The Official Top 40 biggest songs of 2021 (2023)

The UK's official biggest song of 2021 was Ed Sheeran's Bad Habits, the Official Charts Company can confirm.

The UK superstar's comeback single, taken from chart-topping album =, shifted chart sales in excess of 1.7 million in 2021, comprising 204 million streams and 142,000 sales. Bad Habits was the longest-running Number 1 of the year, spending a total of 11 weeks at the top of the Official Singles Chart. It was Ed's tenth Number 1 and the first of four chart toppers for the singer/songwriter this in 2021. See Ed Sheeran's full chart history.

Ed's mammoth streaming numbers also reflect a change in the way the UK public is consuming music; with new BPI analysis of Official Charts Company data revealing that recorded music consumption rose by 2.5% in 2021, lead by over 147 billion streams, a rise of 5.7% on 2020.

The Official Top 40 biggest songs of 2021 (1)

(Video) UK Top 40 Biggest Songs 2021 So Far | UK Hitlist 2021 | ChartExpress

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Streaming now accounts for well over four-fifths (83.1%) of all UK music consumption, with people of all ages discovering and enjoying the music they love through the format’s seamless connectivity. In June 2021 the UK witnessed its first week when audio streams topped the 3 billion mark – a feat since repeated three times in December.

180 artists achieved more than 100 million streams in the UK over the past 12 months, and nearly 2,000 artists saw their songs streamed at least 10 million times. Chart fact - typically a track needs to achieve over 1.4million audio streams in a single week to break into the Official Singles Chart Top 40.

At Number 2 is Olivia Rodrigo with her bratty break-up anthem Good 4 U, with 1.39m chart sales including 167m streams since its release in May. Olivia also takes third place in our year-end list with her debut single Drivers License, which has been streamed nearly 156m times. Drivers License set a new chart record upon its release in January, claiming the UK’s highest number of streams ever in a single day for a non-Christmas song. The track racked up 2.407m streams in 24 hours on Tuesday, January 12.

The Official Top 40 biggest songs of 2021 (2)
Chart double! Olivia Rodrigo pictured with her Number 1 Awards for Good 4 U and Sour.

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Both Good 4 U and Drivers License are taken from Olivia's chart-topping debut album Sour. Olivia rewrote chart history earlier this year when she became the youngest solo artist in history to claim the Official UK Chart Double, at age 18 years and 3 months. See where all Olivia Rodrigo's singles charted in the UK.

Olivia also ties with Ed for the most entries in the biggest songs of 2021; both earning three. Olivia has one further entry down the chart with the wistful Deja Vu at Number 32, while Ed's chart-topper Shivers is at Number 15, and 2017 single Perfect at Number 35.

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Other acts with multiple entries in the Top 40 include The Weeknd with Save Your Tears (4) and Blinding Lights (9), Dua Lipa's Levitating (6) and Cold Heart (Pnau Remix) with Elton John (21) and Lil Nas X with the scorching Montero (Call Me By Your Name) (5) and Industry Baby (32) and Joel Corry with last year's Head & Heart with MNEK (17) and Bed with Raye (18).

2021's fastest-selling singles

Adele not only managed to scoop the UK's top album of 2021, she left a dramatic impact on the singles front too - walking away with the biggest opening week of the year after Easy On Me debuted on the Official Singles Chart with over 217,000 chart sales across its first seven days.

(Video) UK Top 40 Songs This Week 2022 ⭐ Best Music In UK 2022 ⭐ Popular Music Hits 2022 UK

The 2021 Christmas Number 1 from LadBaby, Ed Sheeran and Elton John also delivered the goods at lightning speed exactly when it mattered, Sausage Rolls For Everyone scored the second biggest opening week of 2021 in December with 136,000 units - it's the second most-downloaded song of the year too.

Breakout hits

While Oxfordshire group Glass Animals found chart success with viral hit Heatwave this year (8), Tion Wayne and Russ Millions put UK drill on the map back in April when Body became the first drill track to hit Number 1. Body also earns a Top 10 placing in the end-of-year chart (10).

The Official Top 40 biggest songs of 2021 (3)
Tion Wayne and Russ Millions celebrate the UK's first Drill Number 1 - Body.

