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BuzzJack Music Forum _ UK Charts _ Top 100 Best Selling Female Solo Hits Of The 2010s
Posted by: Gezza 27th September 2020, 02:16 PM
You’ve had the 80s, the 90s, the 00s, and here are the 10s- yes the top 100 best selling female solo tracks of the decade including streams in the UK! The charts covered are 16/01/2010 to 02/01/2020 and contrary to my normal rundowns this list will only include tracks which are officially credited solely to a female soloist so collaborations which are credited as such will not appear here.
There are 13 acts with three or more tracks in the top 100 but as we are dealing with streams the list is not as reliable or as comprehensive as earlier lists so my guestimates could be further out than normal.
Credits go to the OCC, BPI, shireblogger, Liam K, Andy, buzzjack and Haven as sources.
As per usual the bigger sellers are all pretty well known but no spoilers please- let’s just enjoy the rundown!
28 Number ones, 57 top 10s and two tracks that missed the top 40 altogether in the decade, the tracks spent a total of over 3,800 weeks in the top 100 between them, and 8 that charted before this decade altogether!
Posted by: T Boy 27th September 2020, 02:40 PM
I can’t wait! Have you got links to the 80s, 90s and 00s threads?
Posted by: Jamie Barkley 27th September 2020, 03:31 PM
Very exciting! I remember reading your 80s, 90s and 00s threads years back - almost a decade ago themselves!
Posted by: Gezza 27th September 2020, 03:34 PM
Yes I'll re-cap on the previous decades over the next few days
Posted by: Gezza 28th September 2020, 03:10 PM
As promised a reminder of the top 100 best selling Female solo hits of the other decades
Here's the 80s
01. THE POWER OF LOVE JENNIFER RUSH 1, 168,000
02. FAME IRENE CARA 975,000
03. WOMAN IN LOVE BARBRA STREISAND 788,000
04. INTO THE GROOVE MADONNA 766,000
05. FEELS LIKE I'M IN LOVE KELLY MARIE 760,000
06. LIKE A VIRGIN MADONNA 741,000
07. TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART BONNIE TYLER 706,000
08. THE ONLY WAY IS UP YAZZ 704,000
09. TOGETHER WE ARE BEAUTIFUL FERN KINNEY 672,000
10. I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY (WHO LOVES ME) WHITNEY HOUSTON 667,000
11. I FEEL FOR YOU CHAKA KHAN 664,000
12. CHAIN REACTION DIANA ROSS 651,000
13. 9 TO 5 SHEENA EASTON 638,000
14. MOVE CLOSER PHYLLIS NELSON 612,000
15. I SHOULD BE SO LUCKY KYLIE MINOGUE 611,000
16. SAVING ALL MY LOVE FOR YOU WHITNEY HOUSTON 610,000
17. PAPA DON'T PREACH MADONNA 593,000
18. MICKEY TONI BRASIL 580,000
19. I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW TIFFANY 537,000
20. HOLIDAY MADONNA 537,000
21. SO MACHO SINITTA 532,000
22. TRUE BLUE MADONNA 522,000
23. KIDS IN AMERICA KIM WILDE 515,000
24. UPSIDE DOWN DIANA ROSS 505,000
25. HEARTBREAKER DIONNE WARWICK 503,000
26. CRAZY FOR YOU MADONNA 494,000
27. JAPANESE BOY ANEKA 487,000
28. HEAVEN IS A PLACE ON EARTH BELINDA CARLISE 481,000
29. THEY DON'T KNOW TRACEY ULLMAN 465,000
30. WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT TINA TURNER 450,000
31. ONE DAY I'LL FLY AWAY RANDY CRAWFORD 447,000
32. HAND ON YOUR HEART KYLIE MINOGUE 419,000
33. TAKE THAT LOOK OFF YOUR FACE MARTI WEBB 417,000
34. TIME AFTER TIME CYNDI LAUPER 415,000
35. LIKE A PRAYER MADONNA 412,000
36. FLASHDANCE...WHAT A FEELING IRENE CARA 405,000
37. CAN'T BE WITH YOU TONIGHT JUDY BOUCHER 397,000
38. LA ISLA BONITA MADONNA 393,000
39. WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE DIANA ROSS 392,000
40. HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO BONNIE TYLER 389,000
41. SELF CONTROL LAURA BRANIGAN 388,000
42. THE LOCO-MOTION KYLIE MINOGUE 382,000
43. GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN CYNDI LAUPER 380,000
44. ALL AROUND THE WORLD LISA STANSFIELD 376,000
45. WHO'S THAT GIRL MADONNA 373,000
46. THE FIRST TIME ROBIN BECK 358,000
47. A LITTLE PEACE NICOLE 350,000
48. YOU'LL NEVER STOP ME LOVING YOU SONIA 346,000
49. PHYSICAL OLIVIA NEWTON JOHN 344,000
50. NEVER KNEW A LOVE LIKE THIS STEPHANIE MILLS 338,000
51. LET'S STAY TOGETHER TINA TURNER 333,000
52. ONE MOMENT IN TIME WHITNEY HOUSTON 331,000
53. MISS YOU LIKE CRAZY NATALIE COLE 331,000
54. WOULDN'T CHANGE A THING KYLIE MINOGUE 329,000
55. YOU KEEP ME HANGIN ON KIM WILDE 327,000
56. LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY DENIECE WILLIAMS 325,000
57. I'VE NEVER BEEN TO ME CHARLENE 324,000
58. MEMORY ELAINE PAIGE 323,000
59. TOUCH ME (I WANT YOUR BODY) SAMANTHA FOX 321,000
60. SEE THE DAY DEE C LEE 320,000
61. THIS TIME I KNOW IT'S FOR REAL DONNA SUMMER 319,000
62. WHATEVER I DO (WHEREVER I GO) HAZELL DEAN 319,000
63. TOY BOY SINITTA 319,000
64. MODERN GIRL SHEENA EASTON 317,000
65. THAT OLE DEVIL CALLED LOVE ALISON MOYET 317,000
66. WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER HERO TINA TURNER 309,000
67. ORINOCO FLOW ENYA 304,000
68. EIGHTH DAY HAZEL O'CONNOR 302,000
69. HI ENERGY EVELYN THOMAS 294,000
70. LOVE COME DOWN EVELYN KING 292,000
71. ALL CRIED OUT ALISON MOYET 292,000
72. STRAIGHT UP PAULA ABDUL 291,000
73. JUMP TO THE BEAT STACY LATTISAW 289,000
74. JE NE SAIS PAS POURQUOI KYLIE MINOGUE 286,000
75. CALL ME SPAGNA 285,000
76. LET'S WAIT AWHILE JANET JACKSON 283,000
77. STOP SAM BROWN 282,000
78. BORDERLINE MADONNA 281,000
79. MATERIAL GIRL MADONNA 279,000
80. GOT TO BE CERTAIN KYLIE MINOGUE 278,000
81. BUFFALO STANCE NENEH CHERRY 268,000
82. SEARCHIN (I GOTTA FIND A MAN) HAZELL DEAN 267,000
83. STARTING TOGETHER SUE POLLARD 264,000
84. RUNNING UP THAT HILL KATE BUSH 262,000
85. TELL IT TO MY HEART TAYLOR DAYNE 262,000
86. LOVE LETTERS ALISON MOYET 257,000
87. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY SHEENA EASTON 256,000
88. IS THIS LOVE ALISON MOYET 253,000
89. GAMBLER MADONNA 251,000
90. THE BEST TINA TURNER 247,000
91. AIN'T NOTHIN GOIN ON BUT THE RENT GWEN GUTHRIE 246,000
92. WHY CARLY SIMON 244,000
93. CHEQUERED LOVE KIM WILDE 244,000
94. ONLY LOVE NANA MOUSKOURI 243,000
95. IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME CHER 240,600
96. FORGET ME NOTS PATRICE RUSHEN 234,000
97. BABOOSHKA KATE BUSH 234,000
98. LIVE TO TELL MADONNA 231,000
99. BOYS (SUMMERTIME LOVE) SABRINA 229,000
100. HOW WILL I KNOW WHITNEY HOUSTON 228,000
Posted by: vibe 28th September 2020, 03:13 PM
I never knew So Macho did so well.
And Madonna’s forgotten hit Gambler .
