London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 08, 2025

Ed Sheeran was the most-played artist of 2021 in the UK

Ed Sheeran was the most-played artist of 2021 in the UK

The pop star’s single Bad Habits was also the most-played song of last year, according to new data from music licensing company PPL

Ed Sheeran was the most-played artist in the UK last year according to new data from music licensing company PPL, which calculates usage by radio stations, TV channels and public locations that play recorded music in order to distribute royalties.

Sheeran also had the most-played track of 2021 in Bad Habits, from his fourth album, =. He previously held the PPL double in 2017, when he was the year’s most-played artist and his song Shape of You dominated public life.

Peter Leathem, chief executive officer at PPL, said that, over the last five years, Sheeran’s success was “a testament to the quality of his output [and] the strength of UK music at a time when the global music landscape is more competitive than ever”.

Nipping at Sheeran’s heels for cultural dominance, however, is Bedford-born pop star Tom Grennan, who was recently hospitalised after being attacked in New York. His collaboration with Calvin Harris, By Your Side, was the second biggest song of 2021; his solo single Little Bit of Love was the third.

Reflecting how streaming has given the biggest hit songs a longer tail than ever, the fourth biggest song of last year, the Weeknd’s Blinding Lights, was in fact released in 2019. Its placing here adds to a litany of records: in November 2021, it was ranked as the biggest Billboard Hot 100 hit of all time.

Little Mix on their farewell tour in April.


Also sticking around was Miley Cyrus’s Midnight Sky, originally released in 2020. It is the only solo song by a female artist in the Top 10 most-played tracks of 2021. Heartbreak Anthem, Little Mix’s collaboration with Galantis and David Guetta placed at No 7, and Joel Corry, Raye and Guetta’s hit Bed placed at No 10.

The most-played artists charts revealed a closer split between genders, with 60:40 male to female. Little Mix have been in the Top 10 for each of the last five years; this year they are No 4, which may mark their final placing in the list given their recent hiatus. At No 5, Coldplay have featured in the artist Top 10 eight times in the past 10 years, placing top in 2016 and 2012.

Pink appears at No 10 on the artists chart, reflecting another PPL win for the US pop star: last year, the organisation named her the UK’s most-played female artist of the 21st century.

In 2021, the PPL collected a total revenue of £252.8m, distributed to 147 performers and rightsholders.


The full PPL charts for 2021


Most-played tracks

1. Ed Sheeran – Bad Habits

2. Calvin Harris – By Your Side ft Tom Grennan

3. Tom Grennan – Little Bit of Love

4. The Weeknd – Blinding Lights

5. Coldplay – Higher Power

6. Rag’n’Bone Man – All You Ever Wanted

7. Galantis, David Guetta and Little Mix – Heartbreak Anthem

8. Years & Years – Starstruck

9. Miley Cyrus – Midnight Sky

10. Joel Corry x Raye x David Guetta – Bed

Most-played artists

1. Ed Sheeran

2. David Guetta

3. Dua Lipa

4. Little Mix

5. Coldplay

6. The Weeknd

7. Justin Bieber

8. Calvin Harris

9. Taylor Swift

10. Pink

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Increases Reward for Arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro to Fifty Million Dollars
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
Trump Signals JD Vance as ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Successor for 2028
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
Representative Greene Urges H-1B Visa Cuts Amid U.S.-India Trade Tensions
U.S. House Committee Subpoenas Clintons and Senior Officials in Epstein Investigation
Sydney Sweeney Registered as Republican as Controversial American Eagle Ad Sparks Debate
Trump Accuses Major Banks of Politically Motivated Account Denials and Prepares Executive Order
TikTok Removes Huda Kattan Video Over Anti-Israel Conspiracy Claims
Trump Threatens Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
U.S. Proposes Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Some Applicants
U.S. Farmers Increase Lobbying Amid Immigration Crackdown
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Matt Taibbi Slams Media for Role in Russiagate Narrative
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
×