The UK’s biggest 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 published the country’s best selling vinyl and cassette albums and releases.
For the first time since year-end data began to be released more than five decades ago, British artists have released the most popular songs of the year according to the Official Charts Company. Styles took the top spot with his hit “As It Was,” followed immediately by Sheeran’s “Bad Habits” and Sheeran’s Fireboy DML collaboration “Peru.”
Cat Burns’ ‘Go’, Sheeran’s ‘Shivers’, Bush’s ‘Running Up that Hill’ (which saw a Stranger Things-assisted revival last year) and Glass Animals’ ‘Heat Waves’ also topped the list. Rounding out the top 10 were “Where Are You Now” by Lost Frequencies and Calum Scott, “Afraid To Feel” by LF System and “Seventeen Going Under” by Sam Fender.
Notably, Styles’ “As It Was” and LF System’s “Afraid To Feel” were the top 10 songs released in 2022. Aside from Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” released in 1985, all other songs on the list are released in 2020 or 2021.
Styles also topped the chart of the most popular albums of 2022 in the UK with his third studio album, ‘Harry’s House’. It was followed by “=”” Sheeran, “Midnights,” The Weeknd’s “The Highlights” and Olivia Rodrigo’s “Sour.” Greatest hits collections filled the second half of the list: Eminem’s “Curtain Call”; “Diamonds ” by Elton John; and “Midnights” by Taylor Swift 50 Years – Don’t Stop’ by Fleetwood Mac, ‘Between Us’ by Little Mix and ‘Gold’ by ABBA.
As reported by The Guardian, the consumption of recorded music in the United Kingdom increased from 147 billion audio streams in 2021 to 159 billion in 2022, with an average of more than 3 billion streams generated every week last year. However, digital downloads fell by 18.9% compared to 2021, and physical album purchases -CD, vinyl, cassette and other formats – by 13.1% overall.
That said, vinyl sales increased for the fifteenth consecutive year, peaking at 5.5 million units. Swift’s Midnights was the best-selling vinyl of 2022, followed by “Harry’s House” in second place, Arctic Monkeys’ “The Car” in third, Liam Gallagher’s “Cmon You Know” and Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” in fifth.
Cassette sales increased by 5.2% to a total of 195,000 units. The best-selling cassette album of the year was Arctic Monkeys’ ‘The Car’, which has sold over 10,000 units in less than three months since its release. ‘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 top 10 singles of 2022 were:
1. Harry Styles – ‘As It Was’
2. Ed Sheeran – ‘Bad Habits’
3. Fireboy DML and Ed Sheeran – ‘Peru’
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4. Cat Burns – ‘Go’
5. Ed Sheeran-‘Shivers
6. Kate Bush – ‘Run Up That Hill’
7. Glass Animals – ‘Heat Waves’
8. Lost Frequencies & Calum Scott – ‘Where Are You Now’
9. LF System – ‘Feel Fear’
10. Sam Fender – ‘Seventeen Going Under’
The top 10 most popular albums in the UK in 2022 were:
1. Harry Styles – ‘Harry’s House’
2. Ed Sheeran – ‘=’
3.Taylor Swift – ‘Midnight’
4. The Weekend – ‘The Highlights’
5. Olivia Rodrigo – ‘Sharp’
6. Eminem – ‘Curtain Call: The Hits’
7. Elton John – ‘Diamonds’
8. Fleetwood Mac – ’50 Years – Don’t Stop’
9. A Little Mix – ‘Between Us’
10. Abba – ‘Gold – The Greatest Hits’
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