Posted by: Gezza 28th September 2020, 03:14 PM
And the 90s
01. BELIEVE CHER 1,669,000
02. BABY ONE MORE TIME BRITNEY SPEARS 1,455,300
03. I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU WHITNEY HOUSTON 1,366,200
04. MY HEART WILL GO ON CELINE DION 1,302,100
05. THINK TWICE CELINE DION 1,235,000
06. SATURDAY NIGHT WHIGFIELD 1,092,200
07. TORN NATALIE IMBRUGLIA 970,000
08. OOH AAH JUST A LITTLE BIT GINA G 787,800
09. UNBREAK MY HEART TONI BRAXTON 780,900
10. THAT DON'T IMPRESS ME MUCH SHANIA TWAIN 763,000
11. TOGETHER AGAIN JANET JACKSON 743,500
12. HOW DO I LIVE LEANN RIMES 711,500
13. NOTHING COMPARES 2 U SINEAD O CONNOR 671,500
14. GENIE IN A BOTTLE CHRISTINA AGUILERA 608,600
15. PERFECT MOMENT MARTINE MCCUTCHEON 592,500
16. FREED FROM DESIRE GALA 562,700
17. WITHOUT YOU MARIAH CAREY 559,100
18. SHOOP SHOOP SONG CHER 514,900
19. DREAMS GABRIELLE 513,200
20. 2 TIMES ANN LEE 506,100
21. I TRY MACY GRAY 501,300
22. MY LOVE IS YOUR LOVE WHITNEY HOUSTON 493,400
23. IT'S OH SO QUIET BJORK 493,100
24. BEAUTIFUL STRANGER MADONNA 490,600
25. FROZEN MADONNA 486,000
26. IT'S NOT RIGHT BUT IT'S OKAY WHITNEY HOUSTON 485,400
27. SHOW ME HEAVEN MARIA MCKEE 479,300
28. FREE ULTRA NATE 478,700
29. VOGUE MADONNA 445,000
30. ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU MARIAH CAREY 434,400
31. SOMETIMES BRITNEY SPEARS 426,900
32. BECAUSE YOU LOVED ME CELINE DION 423,500
33. GIVE ME A LITTLE MORE TIME GABRIELLE 416,200
34. SHY GUY- DIANA KING 405,200
35. YOU'LL SEE MADONNA 366,700
36. MI CHICO LATINO GERI HALLIWELL 365,400
37. I LOVE YOU ALWAYS FOREVER DONNA LEWIS 353,800
38. IT'S ALL COMING BACK TO ME NOW CELINE DION 353,400
39. I FEEL LIKE A WOMAN SHANIA TWAIN 348,300
40. YOU MIGHT NEED SOMEBODY SHOLA AMA 345,800
41. AIN'T THAT JUST THE WAY LUTRICIA MCNEAL 341,600
42. DON'T CRY FOR ME ARGENTINA MADONNA 326,000
43. FANTASY MARIAH CAREY 325,100
44. IF YOU HAD MY LOVE JENNIFER LOPEZ 320,700
45. NEVER GONNA LET YOU GO TINA MOORE 318,700
46. LOOK AT ME GERI HALLIWELL 316,000
47. BREATHE AGAIN TONI BRAXTON 310,700
48. WHEN YOU TELL ME THAT YOU LOVE ME DIANA ROSS 310,700
49. LIFT ME UP GERI HALLIWELL 310,000
50. BLACK VELVET ALANNAH MYLES 306,700
51. BIG BIG WORLD EMILIA 305,300
52. ANYWHERE IS ENYA 304,400
53. GIRLFRIEND BILLIE 302,400
54. SWEETNESS MICHELLE GAYLE 301,800
55. BECAUSE WE WANT TO BILLIE 301,300
56. DON'T WORRY KIM APPLEBY 299,900
57. CLOSER THAN CLOSE ROSIE GAINES 297,900
58. CRUSH JENNIFER PAIGE 295,600
59. HEY NOW CYNDI LAUPER 292,600
60. PROFESSIONAL WIDOW TORI AMOS 290,000
61.TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART NICKI FRENCH 285,600
62. DON'T BE A STRANGER DINA CARROLL 281,300
63. NO MORE I LOVE YOU'S ANNIE LENNOX 280,400
64. LITTLE BIRD/ LOVE SONG FOR A VAMPIRE ANNIE LENNOX 265,500
65. STRANDED LUTRICIA MCNEIL 263,900
66. YOU DRIVE ME CRAZY BRITNEY SPEARS 255,700
67. STRONG ENOUGH CHER 253,300
68. SLEEPING SATELLITE TASMIN ARCHER 253,200
69. JUSTIFY MY LOVE MADONNA 252,500
70. BITCH MEREDITH BROOKS 249,500
71. LIFE DES'REE 248,800
72. SUNSHINE ON A RAINY DAY ZOE 247,700
73. TEARS ON MY PILLOW KYLIE MINOGUE 245,400
74. SHE WANTS YOU BILLIE 240,000
75. RAY OF LIGHT MADONNA 236,800
76. CHAINS TINA ARENA 236,400
77. BABY BABY AMY GRANT 230,000
78. WORLD IN UNION KIRI TE KANAWA 228,900
79. STEP BY STEP WHITNEY HOUSTON 227,600
80. YOU DON'T LOVE ME DAWN PENN 225,900
81. TOO BLIND TO SEE IT KYM SIMS 224,100
82. YOU GOTTA BE DES'REE 222,200
83. PROMISE ME BEVERLEY CRAVEN 221,600
84. ALWAYS BE MY BABY MARIAH CAREY 219,900
85. BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW KYLIE MINOGUE 219,900
86. ALL I WANNA DO SHERYL CROW 218,500
87. I LOVE YOUR SMILE SHANICE 216,400
88. LOOKING FOR LOVE KAREN RAMIREZ 215,500
89. DOO WOP (THAT THING) LAURYN HILL 213,500
90. KISS THE RAIN BILLIE MYERS 209,900
91. CONFIDE IN ME KYLIE MINOGUE 209,700
92. ONE OF US JOAN OSBORNE 209,700
93. THE PERFECT YEAR DINA CARROLL 208,400
94. THINK OF YOU WHIGFIELD 207,900
95. GYPSY WOMAN CRYSTAL WATERS 207,800
96. BIG MISTAKE NATALIE IMBRUGLIA 207,100
97. MICKEY LOLLY 203,500
98. HONEY TO THE BEE BILLIE 197,200
99. ANOTHER DAY WHIGFIELD 193,700
100. WHEN I'M GOOD AND READY SYBIL 192,200
Posted by: Gezza 28th September 2020, 03:15 PM
00s tomorrow then the rundown starts on Wednesday
Posted by: vibe 28th September 2020, 04:29 PM
Queen Billie with 4 singles from one album featured.
I didn’t know the Ann Lee track did that well.
Posted by: Gezza 28th September 2020, 04:49 PM
yes sales really bucked up in the late 90s
Posted by: jimwatts 28th September 2020, 06:39 PM
Thought there might be a few songs I didn't know in the 80s list, but I wasn't expecting the first to be as high as #9. I've just looked it up and it had a very short chart run to sell that much! The next I'd never heard of is at #50. I know all of the 90s list though 
Posted by: Gezza 29th September 2020, 03:05 PM
And here's the 00s
1. Hallelujah Alexandra Burke 1,172,495
2. Can't Get You Out Of My Head Kylie Minogue 1,104,000
3. Bleeding Love Leona Lewis 973,500
4. Poker Face Lady Gaga 882,059
5. A Moment Like This Leona Lewis 862,000
6. Just Dance- Lady Gaga 767,558
7. Fight For This Love Cheryl Cole 745,738
8. It Feels So Good Sonique 665,000
9. Whenever Wherever Shakira 628,500
10. Run Leona Lewis 617,415
11. Mercy Duffy 603,000
12. Can't Fight The Moonlight LeAnn Rimes 585,000
13. If I Were A Boy Beyonce 582,400
14. I Kissed A Girl Katy Perry 577,000
15. Hung Up Madonna 547,000
16. Hot N Cold Katy Perry 518,000
17. So What Pink 491,000
18. The Fear Lily Allen 485,980
19. Rise Gabrielle 462,000
20. Bad Romance Lady Gaga 458,555
21. Oops!... I did It Again Britney Spears 451,470
22. Paparazzi Lady Gaga 447,755
23. Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) Beyonce 435,770
24. Halo Beyonce 432,000
25. It's Raining Men Geri Halliwell 423,500
26. Kiss Kiss Holly Valance 409,000
27. Music Madonna 404,000
28. Disturbia Rihanna 401,800
29. Crazy In Love Beyonce 390,000
30. Womanizer Britney Spears 386,660
31. Maneater Nelly Furtado 384,750
32. American Pie Madonna 382,000
33. Love Story Taylor Swift 379,785
34. Not Fair Lily Allen 375,540
35. I Wish I was A Punkrocker (With Flowers In My Hair) Sandi Thom 368,000
36. Don't Stop The Music Rihanna 365,600
37. Take A Bow Rihanna 364,100
38. I Turn To You (Remix) Mel C 360,500
39. The Boy Does Nothing Alesha Dixon 360,345
40. Release Me Agnes 360,250
41. Sweet Dreams Beyonce 347,240
42. Toxic Britney Spears 345,500
43. Get The Party Started Pink 326,000
44. All I Want For Christmas Is You Mariah Carey 321,350
45. Foundations Kate Nash 321,000
46. Out Of Reach Gabrielle 315,000
47. Breathe Slow Alesha Dixon 313,500
48. Left Outside Alone Anastacia 310,000
49. Tik Tok Ke$ha 308,960
50. Born To Make You Happy- Britney Spears 306,400
51. Sweet About Me Gabriella Cilmi 305,900
52. Murder On The Dancefloor Sophie Ellis-Bextor 305,600
53. Unfaithful Rihanna 298,200
54. Chasing Pavements Adele 297,000
55. All This Time Michelle 295,800
56. My Life Would Suck Without You Kelly Clarkson 295,300
57. White Flag Dido 295,100
58. Warwick Avenue Duffy 291,300
59. S.O.S Rihanna 288,700
60. No One Alicia Keys 287,000
61. Smile Lily Allen 284,000
62. Mama Do Pixie Lott 282,550
63. Spinning Around Kylie Minogue 276,500
64. I'm Like A Bird Nelly Furtado 276,000
65. Rehab Amy Winehouse 275,000
66. Big Girls Don't Cry (Personal) Fergie 275,000
67. There'll You Be Faith Hill 274,000
68. Girlfriend Avril Lavigne 270,000
69. Everytime Britney Spears 264,000
70. Irreplaceable Beyonce 262,800
71. I'm Outta Love Anastacia 262,000
72. Beautiful Christina Aguilera 260,000
73. Better In Time/ Footsteps In The Sand Leona Lewis 259,000
74. What Took You So Long Emma Bunton 257,800
75. Underneath Your Clothes Shakira 257,200
76. Bag It Up Geri Halliwell 255,500
77. Day & Night Billie 254,300
78. Milkshake Kelis 250,700
79. Always Come Back To Your Love Samantha Mumba 250,000
80. Sitting Down Here Lene Marlin 249,800
81. F.U.R.B Frankee 248,100
82. She Wolf Shakira 248,000
83. Piece Of Me Britney Spears 242,900
84. Gotta Tell You Samantha Mumba 242,700
85. Russian Roulette Rihanna 239,530
86. Take Me Home Sophie Ellis Bextor 237,800
87. Remedy Little Boots 236,225
88. Here With Me Dido 229,100
89. Superstar Jamelia 226,300
90. Shut Up and Drive Rihanna 220,500
91. Lucky Britney Spears 219,700
92. Boys & Girls pixie lott 219,485
93. Say It Right Nelly Furtado 219,200
94. T-Shirt Shontelle 219,000
95. Complicated Avril Lavigne 218,500
96. Fallin Alicia Keys 215,400
97. These Words Natasha Bedingfield 214,600
98. Happy Leona Lewis 214,210
99. What If Kate Winslet 214,100
100. Love Song Sara Bareilles 213,100
Posted by: Gezza 29th September 2020, 03:06 PM
And now we're all ready for the rundown to begin! So what's the benchmark at No 100? We'll see just how much streaming has pushed up "sales" in general
Posted by: vibe 29th September 2020, 05:13 PM
I thought Jamelia and superstarwould have solid more. I guess sales were low.
