List of UK top-ten singles in 2022

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 2022, as well as singles which peaked in 2021 and 2023 but were in the top 10 in 2022. 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).

Ninety-four singles were in the top 10 this year. Fifteen singles from 2021 remained in the top 10 for several weeks at the beginning of the year, while "Calm Down" by Rema, "Escapism" by Raye featuring 070 Shake, "Firebabe" by Stormzy and "Let Go" by Central Cee were all released in 2022 but did not reach their peak until 2023. "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, "All I Want for Christmas is You" by Mariah Carey, Last Christmas" by Wham! and "Come On Home for Christmas" by George Ezra were the songs from 2021 to reach their peak in 2022. "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee and "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" by Michael Bublé were both released in 2021 and re-entered the top 10 in 2022, but did not reach their peak until 2023. Acraze, Fireboy DML, Lauren Spencer-Smith, Jessica Darrow, Kim Petras and Luude were among the many artists who achieved their first top 10 single in 2022.

"Merry Christmas" by Ed Sheeran and Elton John returned to number-one for a third non-consecutive week during the first week of 2022, while Adele's "Easy on Me" clinched an eighth non-consecutive week at the top spot during the second week of 2022. The first new number-one single of the year was "ABCDEFU" by Gayle. Overall, fourteen different songs peaked at number-one in 2022, with fourteen unique artists hitting that position.

Background[edit]

Multiple entries[edit]

Ninety-four singles charted in the top 10 in 2022, with eighty-six singles reaching their peak this year (including the re-entries "All I Want for Christmas Is You" and "Last Christmas", which charted in previous years but reached peaks on their latest chart run).

Encanto sets records[edit]

Three songs from the soundtrack of the Disney film Encanto charted within the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart this year; "We Don't Talk About Bruno", "Surface Pressure" and "The Family Madrigal". On 21 January 2022 (27 January 2022, week ending), "We Don't Talk About Bruno" rose to number-one, and remained there for seven consecutive weeks, and also made history by becoming the first-ever original song from a Disney film to reach number-one in the 70-year history of the UK Singles Chart.^[6] On 4 February 2022 (10 February 2022, week ending), after "The Family Madrigal" entered the top 10 at number seven, Encanto set another record by becoming the first Disney film to have three songs from its soundtrack reach the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart simultaneously.^[7]

Harry Styles returns to number-one and achieves career-best[edit]

On 8 April 2022 (14 April 2022, week ending), Harry Styles debuted at number-one in the UK Singles Chart with "As It Was", which became his second solo single to top that chart after 2017's "Sign of the Times". "As It Was" recorded a career-best for Styles, as it achieved 94,000 chart sales during its first week of release, the biggest opening week of any single in 2022 so far, as well as notching up 10.5 million streams, the biggest week of UK streams of any track so far during the year. "As It Was" also claimed the biggest first week of any song in the chart since LadBaby featuring Ed Sheeran and Elton John's "Sausage Rolls for Everyone" in December 2021.^[8]

Sam Ryder's "Space Man" becomes the highest-charting UK Eurovision entry since 1996[edit]

On 20 May 2022 (26 May 2022 week ending), Sam Ryder climbed to number two in the UK Singles Chart with "Space Man", the United Kingdom's entry from the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. The song's chart success was attributed to its second-place finish at that year's competition. "Space Man" became the highest-charting UK Eurovision entry since Gina G's "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit", which reached number-one in 1996. Ryder also outperformed the last UK Eurovision winners to date, Katrina & The Waves, whose winning entry from 1997, "Love Shine a Light", peaked at number three.^[9]

Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" reaches number-one following use in Stranger Things, while Bush sets records[edit]

On 3 June 2022 (9 June 2022 week ending), Kate Bush's 1985 hit single "Running Up That Hill" re-entered the UK Singles Chart at number eight.^[10] The song had experienced renewed popularity worldwide after it was prominently featured in the fourth season of the Netflix series Stranger Things, and this resulted in it re-entering the charts of various countries. The following week, the song rose six places to a new chart peak of number two, overtaking its original peak position of number three.^[11] On 17 June 2022 (23 June 2022, week ending), "Running Up That Hill" topped the chart, giving Bush her second UK number-one single, and her first since her 1978 debut single "Wuthering Heights". In addition, Bush also set records by claiming the record of the longest time taken for a single to reach number-one in the UK chart, with "Running Up That Hill" topping the chart almost 37 years after its initial release, and also becoming the oldest female artist ever to score a UK number-one single at 63 years and 11 months old.^[12]

