This article needs to be updated.(September 2015) |
A music download is the transfer of music as a digital file from a provider (such as iTunes) to a device capable of playing it; legal sales of music downloads have been monitored and charted in the United Kingdom since 2004. As of 4 January 2023, the UK's most downloaded song of all the time was "As It Was" by Harry Styles, which became the U.K.'s top-selling single and album. [1] In 2021, "Bad Habits" by Ed Sheeran became one of the most streamed song of the year. In the year of 2020, "Head & Heart" by Joel Corry Ft. MNEK became one of the most trending songs of the time. As for in 2010s songs by singers like Rihanna, Adele, Vance Joy, Sia, James Arthur became famous.
Besides, as per 9 September 2014, the UK's most-downloaded song of all time is "Happy" by Pharrell Williams, which topped both the UK Singles Downloads Chart and UK Singles Chart. [2]
The first single to sell 1 million downloads in the UK was "I Gotta Feeling" by The Black Eyed Peas [3] and "Someone like You" and "Set Fire to the Rain" by Adele are the best-selling downloads by a female artist. [2] The best-selling song not to top the UK Singles Chart is "Moves Like Jagger" by Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera, whilst the best-selling song not to top the Download Chart is "Love the Way You Lie" by Eminem featuring Rihanna, which peaked at number two. [2]
No. | Artist | Song | Record label | Year | Peak position | Copies sold [lower-alpha 1] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Pharrell Williams | "Happy" | Sony | 2013 | 1 | 1,922,000 [4] |
2 | Adele | "Someone Like You" | Beggars | 2011 | 1 | 1,637,000+ [5] |
3 | Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell Williams | "Blurred Lines" | Universal | 2013 | 1 | 1,620,000+ |
4 | Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera | "Moves Like Jagger" | Universal | 2011 | 2 | 1,500,000+ |
5 | Gotye featuring Kimbra | "Somebody That I Used to Know" | Universal | 2012 | 1 | 1,470,000+ |
6 | Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams | "Get Lucky" | Sony | 2013 | 1 | 1,400,000+ |
7 | The Black Eyed Peas | "I Gotta Feeling" | Universal | 2009 | 1 | 1,350,000+ |
8 | Avicii | "Wake Me Up" | Universal | 2013 | 1 | 1,340,000+ |
9 | Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris | "We Found Love" | Universal | 2011 | 1 | 1,337,000+ |
10 | Kings of Leon | "Sex on Fire" | Sony BMG | 2008 | 1 | 1,293,000+ |
11 | Carly Rae Jepsen | "Call Me Maybe" | Universal | 2012 | 1 | 1,264,000+ |
12 | Bruno Mars | "Just the Way You Are" | Warner | 2010 | 1 | 1,247,000+ |
13 | Psy | "Gangnam Style" | Universal | 2012 | 1 | 1,229,000+ |
14 | LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett and GoonRock | "Party Rock Anthem" | Universal | 2011 | 1 | 1,229,000+ |
15 | Jessie J featuring B.o.B | "Price Tag" | Universal | 2012 | 1 | 1,188,000+ |
16 | Eminem featuring Rihanna | "Love the Way You Lie" | Universal | 2010 | 2 | 1,173,000+ |
17 | Little Mix | "Shout Out To My Ex" | Syco | 2016 | 1 | 1,159,827+ |
18 | David Guetta featuring Sia | "Titanium" | EMI | 2012 | 1 | 1,158,000+ |
19 | Little Mix | "Black Magic" | Syco | 2015 | 1 | 1,146,000+ |
20 | Lady Gaga | "Poker Face" | Warner | 2009 | 1 | 1,131,000+ |
21 | Passenger | "Let Her Go" | Nettwerk | 2012 | 1 | 1,114,000+ |
22 | Rihanna | "Only Girl (In the World)" | Universal | 2010 | 1 | 1,103,000+ |
23 | fun. featuring Janelle Monáe | "We Are Young" | Warner | 2012 | 1 | 1,095,000+ |
24 | Kings of Leon | "Use Somebody" | Sony BMG | 2008 | 2 | 1,068,000+ |
25 | James Arthur | "Impossible" | Sony | 2012 | 1 | 1,053,000+ |
26 | Clean Bandit featuring Jess Glynne | "Rather Be" | Warner | 2014 | 1 | 1,053,000+ |
27 | Ed Sheeran | "The A Team" | Warner | 2011 | 3 | 1,053,000 |
28 | Little Mix | "Touch" | Syco | 2016 | 3 | 1,041,000+ |
30 | Rihanna | "Diamonds" | Universal | 2012 | 1 | 1,006,000 |
31 | Naughty Boy featuring Sam Smith | "La La La" | Universal | 2013 | 1 | 1,000,000+ |
32 | Katy Perry | "Firework" | EMI | 2010 | 3 | 1,000,000+ |
33 | Pitbull featuring Ne-Yo, Afrojack and Nayer | "Give Me Everything" | Sony | 2011 | 1 | 1,000,000+ |
34 | Adele | "Rolling in the Deep" | Beggars | 2011 | 2 | 1,000,000+ |
35 | Journey | "Don't Stop Believin'" | Sony | 2010 | 6 | 1,000,000 |
36 | Lady Gaga | "Bad Romance" | Universal | 2009 | 1 | 1,000,000 |
37 | Katy Perry | "Roar" | Universal | 2013 | 1 | 990,000 |
38 | Swedish House Mafia featuring John Martin | "Don't You Worry Child" | Universal | 2012 | 1 | 980,000 |
39 | LMFAO | "Sexy and I Know It" | Universal | 2011 | 5 | 974,000 |
41 | Nicki Minaj | "Starships" | Universal | 2012 | 2 | 967,000 |
42 | CeeLo Green | "Forget You" | Warner | 2010 | 1 | 963,000 |
43 | Bruno Mars | "Grenade" | Warner | 2011 | 1 | 949,000 |
A music download is the digital transfer of music via the Internet into a device capable of decoding and playing it, such as a personal computer, portable media player, MP3 player or smartphone. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyrighted material without permission or legal payment. According to a Nielsen report, downloadable music accounted for 55.9 percent of all music sales in the US in 2012. By the beginning of 2011, Apple's iTunes Store alone made US$1.1 billion of revenue in the first quarter of its fiscal year. Music downloads are typically encoded with modified discrete cosine transform (MDCT) audio data compression, particularly the Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) format used by iTunes as well as the MP3 audio coding format.