TikTok viral star Nathan Evans sailed sea shanty Wellerman all the way to Number 1 in March before mooring up as one of the UK's top tracks of 2021 (11). It was a good year also for Australian rapper Kid Laroi who broke through with two Top 10 singles, both of which make the end-of-year Top 20 - Stay (7) and Without You (19).

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DJ Jonasu's summer tune Black Magic bags a place at Number 22, and duo A1xJ1 who met digitally during lockdown and secured their first Top 10 single this year with Latest Trends (25).

In contrast, the oldest track to make the end-of-year cut is Wham's perennial festive favourite Last Christmas (34), the song broke Official Chart records on 1 January, when it finally landed at the top of the chart some 36 years after its release - the longest time ever taken for a single to reach Number 1.

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PositionTitleArtistPeak
1BAD HABITSED SHEERAN1
2GOOD 4 UOLIVIA RODRIGO1
3DRIVERS LICENSEOLIVIA RODRIGO1
4SAVE YOUR TEARSWEEKND2
5MONTERO (CALL ME BY YOUR NAME)LIL NAS X1
6LEVITATINGDUA LIPA5
7STAYKID LAROI & JUSTIN BIEBER2
8HEAT WAVESGLASS ANIMALS5
9BLINDING LIGHTSWEEKND1
10BODYTION WAYNE & RUSS MILLIONS1
11WELLERMANNATHAN EVANS/220KID/BILLEN TED1
12EASY ON MEADELE1
13FRIDAYRITON/NIGHTCRAWLERS/MUFASA4
14KISS ME MOREDOJA CAT FT SZA3
15SHIVERSED SHEERAN1
16THE BUSINESSTIESTO3
17HEAD & HEARTJOEL CORRY FT MNEK1
18BEDJOEL CORRY/RAYE/DAVID GUETTA3
19WITHOUT YOUKID LAROI2
20LITTLE BIT OF LOVETOM GRENNAN7
21COLD HEARTELTON JOHN & DUA LIPA1
22BLACK MAGICJONASU3
23PEACHESJUSTIN BIEBER/CAESAR/GIVEON2
24HEARTBREAK ANTHEMGALANTIS/GUETTA/LITTLE MIX3
25LET'S GO HOME TOGETHERELLA HENDERSON & TOM GRENNAN10
26LATEST TRENDSA1 & J12
27REMEMBERBECKY HILL & DAVID GUETTA3
28DON'T PLAYANNE-MARIE/KSI/DIGITAL FARM2
29YOUR LOVE (9PM)ATB/TOPIC/A7S8
30SOMEONE YOU LOVEDLEWIS CAPALDI1
31GOOSEBUMPSTRAVIS SCOTT & HVME8
32DEJA VUOLIVIA RODRIGO4
33MR BRIGHTSIDEKILLERS10
34LAST CHRISTMASWHAM1
35PERFECTED SHEERAN1
36PARADISEMEDUZA & DERMOT KENNEDY5
37ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOUMARIAH CAREY1
38DANCE MONKEYTONES & I1
39GET OUT MY HEADSHANE CODD6
40I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVEMANESKIN5

©2022Official Charts Company.All rights reserved.
This chart is compiled using sales and streaming equivalent sales combined.