Posted by: Gezza 29th September 2020, 05:59 PM
It didn't even manage 200k in 2003
Posted by: Gezza 30th September 2020, 03:57 PM
Right let's start.....
Posted by: Gezza 30th September 2020, 04:07 PM
100. HOTTER THAN HELL- Dua Lipa (758,000)
PEAK POSITION: 15
YEAR: 2016
Dua Lipa’s first UK hit (though not her first release) sees Lipa reflect "I was in a relationship that really f***ed me over. In the song, I twisted it so that I was in the better position and I was the one going 'f*** you'. That really helped me get over it. It was very therapeutic for me. It was really bruising my ego, and making me feel like I wasn't worth it. I was heartbroken, but I started to write about that time and I felt I had a lot to say. I really just wanted to get up and say that I didn't really actually care about it. I wanted to make myself feel that I was good enough so it was an empowering song”.
She doesn’t care- just in case you wondered.
Posted by: Gezza 30th September 2020, 04:14 PM
99. LOVE ON TOP- Beyonce (766,000)
PEAK POSITION: 13
YEAR: 2011
Her tendency to collaborate doubtless affects the number of entries on this rundown but this does make it, a song helped by her MTV performance during which she revealed she was pregnant! Inspiration wise she commented “"When I played Etta James [in the 2008 musical biopic, Cadillac Records] it was the most I'd learned about myself until the recording of this album. When I went into the studio I used the same passion, honesty, and approach with my vocals I channelled as Etta James. It does not sound like the vocals on my past albums. It's a lot rawer. It comes from a deep place”
Posted by: dan-G 30th September 2020, 04:21 PM
wow that 3 quarters of a million units still isn't enough for top 100 this decade, says it all about how much streaming has inflated sales units.
Hotter Than Hell is a rather decent start, a good introduction to Dua Lipa although thankfully she had even better tracks to come.
Never was all that keen on Love On Top, a bit too "Beyonce" for my liking (those numerous key changes did not help either).
(60.5k posts!)
Posted by: davidas 30th September 2020, 10:36 PM
OMG I love these lists yay l
Posted by: Jade 30th September 2020, 10:43 PM
'Hotter Than Hell' is perfect for the summer months 
one of my favourite Dua songs.
I wasn't a massive fan of the '4' era but 'Love On Top' was one of the better songs from it. The multiple key-changes and pregnancy reveal are both iconic!
Posted by: Bré 30th September 2020, 10:53 PM
I actively hate the #1s from both of the last 2 decades, and I oop
('The Power Of Love' is not great either but it's decent I guess x)
Posted by: jlj 30th September 2020, 10:55 PM
Omg! I’m shocked at just how high the sales are for #100 that would’ve been top 10 in other decades 
Posted by: Gezza 1st October 2020, 02:55 PM
98. EDGE OF GLORY- Lady Gaga (769,000)
PEAK POSITION: 6
YEAR: 2011
Gaga’s third release from “Born This Way” was inspired by personal experience "['The Edge of Glory'] was about how when my grandma was standing over my grandfather while he was dying. There was this moment where I felt like he had sort of looked at her and reckoned that he had won in life. Like, 'I'm a champion. We won. Our love made us a winner.' They were married 60 years. I thought about that idea, that the glorious moment of your life is when you decide that it's okay to go, you don’t have any more words to say, more business, more mountains to climb. You're on the cliff, you tip your hat to yourself and you go. That’s what it was for me, in that moment when I witnessed it”
It sold just under 500k in 2011 so has been a decent seller since then but how many does she have on this list?
Posted by: Gezza 1st October 2020, 03:05 PM
97. LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO- Taylor Swift (773,000)
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2017
After the 1989 era anticipation was high for this single which broke viewing records for the promo on Youtube in its first 24 hours, then broke first day records on Spotify. It zoomed from 77 to 1 in the US and wasted no time in debuting at No 1 here, her first UK chart topper and all with a little help from Right Said Fred…who’d a thought!
Posted by: Bjork 1st October 2020, 03:08 PM
Easily Taylor's worst song ever and of course it was her first #1 
Posted by: Jamie Barkley 1st October 2020, 04:06 PM
Let's be real, it'll be her only number one.
Posted by: jlj 1st October 2020, 04:12 PM
Yeah it’s a real shame that Taylor’s only chart topper so far is one of her weaker tracks. A fantastic and genius visual though which I think is partly why it managed to do so well.
Gaga I adore The Edge Of Glory! Feels like it should be higher than 98! But goes to show streamings impact I fully expect recent hits to slay here.
I’m thinking perhaps she has just one more to come with Born This Way? Shallow and Telephone won’t qualify for this
Posted by: Bré 1st October 2020, 05:59 PM
'Look What You Made Me Do' isn't her worst song (it wasn't even the worst song from that album) but it's certainly a pretty embarrassing one to be her only UK #1. Here's hoping she'll get another #1 with something slightly better at some point.
Posted by: Jade 1st October 2020, 06:03 PM
'The Edge of Glory' is utter brilliance Gaga talking about the writing process of the song always chokes me up a little.
I think 'Look What You Made Me Do' gets too much of a hard time. It's far from my favourite Taylor song or anything but I was happy that it got to #1 for her.
Posted by: dan-G 1st October 2020, 06:03 PM
LWYMMD is easily the most annoying of Taylor's big hits, big shame that was her sole #1.
nice to see TEOG make it in, it's aged well.
Posted by: Gezza 2nd October 2020, 03:11 PM
96. ALARM- Anne-Marie (783,000)
PEAK POSITION:16
YEAR: 2016
Acting as her introductory top 40 single, this track was co-written by Ina Wroldsen who had already co-penned No 1’s for Cover Drive, James Arthur, and Jess Glynne by this point. Its promo was filmed in Mexico City and is apparently based on the Baz Lurhmaan cinematic version of “Romeo + Juliet”- now you know.
Posted by: Gezza 2nd October 2020, 03:14 PM
95. DANGEROUS WOMAN- Ariana Grande (783,000)
PEAK POSITION: 17
YEAR: 2016
Well this wasn’t the plan, Grande’s third album was due to be called “Moonlight” with “Focus” the lead single (#10), but then she recorded this track and the album title got flipped. The song itself was written with Carrie Underwood in mind then offered to Rihanna and Alicia Keys before Grande accepted it, as for the rundown only one female places more tracks on it than Grande illustrating the fact that she remains one of the biggest female popstars at the end of the decade.
Posted by: Riser 3rd October 2020, 12:09 AM
I can remember Hotter Than Hell and Alarm being in the chart together, having near-identical peaks and similar longevity so not surprised they're within a few places of each other here.
I had never heard that Dangerous Woman was originally written for Carrie Underwood! 
I can imagine it though, she even had a similar-sounding single from her last era. As for Ariana, well I'll always prefer Focus over this 
Posted by: Jamie Barkley 3rd October 2020, 10:11 AM
Very impressive that Ariana has the second highest number of entries. I would assume Rihanna has the most?
Posted by: Jamie Barkley 3rd October 2020, 10:13 AM
Definitely not. End Game is by far her worst song ever for me
I love Taylor to death but sometimes I wanna ask her wtf she's thinking with some of her single choies. LWYMMD when Getaway Car was sitting right there?! Me and You Need To Calm Down when Cruel Summer existed?
Posted by: Jade 3rd October 2020, 10:15 AM
Pleased to hear that Ariana has so many appearances here! 'Dangerous Woman' has been a real grower over the years. I think watching her perform it live last year helped it totally click. Her vocals and the rock instrumentation really sell it for me. Didn't know that it was offered to those other artists first!
'Alarm' is probably my favourite solo Anne-Marie song.
Posted by: M4NGO 3rd October 2020, 10:20 AM
Love 'Alarm' - back in the days when Anne-Marie actually used to deliver properly decent songs! Looking forward to seeing where my fave 'Ciao Adios' appears
Posted by: Gezza 3rd October 2020, 01:51 PM
94. NEVER BE THE SAME- Camila Cabello (787,000)
PEAK POSITION:7
YEAR: 2017
Doing a Geri in 2016 and quitting a girl group (Fifth Harmony) Cabello had hit it big with “Havana” to which this was the follow up. Co-written by the woman herself and inspired by a former relationship, this featured a mildly controversial bridge which got alternative lyrics for the radio version.
Posted by: Gezza 3rd October 2020, 01:54 PM
93. SAY SOMETHING- Karen Harding (787,000)
PEAK POSITION: 7
YEAR: 2015
A graduate of “Eurovision: Your Country Needs You” (where she was eliminated in the penultimate round) in 2010 and then “X Factor” in 2013 where she crashed out in the 6 chair challenge, Harding certainly tried her hardest to break through. She continued to upload video’s to youtube which ultimately caught the attention of MNEK who helped get her signed and produced this track, her debut single. It remains her only visit to the top 40.
Posted by: Jamie Barkley 3rd October 2020, 03:49 PM
Easily Camila's weakest single so far. That nicotine-heroine-morphine bridge will haunt me until my dying days, I'm mildly concerned it will be playing as I die.
Say Something was good, though I had completely forgotten it until now!
Posted by: Bré 3rd October 2020, 04:39 PM
I wouldn't call the bridge from 'Never Be The Same' 'mildly controversial' unless being slated for her vocals sounding awful on it counts as controversy 
(I actually grew to like the song overall but those vocals aren't it).
Posted by: M4NGO 3rd October 2020, 04:42 PM
Yeah, her vocals in that bridge are highly questionable at best, but I quite like the song overall. Obviously not as good as 'Havana' though.
