Latest Site News

[Liam.k.]

Kanye West's Official Top 40 biggest songs in the UK
24 October 2019 | By Jack White

With 40 Top 40 singles to his name and a new album, we look back at Kanye's UK chart success to date.

Innovative, controversial, game-changing and polarising are all words you could use to describe Kanye West, but when it comes to his Official UK Chart history, the word that springs to mind is enduring.

A leader in the rap game for well over a decade, Kanye attracts major attention from critics and the public alike with every release, and his new album is no exception.

Initially set to release an album titled Yandhi last September, the album was delayed until November 2018 before being pushed back to 2019. The record never materialised, and is set to forever be a Wikipedia page featuring just an album cover art.

Instead, Kanye is dropping what is now his ninth studio album Jesus Is King. To celebrate the record's release (the follow up to 2018's Number 2-peaking Ye) and him reaching a landmark 40 Top 40 singles, we look back at the sales and streams of Kanye's best-sellers.

N****s in Paris
"No one knows what it means, but it's provocative." Who'd have thought that sample of Will Ferrell and Jon Heder from Blades of Glory would become so iconic?! If you've seen Kanye and Jay-Z perform Paris live or have just listened to the track in a club, you'll know people can't get enough of the song. Dominated by an adrenaline-pumping synth loop, Paris can get a room bouncing in seconds.

N****s in Paris peaked at a modest Number 10, but its legacy is long-lasting. The song is Kanye West's most downloaded song with 649,000 sales, and has also racked up 49.2 million audio streams and 5 million video plays. It ranks as Kanye's fifth biggest track to date.

American Boy
An Official Singles Chart Number 1, Estelle struck gold (pun intended) when she drafted in Kanye to appear on her breakthrough hit American Boy. Fresh off the back of the success of his UK chart-topping album Graduation, American Boy continued Kanye's momentum, dethroning Duffy's Mercy from Number 1 in 2008. 1.25 million combined sales put the track as Kanye's fourth biggest song in the UK.

FourFiveSeconds
Kanye and Rihanna have collaborated on three UK Top 20 hits, with FourFiveSeconds being the biggest with downloads and streams combined. Sir Paul McCartney is a curveball feature on this song, which peaked at Number 3. The song is also coincidentally Kanye's third most popular song in the UK, racking up 1.266 million combined units.

Stronger
Another song with a killer sample - this time Daft Punk - Stronger was Kanye's first of three UK Number 1s, and his only chart-topper as a lead artist. While its 575k downloads, 2.58m views and 79m audio streams are impressive, a more retro Kanye classic pips it to the post on the all-time artist chart.

Gold Digger
It may not have been an Official Singles Chart Number 1, but Gold Digger reached a top spot in the end. The Jamie Foxx collaboration from 2005 is Kanye's most streamed track on audio platforms, scoring a lofty 79.2m since records began in 2014. Its combined sales tally stands at 1.43 million. We still never found out if she was a Gold Digger or not!

Elsewhere on the career Top 40, Katy Perry's E.T. with Kanye is at 8, Yeezy's third Number 1 Run This Town with Jay-Z and Rihanna lands at 11, 2013 Top 3 hit I Love It with Lil Pump sits at 12 thanks to a massive 27.3m video streams, and his feature on Mr. Hudson's Number 2 smash Supernova is at 21.

Kanye West's Official Top 40 biggest songs in the UK
POS TITLE ARTIST HIGHEST POSITION YEAR
1 GOLD DIGGER KANYE WEST FT JAMIE FOXX 2 2005 1.43m [79.2m audio streams]
2 STRONGER KANYE WEST 1 2007 [575k downloads, 79m audio streams, 2.58m video streams]
3 FOURFIVE SECONDS RIHANNA/KANYE WEST/MCCARTNEY 3 2015 1.266m
4 AMERICAN BOY ESTELLE FT KANYE WEST 1 2008 1.25m
5 N****S IN PARIS JAY-Z & KANYE WEST 10 2012 [649k downloads, 49.2m audio streams, 5m video streams]
6 ALL OF THE LIGHTS KANYE WEST FT RIHANNA 15 2011
7 POWER KANYE WEST 36 2010
8 E.T. KATY PERRY FT KANYE WEST 3 2011
9 KNOCK YOU DOWN KERI HILSON/KANYE WEST/NE-YO 5 2009
10 BLACK SKINHEAD KANYE WEST 34 2013
11 RUN THIS TOWN JAY-Z FT RIHANNA & KANYE WEST 1 2009
12 I LOVE IT KANYE WEST & LIL PUMP 3 2018 [27.3m video streams]
13 FAMOUS KANYE WEST 33 2016
14 TOUCH THE SKY KANYE WEST FT LUPE FIASCO 6 2006
15 FOREVER DRAKE/KANYE/LIL WAYNE/EMINEM 42 2009
16 LOVE LOCKDOWN KANYE WEST 8 2008
17 HEARTLESS KANYE WEST 10 2008
18 ALL FALLS DOWN KANYE WEST FT SYLEENA JOHNSON 10 2004
19 NO CHURCH IN THE WILD JAY-Z/KANYE WEST/F OCEAN 37 2012
20 CLIQUE KANYE WEST/JAY Z/BIG SEAN 22 2012
21 SUPERNOVA MR HUDSON FT KANYE WEST 2 2009
22 HOMECOMING KANYE WEST FT CHRIS MARTIN 9 2007
23 FADE KANYE WEST/POST MALONE/TY 50 2016
24 OTIS JAY-Z/KANYE WEST/OTIS REDDING 28 2011
25 GOOD LIFE KANYE WEST FT T-PAIN 23 2007
26 MERCY KANYE WEST/BIG SEAN/PUSHA T 55 2012
27 MONSTER KANYE WEST FT JAY-Z/BON IVER 111 2010
28 THROUGH THE WIRE KANYE WEST 9 2004
29 FATHER STRETCH MY HANDS PT 1 KANYE WEST 54 2016
30 JESUS WALKS KANYE WEST 16 2004
31 FLASHING LIGHTS KANYE WEST FT DWELE 29 2008
32 CAN'T TELL ME NOTHING KANYE WEST 107 2007
33 WAVES KANYE WEST 77 2016
34 BOUND 2 KANYE WEST 55 2013
35 ALL DAY KANYE WEST/LONDON/KINGDOM 18 2015
36 ULTRALIGHT BEAM KANYE WEST/CHANCE THE RAPPER 63 2016
37 RUNAWAY KANYE WEST FT PUSHA T 56 2010
38 REAL FRIENDS KANYE WEST FT TY DOLLA SIGN 78 2016
39 DIAMONDS FROM SIERRA LEONE KANYE WEST 8 2005
40 PT 2 KANYE WEST 70 2016

©2019 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.