The UK Singles Chart was first compiled in 1969. However the records and statistics listed here date back to 1952 because the Official Charts Company counts a selected period of the New Musical Express chart and the Record Retailer chart from 1960 to 1969 as predecessors for the period prior to 11 February 1969, where multiples of competing charts coexisted side by side. For example, the BBC compiled its own chart based on an average of the music papers of the time; many songs announced as having reached number one on BBC Radio and Top of the Pops prior to 1969 may not be listed here as chart-toppers since they do not meet the legacy criteria of the Charts Company.
The UK Singles Downloads Chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the music industry. Since July 2015, the chart week runs from Friday to Thursday, with the chart date given as the following Thursday.
The discography of Pharrell Williams, an American recording artist and record producer, consists of two studio albums, two extended plays (EPs), one mixtape, 22 singles.
"Only Girl (In the World)" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna from her fifth album, Loud (2010). Serving as the album's lead single, it was released on September 10, 2010. Crystal Johnson wrote the song in collaboration with producers Stargate and Sandy Vee. Rihanna contacted Stargate before Loud's production and asked them to create lively, uptempo music. "Only Girl (In the World)" was the first song composed for the album, and the singer decided to include it on the track list before she recorded her vocals. Backed by strong bass and synthesizer, it is a dance-pop and Eurodance song that has an electronic composition. Its lyrics describe Rihanna demanding physical attention from her lover.
"Rolling in the Deep" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Adele for her second studio album, 21 (2011). It is the lead single and opening track on the album. The song was written by Adele and Paul Epworth. The singer herself describes it as a "dark blues-y gospel disco tune". In 2011, it was reportedly the biggest crossover hit in the United States since 1985; "Rolling in the Deep" gained radio airplay from many different radio formats. It was first released on 29 November 2010 as the lead single from 21 in digital download format. The lyrics describe the emotions of a scorned lover.
"Someone like You" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Adele. She and Dan Wilson wrote and produced the track for her second studio album, 21 (2011). It is the second single and final track on the album. The song was inspired by a broken relationship with one's life partner, and lyrically speaks of Adele's coming to terms with it. XL Recordings released the song as the second single from the album on 24 January 2011 in the United Kingdom and on 9 August 2011 in the United States. Accompanied only by a piano in the song, Adele sings about the end of the relationship with her ex-partner.
"Set Fire to the Rain" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Adele for her second studio album, 21 (2011). The song was written by Adele and Fraser T. Smith while the production was handled by the latter. It became Adele's third consecutive US number-one single from 21 and reached the top ten in most of other foreign markets. It is a power pop ballad with lush instrumentation and a swelling string arrangement, in contrast to the understated production of most songs on the album. The song has received acclaim from various critics with many complimenting on Adele's vocals. "Set Fire to the Rain" was voted by readers of Billboard as their favorite number one hit of 2012. Though no official music video was released for the song, a live performance from the DVD Live at the Royal Albert Hall was uploaded to video-sharing website YouTube. This rendition won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards.
"We Found Love" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna from her sixth studio album, Talk That Talk (2011). The song features Scottish DJ Calvin Harris, whose 2012 album 18 Months also includes the track. "We Found Love" premiered on September 22, 2011, on the Capital FM radio station in the United Kingdom, and was made available to download on the same day as the lead single from Talk That Talk. "We Found Love" is an uptempo electro house song, with elements of dance-pop, techno and Europop. The song's lyrics speak of a couple who "found love in a hopeless place".
"Diamonds" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna for her seventh studio album, Unapologetic (2012). It was written by Sia together with its producers, Benny Blanco and Stargate. The song premiered on September 26, 2012, during the Elvis Duran and the Morning Show and was digitally released the following day as the lead single from Unapologetic. "Diamonds" is a mid-tempo pop, electronic and R&B ballad that features heavy synthesizers, orchestral sounds and electronic rhythms. The song's lyrics serve as a departure from the themes of unhealthy relationships that were on Rihanna's previous singles contrasted to the song's portrayal of lovers as "diamonds in the sky".
"The Monster" is a song from American rapper Eminem's album The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (2013) featuring a guest appearance from Barbadian singer Rihanna. The song was written by Bebe Rexha, Eminem, Aalias, Jon Bellion, Maki Athanasiou, and Frequency, with the latter also handling production. Released on October 29, 2013, as the fourth single from the album, "The Monster" marks the fourth collaboration between Eminem and Rihanna, following "Love the Way You Lie" (2010), its sequel "Love the Way You Lie " (2010), and "Numb" (2012), and is a hip-hop and pop song, with lyrics that describe Eminem pondering the negative effects of his fame while Rihanna comes to grips with her inner demons.
"Happy" is a song written, produced, and performed by American musician Pharrell Williams, released as the only single from the soundtrack album for the film Despicable Me 2 (2013). The song was first released on November 21, 2013, alongside a long-form music video. The song was reissued on December 16, 2013, by Back Lot Music under exclusive license to Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music. The song also served as the lead single from Williams's second studio album, Girl (2014).