Posted by: jlj 3rd October 2020, 04:44 PM
I love Never Be The Same! Camilas voice is rather marmite but I do love it.
Dangerous Woman is a great track too! Well done Ariana on back home the second most entries especially as she’s been such a collabs queen too. Rihanna or Adele must be ahead of her in terms of entries.
Posted by: Gezza 4th October 2020, 01:56 PM
92. MR SAXOBEAT- Alexandra Stan (803,000)
PEAK POSITION: 3
YEAR: 2011
Discovered at a karaoke bar, Stan’s first single “Lollipop” was a moderate hit in her native Romania, but this was the international hit that put her on the map. It topped 8 European charts through 2010 and went top 3 here on the way to sales of over 800,000- another act who we never saw in the top 40 again!
Posted by: Gezza 4th October 2020, 02:00 PM
91. CHASING HIGHS- Alma (812,000)
PEAK POSITION: 18
YEAR: 2017
Another singer who found fame via reality TV when she finished seventh on Finnish Idol and launched a pop career in her native land back in 2015. Alma’s international arrival came with this track though which served as her third release. She’s another one hit wonder in the UK though the hits continued for a while in Finland.
Posted by: Bré 4th October 2020, 02:19 PM
Ngl I completely forgot that ALMA ever had a UK hit, let alone one that stuck around long enough to be this high up on this list.
I know streaming distorts this list a lot even within the decade and there'll be plenty of moments like this but that being above 'Mr. Saxobeat' feels obscene and unjust.
(I realise my comments in here so far have been quite negative oops but I'm not a huge fan of most of these songs so far, bar 'Hotter Than Hell', 'The Edge Of Glory' and now 'Mr. Saxobeat')
Posted by: dan-G 4th October 2020, 02:22 PM
great to see both Alexandra and Alma make the list, although it does feel very wrong to have Chasing Highs above Mr Saxobeat which felt like a much bigger hit. (and is the better song).
Posted by: dandy* 4th October 2020, 05:19 PM
Yes this is going to be a strange countdown. Every decade has peaks in terms of sales but this is going to be the first one that is so hugely skewed.
Posted by: T Boy 4th October 2020, 05:35 PM
I always prepare myself for streaming to distort things but I still find myself taken aback by it. There’s probably some great hits from earlier in the decade that miss this chart.
Posted by: Gezza 5th October 2020, 05:38 PM
90. VIDEO GAMES- Lana Del Rey (815,000)
PEAK POSITION: 9
YEAR: 2011
An acoustic unreleased album in 2006 was followed by her debut album in 2010 under the name Lizzy Grant but neither made Del Rey a star, but what they did do was lead the singer to a deal with a major label. “Video Games” was first put onto the internet through a self funded promo on youtube which created something of an internet sensation and saw the single fly to No 9 when released.
Rey commented on the single “I was writing about this guy I’d been seeing and the way our relationship was at the time. It was a time in my life when I had let go of my own personal career ambitions and just enjoyed being with him at home. He would come home from work and play video games. I would write and watch him. When I was writing that song I was reflecting on the sweetness of it but also something else I was longing for at the same time
Posted by: Gezza 5th October 2020, 05:44 PM
89. DO IT LIKE A DUDE- Jessie J (816,000)
PEAK POSITION: 2
YEAR: 2010
Graduating from the BRIT school with Adele and Leona Lewis in 2006 she was signed almost immediately which led to a support gig for Cyndi Lauper and to penning some hits for other acts whilst she was finishing her first album. This was Jessie’s first single and was written with the idea of giving it to Rihanna as a kind of continuation of the “Rude Boy” theme, it meandered around the charts in late 2010 before Jessie J topped the BBC pole as the sound of 2011 and the single flew up into the top 10.
Jessie said “"At the time I felt that the chart was very Auto - Tune heavy. There was a lot of guys with their trousers down by their knees and chains so heavy they couldn't hold their head up.And I just went into the studio and they played a beat and I just started singing, 'Do it like a brother, do it like a dude.'
And it was a joke, I was laughing. I said 'Let's write a joke song.' and within 15 minutes it was done. Rihanna's Rude Boy was out and I thought, 'It just has her swag all over it, let's write for her.' It was one of those songs that was supposed to be fun. I don't take myself seriously at all”
Posted by: jimwatts 5th October 2020, 06:06 PM
Two very contrasting entries there!
Posted by: M4NGO 5th October 2020, 06:28 PM
'Do It Like A Dude' is a great song, better than most of what came later in Jessie's career!
Posted by: Bjork 5th October 2020, 06:30 PM
the contrast
Video Games still sounds amazing like it did 10 years ago, timeless song!
Posted by: Bré 5th October 2020, 06:46 PM
'Video Games' 
best song on this countdown so far.
'Do It Like A Dude'... is not x
Posted by: jlj 5th October 2020, 06:50 PM
Do It Like A Dude is Jessie’s best for me.
Also love Video Games
Didn’t at all think Mr Saxobeat was on sales of that much! Same as Chasing Highs.
Posted by: Gezza 6th October 2020, 06:06 PM
88. ONLY LOVE CAN HURT LIKE THIS- Paloma Faith (824,000)
PEAK POSITION: 6
YEAR: 2014
By now onto her third album Faith’s star was still on the ascendant and this track became her biggest single to date. It was penned by Diane Warren, a fact that led Faith to initially decline the track as she had not contributed any lyrics to it herself, but she was so overcome by the track she overcame the objection and added it to the album.
Faith: ““Diane was like, ‘Do you not even want to hear the song?’ And I said, ‘Not really. I just don’t want it - because it’s not written by me'. I think she was a bit put out by my response.
"Obviously, she’s done a million times better than me in her career and is probably used to people saying, ‘Diane’s written a song, I’m just going to sing it,’ regardless of what it sounds like.
“Anyway, she insisted and when I heard it, I was like, ‘I hate you!’ She said, ‘It’s really good, isn’t it?’ And I replied, ‘Yeah.’”
Posted by: Gezza 6th October 2020, 06:11 PM
87. NEXT TO ME- Emeli Sande (824,000)
PEAK POSITION: 2
YEAR: 2012
Four out of Sande’s first 5 releases had gone top 10 (including some features and collaborations) and laid the ground work for this single to debut at 2 in preparation for her first album. She started off writing songs for other acts such as Chipmunk, Professor Green and Naughty Boy scoring top 10 singles before “Heaven” became her first single making No 2, a position which was replicated by this track six months later.
Sande: “"First of all I was thinking about my husband - he wasn't at the time - but I was thinking about having somebody strong beside you. Sometimes when I sing it I'm speaking about God. I'm just speaking about somebody or something that's with you all the time, that's constant in your life. So depending on my mood, depending on the day, I sing it about different things”
Posted by: ME! 6th October 2020, 06:39 PM
I’ve never even heard of the song at No.91 :/ I was expecting to see OLCHLT much higher as I swear I remember reading that it had “sold” over 1m.
Posted by: Tefo 6th October 2020, 09:53 PM
These two in a row I love Emeli. 'Only Love Can Hurt Like This' is also amazing.
Posted by: Gezza 7th October 2020, 05:04 PM
86. ISSUES- Julia Michaels (826,000)
PEAK POSITION: 10
YEAR: 2017
Another act who wrote hits of others before striking out on her own. This was Michaels debut release and was co-written by Benny Blanco and Stargate, and Michaels felt the song was too personal to give away though reputedly a few major acts were interested in it.
Michaels: "My boyfriend got mad at me over something really, really stupid, So I wrote 'Issues' in about an hour. It was the first time I had written a song that felt so personal to me because of the way it had come about. It was the first time I kept a song for myself and I had never done that before in my life. That was kind of the transition for me from songwriter to artist”.
Posted by: Gezza 7th October 2020, 05:10 PM
85. BEST THING I NEVER HAD- Beyonce (828,000)
PEAK POSITION: 3
YEAR: 2011
Incredible to think now that this was Beyonce’s last solo top 10 single! This charted at No 3 the week that parent album “4” was issued and was in the immediate aftermath of her Glastonbury set which saw her profile resurge after a break of nearly 2 years since her “Sasha Fierce” era. It was originally written in a faster tempo drawing inspiration from the beat to “The Show” by Doug E Fresh, it became her biggest solo hit since “If I Was A Boy” made No 1 in 2008. This is her biggest selling solo single released in the 10s.
Posted by: Bré 7th October 2020, 05:51 PM
I've never been able to get over how the chorus of 'Best Thing I Never Had' is so grammatically inconsistent (the phrase from the title seems to simultaneously be a good thing and a bad thing in 2 different lines in the chorus). It's a mediocre song regardless but that pet peeve makes it more infuriating. x
Posted by: Gezza 8th October 2020, 06:29 PM
84. WE CAN’T STOP- Miley Cyrus (833,000)
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2013
The track that really announced her as a star in the UK, it came with a striking new image for the former Hannah Montana star and of course generated THAT performance with Robin Thicke at the MTV video music awards later that year. It marked her progression to a new record label and one that she pulled out of being a primary character in “Hotel Transylvania” to concentrate on. The track was written for Rihanna (how many songs are in this thread!)
The lyrics were subject to some controversy as Cyrus later admitted “the line is actually “dancing with Molly,” referring to the drug Molly (slang term for MDMA or ecstasy), and the reference in the song depends on how old you are. If you’re aged 10 [the lyric] is Miley. If you know what I’m talking about, then you know.”
Posted by: Gezza 8th October 2020, 06:36 PM
83. CRYING IN THE CLUB- Camila Cabello (838,000)
PEAK POSITION: 12
YEAR: 2017
Back to the debut solo single for Cabello which is again co-written by Benny Blanco and (this time around) Sia! Throw in a spot of “Genie In A Bottle” and bingo it launched Cabello as a solo star and was supposed to serve as the lead single to her debut solo album but plans changed when she heard “Havana” and this track didn’t end up making it onto the album at all!
Posted by: dan-G 8th October 2020, 06:36 PM
Video Games took a few listens but really liked it in the end and it's aged well.