Eliza Rose reaches landmark number-one[edit]

On 2 September 2022 (8 September 2022 week ending), Eliza Rose and Interplanetary Criminal made chart history by becoming the 1400th number-one single with "B.O.T.A. (Baddest of Them All)". Rose also became the first female DJ to earn a number-one single in 22 years since "It Feels So Good" by Sonique reached the top position in May 2000.^[13]

David Guetta returns to number-one with Eiffel 65 sample[edit]

On 23 September 2022 (29 September 2022 week ending), David Guetta and Bebe Rexha reached number one with "I'm Good (Blue)", which became Guetta's first UK number-one single in eight years and 7th overall, as well as Rexha's first chart-topper. The song samples "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" by Eiffel 65, which also reached number-one 23 years prior in September 1999.^[14][15]

Taylor Swift achieves prestigious Official Chart Double[edit]

On 28 October 2022 (3 November 2022, week ending), Taylor Swift achieved the prestigious chart double, topping both the UK Singles Chart and UK Albums Chart with "Anti-Hero" and Midnights, respectively. The song became Swift's first number-one since 2017 with "Look What You Made Me Do".^[16]

"All I Want for Christmas Is You" and "Last Christmas" return to number-one[edit]

December 2022 saw both Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" and Wham!'s "Last Christmas" return to number-one in the UK Singles Chart, exactly two years after both songs first topped the chart.

On 9 December 2022 (15 December 2022, week ending), "All I Want for Christmas Is You" returned to number-one, having topped the chart for the very first time on 11 December 2020 (17 December 2020, week ending). In the seven days preceding its return to the top spot, the song notched up 10.8 million streams in the UK alone.^[17]

On 16 December 2022 (22 December 2022, week ending), "Last Christmas" returned to the top of the chart, having reached number-one for the first time ever on 1 January 2021 (7 January 2021, week ending). The song accumulated 11.4 million streams in the UK alone in the seven days preceding its return to the top spot.^[18]

LadBaby make history with fifth Christmas number-one[edit]

British blogger couple LadBaby made UK chart history on 23 December 2022 (29 December 2022, week ending), when they became the first-ever act to secure five Christmas number-one singles after their single "Food Aid" debuted at number-one in the UK Singles Chart. In doing so, they surpassed the record held by The Beatles, who secured four Christmas number-ones in 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1967. In its first week of release, "Food Aid" shifted a total of over 65,000 chart units.^[19]

Chart debuts[edit]

Thirty-four artists achieved their first charting top 10 single in 2022, either as a lead or featured artist. Of these, three went on to record another hit single in their breakthrough year: Cast of Encanto, Luude and Stephanie Beatriz.

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.

Notes

Colin Hay earned his UK top ten debut as a featured artist in February 2022 with "Down Under", although he was a former member of Men at Work. Amanda Reifer earned her UK top ten debut in May 2022 after featuring on "Die Hard", although she was a former member of Cover Drive.

Songs from films[edit]

Original songs from films charted in the top-ten throughout the year. These include "We Don't Talk About Bruno", "Surface Pressure" and "The Family Madrigal" (from Encanto), "I Ain't Worried" (from Top Gun: Maverick) and "Lift Me Up" (from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever).

Best-selling singles[edit]

Harry Styles had the best-selling single of the year with "As It Was". The song spent ten weeks at number-one, sold 1,550,000 copies and was certified 2x platinum by the BPI. "Bad Habits" by Ed Sheeran came in second place, while Fireboy DML and Ed Sheeran's "Peru", "Go" by Cat Burns and Ed Sheeran's "Shivers" made up the top five. Songs by Kate Bush, Glass Animals, Lost Frequencies featuring Calum Scott, LF System and Sam Fender were also in the top ten best-selling singles of the year.

Top-ten singles[edit]

Key

Entries by artist[edit]

The following table shows artists who have achieved two or more top 10 entries in 2022, including singles that reached their peak in 2021. 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 2022 is also shown.

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• 2022 singles chart archive at the Official Charts Company (click on relevant week)