British pop stars have failed to reach the worldwide annual charts of the year’s Top 10 biggest singles and albums for the first time in more than two decades.
In 2022, UK acts such as Harry Styles and Glass Animals made up seven of the 20 entries in the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) list. This year, the leading UK act was producer and singer Artemas, for I Like the Way You Kiss Me.
British stars such as Charli xcx – arguably the most conversation-dominating UK act of 2024, with her album Brat – Dua Lipa and Coldplay did not feature. It is the first time since 2003 that a UK act hasn’t featured in either the singles or albums list.
The No 1 song globally was Beautiful Things by Benson Boone, and the No 1 album globally was The Tortured Poets Department by Taylor Swift.
K-pop boybands dominated the albums list, with two entries from Seventeen (Spill the Feels at No 6 and 17 Is Right Here at No 8), along with Enhypen (Romance: Untold at No 4) and Stray Kids (ATE at No 10). The remainder of the list came from US superstars: Hit Me Hard and Soft by Billie Eilish (No 2), Short n’ Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter (No 3), SOS by SZA (No 5), One Thing at a Time by Morgan Wallen (No 7) and Stick Season by Noah Kahan (No 9).
In the singles chart, only Irish songwriter Hozier, with Too Sweet at No 6, deviated from the otherwise total US dominance of the list, which spanned pop (Carpenter’s Espresso at No 2) to rap-country (Post Malone and Wallen’s I Had Some Help at No 7) and a five-year-old song by Swift, Cruel Summer, at No 9. The insistence of Kendrick Lamar’s blockbuster Drake diss track, Not Like Us, was confirmed as it appeared at No 8.
Jo Twist, chief executive of British record industry body the BPI, told the BBC: “British artists may have enjoyed stronger years on the international stage, which perhaps isn’t surprising given some of our biggest names were not in cycle in 2024.
“There was still plenty to be excited about, as a new generation announced itself – not least Charli xcx, who enjoyed a breakthrough year globally, alongside international chart success for emerging artists such as Jordan Adetunji, Artemas and Good Neighbours, while the likes of Lola Young and Myles Smith are now rapidly building an international following.”
Twist said that it is “undoubtedly becoming much harder to break talent in a hyper-competitive global music economy”.
The news comes ahead of the Brit awards this weekend, led by xcx with five nominations for Brat, followed by Lipa, the Last Dinner Party, Ezra Collective and Myles Smith with four.
Global bestselling albums of 2024
Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department
Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft
Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet
Enhypen – Romance: Untold
SZA – SOS
Seventeen – Spill the Feels
Morgan Wallen – One Thing at a Time
Seventeen – 17 Is Right Here
Noah Kahan – Stick Season
Stray Kids – ATE
Global bestselling singles of 2024
Benson Boone – Beautiful Things
Sabrina Carpenter – Espresso
Teddy Swims – Lose Control
Billie Eilish – Birds of a Feather
Shaboozey – A Bar Song (Tipsy)
Hozier – Too Sweet
Post Malone – I Had Some Help ft Morgan Wallen
Kendrick Lamar – Not Like Us
Taylor Swift – Cruel Summer
Noah Kahan – Stick Season