Do It Like A Dude I liked a lot back then but has dated a bit.
OLCHLT that was probably my fave of Paloma's solo efforts
Next To Me was one of Emeli's best and still sounds good too.
Issues, it's good for what it is.
Best Thing I Never Had, meh.
We Can't Stop, big big meh. 2013 me never would've predicted she'd finally release 2 actually good songs in Nothing Breaks.. and Midnight Sky
Crying in the Club now that's another 'surprise'/inflated by streaming entry, never realised it was that big. decent song but not one I've gone back to since... https://www.last.fm/user/Thermometer1/library/music/Camila+Cabello/_/Crying+in+the+Club. 
Posted by: jlj 8th October 2020, 06:44 PM
Love those entries from Paloma, Miley and Camila.
My favourite songs by both Camila and Paloma
I think my fave from Miley is still to come but We Can’t Stop is still a bop
Posted by: M4NGO 8th October 2020, 10:39 PM
'Crying In The Club' is a tuuuune. Obviously I'd expect nothing less of a Sia-penned song but yeah I'd definitely be crying in the club if I was drunk and it came on. I'm still gutted it never made the album.
Posted by: Jade 8th October 2020, 10:44 PM
I agree with others that 'Video Games' is the best song to appear so far. I instantly fell in love with it and still adore Lana's music 9 years later. Shame I didn't quite get to see her live in February </3 Also, 'Do It Like A Dude' is actually my favourite Jessie J song! I preferred 'Domino' at the time but this aged better for me.
'Crying In The Club' is a bit of a bop, but felt way more like a Sia song than Camila's musical identity. Thankfully she found her stride properly with 'Havana'.
Posted by: Gezza 9th October 2020, 04:38 PM
82. WE ARE NEVER EVER GETTING BACK TOGETHER- Taylor Swift (839,000)
PEAK POSITION: 4
YEAR: 2012
Whilst “Love Story” was her first smash in the UK subsequent releases had failed to dent the top 20 and this is the song that marked the beginning of Swift as a major chart star here. It was reportedly about the break up with former boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal and based on rumours she had heard of his thoughts that they may rekindle the relationship. Catty.
Posted by: Gezza 9th October 2020, 04:45 PM
81. I WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN- Rita Ora (840,000)
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2014
Another artist who started out auditioning for “Eurovision: Your Country Needs You” but Ora withdrew after qualifying way back in 2008 as she didn’t feel ready. Again youtube helped to promote her and come to the attention of DJ Fresh who asked her to record vocals for “Hot Right Now” and boom! A UK No 1 single. Her first era gave her a hat-trick of No 1 hits (though none appear here) and this was intended to launch album two but Ora and her record label fell out and it all ended in a lawsuit which saw the second album emerge in 2018! The track itself was written and produced for her by then boyfriend Calvin Harris who famously dumped her months after via twitter….
About the track Ora said “It’s a very important song to me because it's a love song, but it reminds you of Whitney. And that was the vibe we were on. We just wanted to feel good. You know that feeling of 'How Will I Know' with the synth? It just makes you feel happy; that's what I wanted to create”
Posted by: Jade 9th October 2020, 04:47 PM
Oh wow I had no idea that Rita was involved with Eurovision
I was worried about the 'Red' era as I quickly found 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together' pretty insufferable, but thankfully the follow-up was miles better.
Posted by: Bré 9th October 2020, 05:26 PM
Camila had better singles to come but 'Crying In The Club' was a pretty good debut from her. Can definitely see why she canned it from the album though.
WANEGBT another awful song from Taylor, I do hope there'll be at least one song I like from her on this list... (I'm not really familiar with how much each of her songs have sold).
Posted by: jlj 9th October 2020, 05:30 PM
I like We Are Never Getting Back Together but she’s topped it a few times since. Back in 2012 though I did love it.
I Will Never Let You Down is so fresh sounding still even now. I like it more now than I did at the time as well. Strange to think that was the last time Rita would top the singles chart too although she’s still got some more songs to appear on here.
Posted by: Tefo 9th October 2020, 10:04 PM
Oh, I actually didn't expect 'I Will Never Let You Down' to make the list. It's a great pop song though, so catchy.
Posted by: M4NGO 9th October 2020, 10:52 PM
Love 'I Will Never Let You Down'! Didn't Calvin have a whole album of songs ready for her, before he dumped her? Or am I imagining that?
Posted by: jlj 10th October 2020, 12:12 AM
I definitely remember reading that Rita’s original second album was all ready to go but she legally couldn’t release it following her split from Calvin so I guess he was heavily involved on that album.
I often wonder if any songs she recorded originally ended up being used / released by other artists and were just unaware. It’s crazy to think Rita’s second album wouldn’t come until 2018 for an eternity it felt like we’d never get it
Posted by: Jamie Barkley 10th October 2020, 07:53 AM
Completely forgot Taylor and Jake were a ‘thing’. Luckily he found love with Tom Holland by decades end.
Inflation is showing. Issues and Crying In The Club definitely don’t feel like they were this big, even if the latter is a bop, though I must say it’s opening is identical to Cheap Thrills.
Posted by: Jamie Barkley 10th October 2020, 07:55 AM
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, looking back, was the proud start of Taylor leading her album campaigns with one of its more mediocre offerings. Luckily, Red is a phenomenal album so WANEGBT is still pretty damn good.
Posted by: Gezza 10th October 2020, 03:45 PM
80. CIAO ADIOS- Anne-Marie (858,000)
PEAK POSITION: 9
YEAR: 2017
Anne-Marie’s follow up to the all-conquering “Rockabye” with Clean Bandit and a top 10 hit to boot. Co-written by her, she tells the story of saying goodbye to her cheating man (does that theme ever go out of style?) and apparently confused some listeners into thinking the chorus lyrics were “Shower the horse, I’m done”- which would at least have been interesting. Video shot in Marrakesh.
Lyrically it refers to the same relationship covered by “Alarm” “That was a song about me finding out that he cheated, but after a while you just think “You’re disgusting, you make me sick” and that’s what “Ciao Adios” is about”.
Posted by: Gezza 10th October 2020, 03:52 PM
79. TEENAGE DREAM- Katy Perry (859,000)
PEAK POSITION: 2
YEAR: 2010
Seeing as we won’t get “California Gurls” thanks to Snoop Dogg’s appearance we’ll have to settle for the follow up. Another production of Max Martin, Dr Luke and Benny Blanco this was re-written several times until it was “kind of like feeling that way when you were a teenager: really emotional, really invested..... It's intense being in love and being a teenager” and saw Perry reflect on her past whilst gearing up to marry Russell Brand.
Posted by: M4NGO 10th October 2020, 04:19 PM
'Ciao Adios' is probably my favourite Anne-Marie solo single loved it at the time and it still holds up pretty well tbh.
Posted by: Bré 10th October 2020, 06:43 PM
Who allowed Anne-Marie into this countdown again. Gross. Get rid. 
Posted by: T Boy 10th October 2020, 06:45 PM
Posted by: Jamie Barkley 10th October 2020, 08:06 PM
Ciao Adios was the last decent thing Anne-Marie has released. Teenage Dream is one of the undisputed pop classics of the decade, have to wonder how many entries Katy has left? I can only think of 2 more that will have sold enough.
Posted by: Gezza 11th October 2020, 10:48 AM
78. SAX- Fleur East (865,000)
PEAK POSITION: 3
YEAR: 2015
A lady who did X Factor not only once but twice, as part of Addictiv Ladies in 2005 (eliminated first in the live shows) then again in 2014 as a soloist. Her performance of “Uptown Funk” was so popular it became an i-tunes No 1 and caused the release of the original version to be brought forward by 5 weeks! Ending up as runner up in the series she was signed by Simon Cowell and the album followed a year later prefaced by this single which was also picked up by Asda for their adverts that Christmas. It remains her only hit.
Posted by: Gezza 11th October 2020, 10:52 AM
77. LET YOU LOVE ME- Rita Ora (865,000)
PEAK POSITION: 4
YEAR: 2018
Released immediately prior to her second album this gave Ora a 13th UK top 10 hit which, according to Wikipedia, makes her the first act to achieve this as a British female soloist (several of these were as features and duets though so it’s debatable). To date it remains her final top 10 hit.
On the theme Ora confessed “It takes me a long time to open to someone in a relationship so it’s difficult to love me, and I keep myself very guarded and that’s what the song is about”.
Posted by: Grim Bréaper 11th October 2020, 12:38 PM
2 more awful songs... Fleur deserved better than for her only hit to be such a tacky and blatant gimmick song but that's the now late Syco Records for you. (Not that her other songs are that much better but she had potential).
Posted by: M4NGO 11th October 2020, 01:05 PM
I was a little bit obsessed with 'Let You Love Me' that summer... 'Your Song' and 'Anywhere' were great little pop songs too (I presume both are still to come), it's a shame the album was a bit of a let down.
Posted by: Jamie Barkley 11th October 2020, 04:22 PM
I liked Sax at the time but it's not aged particularly well and the ASDA overexposure does not help.
Let You Love Me is one of my favourite Rita singles! She was very consistent for a short time there.
Posted by: Jamie Barkley 11th October 2020, 04:23 PM
She more or less released all the good songs as singles so I never really bothered with the rest of it after one initial listen.
Posted by: Grim Bréaper 11th October 2020, 04:41 PM
I dread to imagine what the rest of the album is if some of those singles were 'the best songs'
(the first couple of singles were good tbf)
Posted by: Gezza 12th October 2020, 05:15 PM
76. PARTY IN THE USA- Miley Cyrus (869,000)
PEAK POSITION: 37 (in the 2010’s)
YEAR: 2009
The first of those 8 tracks which charted before 2010 is this track famously co-penned by a pre fame Jessie J and intended for her debut album but passed up as it wasn’t “edgy enough”, some lyrics were re-written to reflect Cyrus’ personality and demographic and we got this. The track sold 116k in 2009 so is now approaching 1 million overall and was first performed at the Teen Choice awards in 2009 which caused minor controversy around the overly sexual performance given its audience. Clearly it’s now a fan favourite shifting steadily over the decade even if Cyrus is allegedly not keen on it now.