Official Top 40 most-streamed songs of 2021

PositionTitleArtist
1BAD HABITSED SHEERAN
2GOOD 4 UOLIVIA RODRIGO
3DRIVERS LICENSEOLIVIA RODRIGO
4SAVE YOUR TEARSWEEKND
5MONTERO (CALL ME BY YOUR NAME)LIL NAS X
6BODYTION WAYNE & RUSS MILLIONS
7LEVITATINGDUA LIPA
8STAYKID LAROI & JUSTIN BIEBER
9HEAT WAVESGLASS ANIMALS
10BLINDING LIGHTSWEEKND
11HEAD & HEARTJOEL CORRY FT MNEK
12KISS ME MOREDOJA CAT FT SZA
13FRIDAYRITON/NIGHTCRAWLERS/MUFASA
14EASY ON MEADELE
15WITHOUT YOUKID LAROI
16WELLERMANNATHAN EVANS/220KID/BILLEN TED
17THE BUSINESSTIESTO
18BEDJOEL CORRY/RAYE/DAVID GUETTA
19LATEST TRENDSA1 & J1
20SHIVERSED SHEERAN
21LITTLE BIT OF LOVETOM GRENNAN
22BLACK MAGICJONASU
23PEACHESJUSTIN BIEBER/CAESAR/GIVEON
24COLD HEARTELTON JOHN & DUA LIPA
25SOMEONE YOU LOVEDLEWIS CAPALDI
26DON'T PLAYANNE-MARIE/KSI/DIGITAL FARM
27HEARTBREAK ANTHEMGALANTIS/GUETTA/LITTLE MIX
28PERFECTED SHEERAN
29CALLING MY PHONELIL TJAY & 6LACK
30REMEMBERBECKY HILL & DAVID GUETTA
31LET'S GO HOME TOGETHERELLA HENDERSON & TOM GRENNAN
32INDUSTRY BABYLIL NAS X & JACK HARLOW
33DANCE MONKEYTONES & I
34BABY SHARKPINKFONG
35MOOD24KGOLDN FT IANN DIOR
36MR BRIGHTSIDEKILLERS
37GOOSEBUMPSTRAVIS SCOTT & HVME
38RAPSTARPOLO G
39ASTRONAUT IN THE OCEANMASKED WOLF
40YOUR LOVE (9PM)ATB/TOPIC/A7S

©2022 Official Charts Company.All rights reserved.

(Video) TOP 40 Songs of 2022 2023 🔥 Best English Songs (Best Hit Music Playlist) on Spotify 06

Official Top 40 best-selling songs of 2021

PositionTitleArtist
1BAD HABITSED SHEERAN
2SAUSAGE ROLLS FOR EVERYONELADBABY FT SHEERAN/ELTON JOHN
3COLD HEARTELTON JOHN & DUA LIPA
4SHIVERSED SHEERAN
5WELLERMANNATHAN EVANS/220KID/BILLEN TED
6EASY ON MEADELE
7MY UNIVERSECOLDPLAY & BTS
8MERRY CHRISTMASED SHEERAN & ELTON JOHN
9SAVE YOUR TEARSWEEKND
10OVERPASS GRAFFITIED SHEERAN
11BORIS JOHNSON IS STILL A F**KING C**TK**TS
12FRIDAYRITON/NIGHTCRAWLERS/MUFASA
13LET'S GO HOME TOGETHERELLA HENDERSON & TOM GRENNAN
14LITTLE BIT OF LOVETOM GRENNAN
15BLACK MAGICJONASU
16ANYWHERE AWAY FROM HERERAG'N'BONE MAN & PINK
17DRIVERS LICENSEOLIVIA RODRIGO
18THE BUSINESSTIESTO
19HEARTBREAK ANTHEMGALANTIS/GUETTA/LITTLE MIX
20HIGHER POWERCOLDPLAY
21RASPUTINMAJESTIC & BONEY M
22BLINDING LIGHTSWEEKND
23ALL YOU EVER WANTEDRAG'N'BONE MAN
24GOOD 4 UOLIVIA RODRIGO
25BEDJOEL CORRY/RAYE/DAVID GUETTA
26BY YOUR SIDECALVIN HARRIS FT TOM GRENNAN
27BUTTERBTS
28REMEMBERBECKY HILL & DAVID GUETTA
29OUR SONGANNE-MARIE & NIALL HORAN
30TALK ABOUTRAIN RADIO/DJ CRAIG GORMAN
31LEAVE THE DOOR OPENSILK SONIC/BRUNO MARS/PAAK
32SWEET CAROLINENEIL DIAMOND
33STAYKID LAROI & JUSTIN BIEBER
34LEAVE BEFORE YOU LOVE MEMARSHMELLO/JONAS BROTHERS
35LEVITATINGDUA LIPA
36STARSTRUCKYEARS & YEARS
37GET OUT MY HEADSHANE CODD
383 LIONSBADDIEL/SKINNER/LIGHTNING SEED
39JERUSALEMAMASTER KG FT NOMCEBO ZIKODE
40BETTER DAYSDERMOT KENNEDY

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