The UK’s best-selling singles of 2022 have been revealed, featuring the likes of Harry Styles, Ed Sheeran, Fireboy DML and Kate Bush. The Official Charts Company has also unveiled the country’s top albums and releases on vinyl and cassette.
- READ MORE: The 50 best songs of 2022
For the first time since year-end chart data began being released more than five decades ago, the year’s most popular songs according to the Official Charts Company were all released by British artists. Styles claimed the top slot with his hit ‘As It Was’, with Sheeran’s ‘Bad Habits’ immediately behind and Fireboy DML’s Sheeran collaboration ‘Peru’ coming in third.
Cat Burns‘ ‘Go’, Sheeran’s ‘Shivers’, Bush’s ‘Running Up that Hill’ (which experienced a Stranger Things-assisted resurgence last year) and Glass Animals‘ ‘Heat Waves’ also appeared high on the list. Rounding out the top 10 were Lost Frequencies and Calum Scott’s ‘Where Are You Now’, LF System’s ‘Afraid To Feel’ and Sam Fender‘s ‘Seventeen Going Under’.
Notably, Styles’ ‘As It Was’ and LF System’s ‘Afraid To Feel’ were the only songs in the top 10 actually released in 2022. Aside from Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’ being released in 1985, all other tracks on the shortlist were released in either 2020 or 2021.
Styles also topped the UK’s most popular albums of 2022 with his third studio album, ‘Harry’s House’. Sheeran’s ‘=’, Taylor Swift‘s ‘Midnights’, The Weeknd‘s ‘The Highlights’ and Olivia Rodrigo‘s ‘Sour’ followed. Greatest hits compilations made up the second half of the list – including Eminem‘s ‘Curtain Call’, Elton John‘s ‘Diamonds’, Fleetwood Mac’s ’50 Years – Don’t Stop’, Little Mix‘s ‘Between Us’ and ABBA‘s ‘Gold’.
As The Guardian reports, the UK’s recorded music consumption jumped from 147billion audio streams in 2021 to 159billion in 2022, with more than three billion streams generated each week last year on average. However, digital downloads were down by 18.9 per cent from 2021, and the purchase of physical albums – CD, vinyl, cassette and other formats – down by 13.1 per cent overall.
That said, vinyl sales grew for the 15th year in a row, reaching a high of 5.5million units. Swift’s ‘Midnights’ was the best-selling vinyl of 2022, with ‘Harry’s House’ second, Arctic Monkeys‘ ‘The Car’ in third, Liam Gallagher‘s ‘Cmon You Know’ and Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rumours’ fifth.
Cassette sales grew 5.2 per cent for a total of 195,000 units. This year’s best-selling cassette album was Arctic Monkeys’ ‘The Car’, which sold more than 10,000 units in the less than three months since it arrived. ‘Harry’s House’, Florence + the Machine‘s ‘Dance Fever’, Muse‘s ‘Will Of The People’ and Central Cee‘s ’23’ rounded out the top five.
The UK’s 10 most popular singles of 2022 were:
1. Harry Styles – ‘As It Was’
2. Ed Sheeran – ‘Bad Habits’
3. Fireboy DML and Ed Sheeran – ‘Peru’
4. Cat Burns – ‘Go’
5. Ed Sheeran – ‘Shivers’
6. Kate Bush – ‘Running Up That Hill’
7. Glass Animals – ‘Heat Waves’
8. Lost Frequencies and Calum Scott – ‘Where Are You Now’
9. LF System – ‘Afraid to Feel’
10. Sam Fender – ‘Seventeen Going Under’
The UK’s Top 10 most popular albums of 2022 were:
1. Harry Styles – ‘Harry’s House’
2. Ed Sheeran – ‘=’
3. Taylor Swift – ‘Midnights’
4. The Weeknd – ‘The Highlights’
5. Olivia Rodrigo – ‘Sour’
6. Eminem – ‘Curtain Call: The Hits’
7. Elton John – ‘Diamonds’
8. Fleetwood Mac – ’50 Years – Don’t Stop’
9. Little Mix – ‘Between Us’
10. Abba – ‘Gold – Greatest Hits’
The post Here are the UK’s best-selling singles and albums of 2022 appeared first on NME.