Posted by: Doctor Blind 12th October 2020, 05:17 PM
Is it the impact week for “More and More” yet?
Posted by: Gezza 12th October 2020, 05:44 PM
75. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?- Rihanna (869,000)
PEAK POSITION: 6
YEAR: 2011
Was this Rihanna’s decade? Well she has a lot of entries on this list but only the third highest in terms of all ladies probably because, like Beyonce, she loves a collab. This again comes to us courtesy of Dr Luke and Calvin Harris who are all over this rundown.
Posted by: Gezza 13th October 2020, 06:03 PM
74. READ ALL ABOUT IT PART III- Emeli Sande (869,000)
PEAK POSITION: 3
YEAR: 2012
Written as a continuation of the story told in the similarly titled Professor Green track (A No 1 from the previous year) on which Sande guested and co-wrote, she put her own spin on the story and came up with Part 3 (what happened to part 2?). She performed this at the Olympics as was rewarded with the song powering into the top 3, part 2 incidentally was an acoustic version done by Professor Green with a band called Fink.
Posted by: Gezza 13th October 2020, 06:07 PM
73. EMPIRE STATE OF MIND (PART TWO)- BROKEN DOWN- Alicia Keys (873,000)
PEAK POSITION: 4
YEAR: 2009
And speaking of continuation records (or in this case an “answer” record) here’s Keys’ solo version of the Jay Z track she had co-written and guested on back in 2009. On writing she commented “I definitely wanted to give my version of it and my vision of how I see New York and how it feels to me. I wanted to do it for my style—more broken down, more on piano, more voice and intimacy—so that's what I did. I imagined, 'If I was able to sing this whole song, how would I do it?' So I just sat down at my piano and I kind of broke it down and started singing about New York as I see it, and it turned out great”.
This is the first of 19 tracks to spend over a year in the charts which we’ll cover!
Posted by: Grim Bréaper 13th October 2020, 06:41 PM
How appropriate for those two to end up exactly next to each other!
(also happy the 'part 2' trend ended up dying pretty quickly as it was awful x (continued positivity from me in here I know ))
Posted by: Gezza 14th October 2020, 02:50 PM
72. THURSDAY- Jess Glynne (873,000)
PEAK POSITION: 3
YEAR: 2018
Glynne getting help on this track from Ed Sheeran and a song written about the perils of fame- "We spoke about the highs and lows of being famous and doing the job that we do. It was really cool because for me as an artist, I don't really work with that many artists, and obviously you never know how it is for someone else and you feel like you don't know whether that's just you”.
Posted by: Gezza 14th October 2020, 02:55 PM
71. WINGS- Birdy (879,000)
PEAK POSITION: 8
YEAR: 2013
Birdy’s first album had consisted almost entirely of covers but she tried her hand at songs for album two “Fire Within” with this as the lead single, she explained it was “about having a really wonderful time with your friends. It's about having that memory and wishing that you were there. So it is melancholy, but it is a happy memory”. She had some help here from OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder, but it only made No 16 first out but was used in a Lloyds Bank commercial in 2015 which resulted in a re-issue and a top 10 placing!
Posted by: xajnipi 14th October 2020, 05:33 PM
'Wings' is sublime!
Posted by: jlj 14th October 2020, 05:36 PM
Wow at Birdy.
Wings is sublime I just had no idea it was on sales of that much here wow.
Also a big fan of Thursday
I’m a fan of many of these songs. Where Have You Been remains my favourite TTT era track by Rihanna, Sax was a BOP at the time. Teenage Dream is one of Katy’s best and Ciao Adios is also pretty great.
Posted by: Grim Bréaper 14th October 2020, 06:43 PM
I really resented Birdy's first era for reappropriating so many great indie songs into boring ballad versions but 'Wings' was a pleasant surprise as a first original song from her, lovely stuff. (Doesn't quite make up for the crimes of her debut tho xx)
Posted by: M4NGO 14th October 2020, 06:52 PM
Echoing what everyone else has said really, 'Wings' is a beautiful song.
Posted by: Gezza 15th October 2020, 06:21 PM
70. RUDE BOY- Rihanna (884,000)
PEAK POSITION: 2
YEAR: 2010
This is rather a naughty one from RiRi, not that it mattered as it was during her golden era where everything was a massive hit for her. She explained "When we wrote the song, it was kind of a freestyle ... I liked the West Indian influence that the music had, and, I just went in the booth, they were already jotting down some ideas and, that came to me, I just ran in there with them, one of the writers, and started coming up with this in the studio and now when people read it back to me like that, 'Come here rude boy, is you big enough'?, it does sound so disgusting!"
Posted by: Gezza 15th October 2020, 06:23 PM
69. NEVER ENOUGH- Loren Allred (897,000)
PEAK POSITION: 24
YEAR: 2018
Allred had an unusual climb to fame, starting out by posting her videos onto youtube she caught the eye of Ne-Yo who helped her get signed to defjam which ultimately came to nothing. She then tried her hand on “The Voice” in the US making the live play-offs in the 2012 season and assisted her getting involved in the “Greatest Showman” soundtrack where she was the singing voice for Rebecca Ferguson’s character and from which this song became a hit.
Posted by: Grim Bréaper 15th October 2020, 06:34 PM
Lol ~
Posted by: Gezza 16th October 2020, 04:37 PM
68. WRECKING BALL- Miley Cyrus (899,000)
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2013
Cyrus’ first No 1 in the US it quickly became her second chart topper in a row here, and it’s the third of 28 number ones on the survey. Penned with Beyonce in mind, Cyrus snapped it up for her “Bangerz” album and debuted at No 1 in the same week as the album did the same. It opened with 21k less sales than “We Can’t Stop” but ended up beating it in total sales maybe it was the mildly controversial video that helped? At any rate Cyrus regrets the promo now “Swinging around naked on a wrecking ball lives forever, once you do that it’s forever, I’m never living that down I will always be the naked girl on a wrecking ball…I should’ve thought [about] how long that was going to follow me around. That’s my worst nightmare”
Posted by: rebekah vAddy! 16th October 2020, 04:52 PM
Wrecking Ball
And I love love Never Enough, my fave out of that movie 
Posted by: Gezza 16th October 2020, 04:56 PM
67. ROYALS- Lorde (907,000)
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2013
Written in 30 minutes apparently by Lorde, this spent 9 weeks at No 1 in the US becoming the youngest female act (at just 16) to make No 1 there since Tiffany in 1987, here it also debuted at No 1 (where she was the youngest female act since Billie in 1998) to do so.
Lorde explained about the song “Everyone is so obsessed with how everything looks, how the party will look through a lens the next day. We all have Tumblr and we all have Instagram and everything. People care so much about it because, now, any random can be famous on the internet if their world looks good on Tumblr. And so everyone at high school strives for this kind of aesthetic correctness. I do it as well, you know. I curate my life in a way. It’s always playing on my mind, kind of a love-hate relationship. I’m not one of those people who’s, like, ‘I wish Facebook wasn’t around,’ because, you know, it is what it is.”
Posted by: Grim Bréaper 16th October 2020, 05:21 PM
Lorde our quen and saviour 
I am surprised 'Wrecking Ball' isn't further ahead of 'We Can't Stop'!
Posted by: dandy* 16th October 2020, 07:42 PM
Never Enough being right next to Wrecking Ball just feels wrong somehow. The latter felt huge where as the former didn’t feel like it made much of a dent in the charts at all
Posted by: Grim Bréaper 16th October 2020, 07:54 PM
A lot of the potential chart run of 'Never Enough' was cut off because of the 3 track rule being applied to the Greatest Showman soundtrack while it was only the 4th most popular song from the soundtrack - not that that makes it less weird for it to be this high, just that its chart run was better than it appears.
Posted by: jlj 16th October 2020, 08:32 PM
Wrecking Ball is still my favourite Miley song
Posted by: Jamie Barkley 16th October 2020, 09:02 PM
I get Miley regretting the Wrecking Ball video but at the same time, in the era of WAP we're currently in, it all seems remarkably tame and everyone losing their minds over it feels like an overreaction. Also the song itself is nothing special so I don't think it would have done as well without it.
Never Enough is memorable to me only because of the hilarious meta-narrative in The Greatest Showman that Ferguson is meant to be wowing them with a stunning opera performance when all we hear is essentially a forgettable Mariah album track.
Royals, in hindsight, really set the tone of pop music for the rest of the decade. Not a song I love as much as one I appreciate. A crying shame Green Light won't be popping up here, one of the best songs of the decade.
Posted by: Riser 17th October 2020, 02:43 AM
Wrecking Ball and Royals were nearly back-to-back #1s (separated only by a one-week return to #1 for Counting Stars) so it's quite the coincidence that they've finished back-to-back on here!
Posted by: Bjork 17th October 2020, 06:38 AM
Royals <3
Posted by: M4NGO 17th October 2020, 08:53 AM
It's crazy how Lorde was only 15 when she wrote Royals!
Posted by: Gezza 17th October 2020, 12:55 PM
66. CRAZY IN LOVE- Beyonce (910,000)
PEAK POSITION: N/A (in 2010’s)
YEAR: 2003
Whoooo……what? Yes Beyonce’s 2003 No 1 hit almost sold another million in the 2010’s? All true it seems with total sales now over 1.3 million, and yes it is a solo credit (certainly at the time) which OCC sometimes get it right and sometimes credit Jay Z on it but I included it on the 00s list so it seems accurate to include it in this rundown! It outsold everything else she put out in the 2010’s despite never charting once in the decade!
Posted by: Gezza 17th October 2020, 01:00 PM
65. BAD ROMANCE- Lady Gaga (916,000)
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2009
Another WTF moment? It opened the decade as the first chart topper of the 2010’s, little did we know then it would be her (to date) last solo UK No 1. Now we can view it as the height of Gagamania in the UK at least and probably her most recalled and beloved track from a time when RedOne was the producer on everyone’s lips. Total sales are now 1.3 million.
