring Stormzy | 2 | 5 August 2021 | 1 |
| 10 | "Stay" (#7) | The Kid Laroi & Justin Bieber | 2 | 29 July 2021 | 6 | |
| 29 July 2021 | 7 | "Black Magic" | Jonasu | 3 | 12 August 2021 | 2 |
| 8 | "Remember" | Becky Hill & David Guetta | 3 | 26 August 2021 | 3 | |
| 5 August 2021 | 1 | "Verdansk" | Dave | 4 | 5 August 2021 | 1 |
| 1 | "In the Fire" | 6 | 5 August 2021 | 1 | ||
| 12 August 2021 | 7 | "Happier Than Ever" [II] | Billie Eilish | 4 | 19 August 2021 | 1 |
| 26 August 2021 | 2 | "Wasted" | Digga D & ArrDee | 6 | 26 August 2021 | 1 |
| 9 | "Industry Baby" | Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow | 3 | 30 September 2021 | 1 | |
| 3 | "Talk About" | Rain Radio & DJ Craig Gorman | 9 | 26 August 2021 | 3 | |
| 2 September 2021 | 1 | "Visiting Hours" | Ed Sheeran | 5 | 2 September 2021 | 1 |
| 11 | "Out Out" | Joel Corry & Jax Jones featuring Charli XCX & Saweetie | 6 | 9 September 2021 | 1 | |
| 9 September 2021 | 1 | "Hurricane" | Kanye West | 7 | 9 September 2021 | 1 |
| 1 | "Kiss My (Uh-Oh)" [FF] | Anne-Marie & Little Mix | 10 | 9 September 2021 | 1 | |
| 16 September 2021 | 5 | "Girls Want Girls" | Drake featuring Lil Baby | 2 | 16 September 2021 | 2 |
| 2 | "Fair Trade" | Drake featuring Travis Scott | 3 | 16 September 2021 | 1 | |
| 1 | "Champagne Poetry" | Drake | 5 | 16 September 2021 | 1 | |
| 1 | "Don't Shut Me Down" | ABBA | 9 | 16 September 2021 | 1 | |
| 10 | "Heat Waves" (#8) | Glass Animals | 5 | 14 October 2021 | 3 | |
| 23 September 2021 | 12 | "Shivers" [CCC] | Ed Sheeran | 1 | 23 September 2021 | 4 |
| 10 | "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" | Elton John & Dua Lipa | 1 | 21 October 2021 | 1 | |
| 9 | "Obsessed With You" | Central Cee | 4 | 30 September 2021 | 2 | |
| 30 September 2021 | 9 | "Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah)" | CKay featuring Joeboy & Kuami Eugene | 3 | 14 October 2021 | 2 |
| 3 | "Thats What I Want" [LL] | Lil Nas X | 10 | 30 September 2021 | 3 | |
| 7 October 2021 | 3 | "My Universe" [KK] | Coldplay & BTS | 3 | 7 October 2021 | 1 |
| 21 October 2021 | 1 | "Boyz" | Jesy Nelson featuring Nicki Minaj | 4 | 21 October 2021 | 1 |
| 28 October 2021 | 13 | "Easy on Me" [WW] | Adele | 1 | 28 October 2021 | 8 |
| 11 November 2021 | 5 | "Overpass Graffiti" | Ed Sheeran | 4 | 11 November 2021 | 1 |
| 2 | "Meet Me at Our Spot" | The Anxiety (Willow Smith & Tyler Cole) | 10 | 11 November 2021 | 2 | |
| 18 November 2021 | 7 | "Flowers (Say My Name)" [AAA][DDD] | ArrDee | 5 | 18 November 2021 | 2 |
| 25 November 2021 | 3 | "All Too Well (Taylor's Version)" | Taylor Swift | 3 | 25 November 2021 | 1 |
| 14 | "Seventeen Going Under" ♦ [UU][YY] | Sam Fender | 3 | 13 January 2022 | 1 | |
| 4 | "Coming for You" ♦ [ZZ] | SwitchOTR featuring A1 x J1 | 5 | 13 January 2022 | 1 | |
| 2 December 2021 | 2 | "Oh My God" | Adele | 2 | 2 December 2021 | 1 |
| 2 | "I Drink Wine" | 4 | 2 December 2021 | 1 | ||
| 12 | "Overseas" ♦ [BBB] | D-Block Europe featuring Central Cee | 6 | 10 February 2022 | 1 | |
| 9 December 2021 | 10 | "ABCDEFU" ♦ [XX] | Gayle | 1 | 20 January 2022 | 1 |
| 16 December 2021 | 4 | "Merry Christmas" | Ed Sheeran & Elton John | 1 | 16 December 2021 | 3 |
| 4 | "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" ♦ [TT] | Brenda Lee | 5 | 6 January 2022 | 1 | |
| 30 December 2021 | 1 | "Sausage Rolls for Everyone" | LadBaby featuring Ed Sheeran & Elton John | 1 | 30 December 2021 | 1 |
| 1 | "Boris Johnson Is Still a Fucking Cunt" | The Kunts | 5 | 30 December 2021 | 1 | |
| 2 | "Come On Home for Christmas" ♦ | George Ezra | 8 | 6 January 2022 | 1 | |
_(cropped).jpg)
The following table shows artists who have achieved two or more top 10 entries in 2021, including singles that reached their peak in 2020. The figures include both main artists and featured artists, while appearances on ensemble charity records are also counted for each artist. The total number of weeks an artist spent in the top ten in 2021 is also shown.
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