Posted by: M4NGO 17th October 2020, 01:10 PM
Gaga at her peak was unstoppable, and I still go back to The Fame (/Monster) a fair bit. Bad Romance is a 10/10, it's pure pop perfection, but I think I'd pick Alejandro as my absolute fave by her
Posted by: Grim Bréaper 17th October 2020, 06:56 PM
'Crazy In Love' is... a curious inclusion here for numerous reasons (not least because the basis for calling it a solo song seems very shaky to me but I remember the arguments that ensued when I said this about 'Stan' so we'll not get into that again ) - a great song and all but definitely did not realise it was apparently such a strong catalogue seller. I wonder if there may be more songs like that still to come then?
Posted by: Riser 18th October 2020, 12:06 AM
Well at least Crazy In Love has made up for the poor sales climate of 2003 to have a more respectable total now. Oops at it being Beyonce's biggest seller of the decade though :')
Posted by: jlj 18th October 2020, 12:46 AM
Bad Romance is ICONIC. One of the best songs ever!
I wasn’t sure it would make the list here as I didn’t quite know the 2009 sales it got but so happy to see it made it in here. A brilliant genius masterpiece and one of the most universally loved tracks on this site too!
Posted by: jlj 18th October 2020, 12:48 AM
Also re Beyoncé are nearly all those 912k sales of streams?
That’s huge if so especially as it never charted! What a streamer it’s turned out to be. It did always have low sales for what seemed a massive cultural smash but ally of songs released in that time also had that and they never had the huge stream boost what Crazy In Love got.
Posted by: Gezza 18th October 2020, 11:47 AM
64. TAKE ME HOME- Jess Glynne (922,000)
PEAK POSITION: 6
YEAR: 2015
The official Children In Need single for the year, Glynne reflected “I'm so pleased and nervous that it's finally out. This is a song about the need to have someone who cares when you are at your most vulnerable. It's an emotional song for me and I have to admit it brought me to tears filming the video, not because I was sad but because I was so grateful that I had someone to get me out of the dark hole I was in”
Posted by: Gezza 18th October 2020, 11:51 AM
63. I REALLY LIKE YOU- Carly Rae Jepsen (922,000)
PEAK POSITION: 3
YEAR: 2015
Third album time for Jepsen saw her return with this track which was about “that time in a relationship when it's too soon to say 'I love you,' but you're well past, 'I like you' and you're at the 'I really, really like you' stage. The promo features Tom Hanks and Justin Bieber who of course helped propel her into international fame in the first place.
Posted by: jlj 18th October 2020, 01:02 PM
I definitely didn’t expect Carly on here with that song! I definitely underestimated how big that was I thought it was on like half of those sales
Take Me Home is top tier Jess! A song of hers what fully deserved a #1 peak. A bit salty it never even went top 5 but still great sales!
Posted by: Jamie Barkley 18th October 2020, 02:32 PM
A mention of Justin Bieber has me interested to see what the male equivalent of this thread would look like. That said I'm sure Ed Sheeran and Drake would take up about 60% of it.
Posted by: Grim Bréaper 18th October 2020, 04:20 PM
Carly Rae Jepsen deserves better than for 'I Really Like You' to be one of the only songs the mainstream remembers from her. ('Call Me Maybe' also isn't exactly her best song but it is at least a lot better than that x)
Posted by: M4NGO 18th October 2020, 08:26 PM
'I Really Like You' is one of the best pop songs of the decade, full stop, and Tom Hanks is brilliant in the video. Carly is definitely one of the most under-rated pop girls.
'Take Me Home' is pretty good too, I love when she switches to the higher octave in the middle eight - easliy one of Jess's best.
Posted by: Gezza 19th October 2020, 06:21 PM
62. BORN THIS WAY- Lady Gaga (936,000)
PEAK POSITION: 3
YEAR: 2011
In a way there is no way that this could have matched up to the hype and anticipation that this track got. A first single from the second Gaga proper was a BIG deal in 2011, this was written in the UK whilst on tour and of course drew many comparisons to Madonna’s “Express Yourself” which we won’t dwell on. Gaga herself said “I want to write my this-is-who-the-f***-I-am anthem, but I don't want it to be hidden in poetic wizardry and metaphors. I want it to be an attack, an assault on the issue because I think, especially in today's music, everything gets kind of washy sometimes and the message gets hidden in the lyrical play.”
It only made No 3 in the UK (despite leading midweek) but she only had herself to blame as it was released on a Friday here and so had sales split across its first week (with the BRITS helping both Jessie J and Adele to push past her in week 2).
Posted by: M4NGO 19th October 2020, 06:26 PM
It seems wrong that 'Born This Way' is higher up the list than 'Bad Romance'.
Am I right in thinking that BTW would have been an easy number one if not released on a Friday?
Posted by: Gezza 19th October 2020, 06:27 PM
61. S & M- Rihanna (954,000)
PEAK POSITION: 3
YEAR: 2011
Rihanna is back with more smut! This rather famously got a remix which included vocals from Britney Spears but it was charting before that mix so I included it here. The chart show rather memorably called the song “Come On” and played a badly censored version of the track and the OCC used the title as well at the time though it is now titled correctly- the things we censored back in the day eh! The music video featured Perez Hilton and was banned or censored in several countries and was the subject of a lawsuit by David LaChapelle who claimed it copied ideas from his photography which was settled out of court.
Posted by: Blade 19th October 2020, 06:31 PM
I think 'Born This Way' release day was the most hyped I've EVER been for a new single to drop. Thankfully, it didn't disappoint and I spammed it for the entire day. It has held up well for me too. Still salty that its release day screwed it over in the U.K. and prevented a #1 
but at least it got there in the U.S. after 'Bad Romance' missed out.
Posted by: Gezza 19th October 2020, 06:34 PM
Am I right in thinking that BTW would have been an easy number one if not released on a Friday?
Indeed it would have based on the first 7 days of its sales
Posted by: Jamie Barkley 19th October 2020, 10:12 PM
Born This Way not making #1 honestly shocked me at the time because Gaga was the biggest act on the planet and it seemed so assured. Not that I was too disappointed as I never warmed to the single at all, and still don't
S&M was a moment. Rihanna seemed unable to do wrong back then, heavily censored as it was, I'm sure she was still the only person at the time who could have made something that explicit a hit. Rather like Miley, it all seems quite tame in hindsight.
Posted by: ME! 20th October 2020, 03:15 PM
I know it won't be featured on the countdown but any idea how much "Happiness" by Alexis Jordan has sold? Definitely one of my favourite songs of the whole decade.
Posted by: Gezza 20th October 2020, 06:28 PM
Well it is yet to go to platinum so less than 600k
Posted by: Gezza 20th October 2020, 06:33 PM
60. HIDEAWAY- Kiesza (957,000)
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2014
Championed in the UK by Annie Mac’s Radio 1 show, Kiesza’s debut single was written and recorded in 90 minutes before she caught a flight back to LA from New York. The Canadian launched her own career with this song which debuted at No 1 here with 136,000 takers in week 1 though subsequent releases have failed to impress to the same extent. She recalled “We wanted to play homage to the classic dance songs of the 90s, so I jumped up on the mic and spat out the whole song freestyle, everything was completed in an hour and a half. The promo was shot by my brother and was in one shot with only two takes”.
Posted by: Gezza 20th October 2020, 06:37 PM
59. WITHOUT ME- Halsey (959,000)
PEAK POSITION: 3
YEAR: 2018
After providing vocals on No 1 singles for The Chainsmokers and Benny Blanco, Halsey finally released her first solo track and went top 3 here but topped the US charts. It “interpolates” Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me A River” and is, in part, about her failed relationship with G-Eazy. “A lot of people see me as rebellious, which I am sometimes, but now I’m in my adulthood this is me looking at relationships and saying “Mmmm I give a lot more than you do”, in part I think that’s because I’m so maternal really. That’s what the song is about, it’s not OK to give so much of myself to someone who isn’t going to reciprocate”.
Posted by: ME! 20th October 2020, 06:44 PM
Criminal.
Posted by: Grim Bréaper 20th October 2020, 06:59 PM
'Hideaway'
Posted by: M4NGO 20th October 2020, 07:18 PM
'Hideaway' is sublime and the video's all kinds of amazing too. Kiesza (much like CRJ) is one of the most under-rated singers out there, she deserves so much more success than she's had.
Posted by: Jamie Barkley 20th October 2020, 07:37 PM
Without Me feels overly high here, though it doesn't feel as odd as its placing as the 12th biggest song of the entire decade in the US!
Posted by: Gezza 21st October 2020, 04:34 PM
58. FIGHT SONG- Rachel Platten (999,000)
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2015
Almost a million seller- Platten had some success with her second album (though first released) getting some tracks onto TV shows, but her transfer to a major record label in 2015 really transformed her fortunes. This was her first single and got picked up by TV and in commercials turning it into a top 10 hit in the US before it went to No 1 in the UK and consequently going on to become the official anthem for the Democrats US presidential race the following year. The song has a personal meaning for Platten “I wrote in when I was going through a really hard time and I needed to remember to believe in myself, there’s so many times I almost made it then crash fell”.
Posted by: Gezza 21st October 2020, 04:37 PM
57. CALL ON ME- Starley (1,001,000)
PEAK POSITION: 6
YEAR: 2016
Yes we cross the million mark with Starley and her debut solo single. She explained “"I wrote this song when I was at a low point in my life.... It became a way of telling myself it was going to be ok, almost like an encouragement. It was as if I had created my own lighthouse, a beacon to help me realize my dreams are not impossible. I can do this. I'll figure it out. I just need to follow my intuition and essentially call on myself.”
Posted by: Jamie Barkley 21st October 2020, 04:41 PM
Whoever said if Fight Song was your actual Fight Song you'd be bound to lose was on to something. Just ask Hillary Clinton.
Posted by: jlj 21st October 2020, 04:53 PM
Omg 57 female million sellers across the 10s decade is amazing especially as they’re all solo hits too!!
Streaming is really making sales huge.
Born This Way and S&M are both incredible. I’ll never ever forget the day I heard Born This Way for the first time I wasn’t even that keen at first tbh it grew on me a lot of time but the hype for it was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before ever!
Posted by: Grim Bréaper 21st October 2020, 06:41 PM
In case you weren't aware, as it isn't mentioned at all in the commentary, the version of 'Call On Me' that drove the vast majority of its sales was the Ryan Riback remix. I don't know if that affects your criteria for 'solo' hits 
Posted by: Gezza 21st October 2020, 06:45 PM
No I did forget to mention it! But it wouldn't have affected its inclusion
Posted by: Bjork 21st October 2020, 08:15 PM
oh I thought Kiesza was a million seller, but she's not that far
she's so talented
Posted by: jimwatts 21st October 2020, 08:29 PM
These sales are for the decade only - Hideaway probably did pass a million earlier this year. Fight Song and Royals have since gone double platinum, for example.
Posted by: Gezza 22nd October 2020, 03:48 PM
56. 7 RINGS- Ariana Grande (1,001,000)
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2019
Arriving at No 1 instantly on both sides of the Atlantic it demonstrated Grande’s status at the end of the decade, obviously interpolating the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic “My Favourite Things” (though I like to think she was more inspired by Big Brovaz). In the UK it broke all existing records for streams on audio and video fronts and its first week tally of 126k was the highest weekly sale of any No 1 in the UK in 2019 and when she toppled herself from the top with “Break Up With Your Girlfriend…I’m Bored” she became the first female ever to replace herself at the top and only the second female in UK chart history to hold the top 2 positions simultaneously after Madonna in 1985. It was inspired by a real life incident “My friends took me to Tiffany’s. We had too much champagne, I bought us all rings. It was very insane and funny and on the way back to the studio Njomza was like “Bitch, this gotta be a song, so we wrote it that afternoon”.
Posted by: Gezza 22nd October 2020, 03:51 PM
55. WHAT ABOUT US- Pink (1,004,000)
PEAK POSITION: 3
YEAR: 2017
The odd soundtrack single aside this was Pink’s first release in 4 years- seems like we missed her. This was her biggest hit since “Just Give Me A Reason” and was her 7th top 3 single in all- not bad 17 years into your career, inspiration wise it was a reflection of current affairs and Trump’s America.
Posted by: M4NGO 22nd October 2020, 04:07 PM
'What About Us' was such a moment for P!nk she's one of my favourite artists of all time and though the last album was a bit under par for her, I can't wait for new music!
Posted by: T Boy 22nd October 2020, 05:24 PM
What About Us! Still love it. I assume that’s Pink’s only track here? Given her biggest hit was a duet.
Posted by: Gezza 23rd October 2020, 03:03 PM
54. SEND MY LOVE (TO YOUR NEW LOVER)- Adele (1,017,000)
PEAK POSITION: 5
YEAR: 2016
Originally penciled in as the lead single from “25” this was demoted and eventually was made the third single, and again it is co-penned by Max Martin like a fair few tracks on the list. She revealed it was inspired after she heard Taylor Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble” which led to her working with the producer of it (Martin) after she looked at some of the songs he had made and it reflected “every massive soundtrack of my life”.
It’s also another track which is inspired by her ex boyfriend who gifted us much of the “21” album, and yes no-one has more entries on this list than Adele- well it was her decade really!
Posted by: Gezza 23rd October 2020, 03:06 PM
53. LOST WITHOUT YOU- Freya Ridings (1,021,000)
PEAK POSITION: 9
YEAR: 2018
Daughter of actor Richard Ridings (the voice of Daddy Pig in “Peppa Pig”) Ridings got her big break when this track was featured on “Love Island” and saw demand sky rocket. When Scott Miles made it his record of the week it helped it to gain significant airplay, impressive given it was released 9 months previously and overall sales were helped by its use in a Nokia Advert.
Posted by: Esmerelda 23rd October 2020, 03:30 PM
I had no idea she was Daddy Pig's daughter!
Posted by: jlj 23rd October 2020, 03:40 PM
7 rings is such a BOP. I love it now it was the most instant thank u, next era track for me at the time.
I think I prefer the title track now but 7 rings does go OFF.
What About Us is definite top tier P!nk as well. One of my favourites from her and her best lead.
Adele might’ve guessed she’d have the most entries as she never does collabs (well she does have one but it’s not memorable) but Send My Love is great quite light for her discography but still very Adele. I’m shook it was almost the lead though I do wonder how it would’ve went down had it been the lead it’s a strong track but not a lead I don’t think.
Lost Without You is also great. A tad overplayed but still stunning.
Posted by: T Boy 23rd October 2020, 04:01 PM
I cannot stand Lost Without You or Freya Ridings in general.
Posted by: Grim Bréaper 23rd October 2020, 08:57 PM
That's probably the best pair of songs posted together so far, love both of them
Posted by: Gezza 24th October 2020, 11:51 AM
52. DOMINO- Jessie J (1,037,000)
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2011
Added to the deluxe version of Jessie’s debut album “Who You Are” this is again a Dr Luke and Max Martin creation (in part) that gave the singer a second UK chart topper but a first as a solo track. The video ended up being entirely different to the original plan which was affected by Jessie injuring her foot and pulling out of supporting Katy Perry on world tour, but she’d recovered enough to end up being the sole performer in the promo.
Posted by: Gezza 24th October 2020, 11:55 AM
51. BE THE ONE- Dua Lipa (1,039,000)
PEAK POSITION: 9
YEAR: 2017
This did nothing when released in 2015 but slowly started to become a hit in Germany and some other European countries in 2016 which prompted a re-issue here and it finally hit No 9. It even got a second promo to help it, it’s also unusual as it’s one of only two tracks on her debut LP which she didn’t at least co-write. That fact led to Lipa being hesitant to first record it and then release it as a single as she thought people may think that she didn’t have enough songs herself or confidence in them.
Posted by: JulianT 24th October 2020, 12:27 PM
At the halfway stage I just wanted to say thank you so much for this countdown, which I am loving both from a chart geekery and a musical point of view.
It’s just one great song after another and the 50s section has been particularly fantastic. I especially love Hideaway, Call on Me, What About Us, Domino and Be the One.
It would be interesting to see the male equivalent, but I suspect there wouldn’t be so much brilliant pop.
Posted by: Grim Bréaper 24th October 2020, 06:33 PM
I think 'Be The One' is still my favourite song by Dua, though she's run it close a couple of times since - Dua in general is one of the most consistently enjoyable of the big pop girls for me (the only single from her that I really dislike is 'Blow Your Mind (Mwah)').
Posted by: Gezza 25th October 2020, 03:52 PM
50. YOUR SONG- Ellie Goulding (1,041,000)
PEAK POSITION: 2
YEAR: 2010
By Christmas 2010 having your cover version used by John Lewis in an advert had already proved a shortcut to having a hit thanks to Fyfe Dangerfield and Taken By Trees, so when Ellie Gouding’s version of the Elton classic surfaced as the song for that Christmas’ campaign it seemed an easy choice to issue the song as a single. It also got included on the re-issue of Goulding’s “Lights” album and became the biggest hit for Ellie (to that point) and the John Lewis campaigns. Produced by Ben Lovett of Mumford & Sons it was also performed live at the wedding of the Prince William & Kate Middleton when the couple had their first dance.
Posted by: Gezza 25th October 2020, 03:56 PM
49. BLANK SPACE- Taylor Swift (1,044,000)
PEAK POSITION: 4
YEAR: 2014
"Some of the things I write about on a song like "Blank Space" are satire. You take your creative license and create things that are larger than life. You can write things like “I get drunk on jealousy but you'll come back each time you leave, 'cause darling I'm a nightmare dressed like a daydream”. That is not my approach to relationships. But is it cool to write the narrative of a girl who's crazy but seductive but glamorous but nuts but manipulative? That was the character I felt the media had written for me, and for a long time I felt hurt by it. I took it personally. But as time went by, I realized it was kind of hilarious."- Swift
Leading to one of the most misheard lyrics of the last 10 years (“All the Lonely Starbucks lovers”) it helped built the profile of the singer into one of the decade’s biggest stars, its promo was the quickest in vevo history to reach 1 billion views and remains one of the 30 most viewed promo’s on youtube.
Posted by: dan-G 25th October 2020, 04:08 PM
since I last commented my faves here are Let You Love Me, Where Have You Been, Thursday, Rude Boy, Bad Romance, Take Me Home (didn't realise this racked up that many "sales"), Born This Way, S&M, Hideaway, Call On Me, What About Us, Lost Without You, Domino, Be The One – a lot of quality in here!
particularly love how Hideaway is well on its way to a million units if it hasn't passed it already, what a shame she has been so slept on as an artist since.
as for the top 50 so far; Your Song is a sweet cover but not one I've given many listens since its release. Blank Space I never felt the love for.
Posted by: T Boy 25th October 2020, 04:10 PM
Ellie’s version of Your Song is awful.
Posted by: Grim Bréaper 25th October 2020, 06:24 PM
Finally a good Taylor song! (Possibly her best song in fact, I still haven't decided yet if 'cardigan' has now overtaken it for me x)
Posted by: chrissmith276 26th October 2020, 03:22 AM
Each to their own but I really love Blow Your Mind (Mwah)!!
Posted by: Gezza 26th October 2020, 05:23 PM
48. DON’T CALL ME UP- Mabel (1,070,000)
PEAK POSITION: 3
YEAR: 2019
Neneh Cherry’s daughter came good with this track which remains her best seller. It first got added to the re-issue of her mixtape “Ivy To Roses” in early 2019 and then served as the lead single to her album proper “High Expectations” later in the year. “I wanted to write a break up song that made people feel good about themselves, at first you’re sad but then there’s that moment that you get over them and it feels so good. I wanted to capture that moment”.
Posted by: Gezza 26th October 2020, 05:31 PM
47. SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW- Lily Allen (1,071,000)
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2013
Outpacing Ellie Goulding (just) this is the biggest selling track to stem from the John Lewis adverts and one of only two chart topper from them. It was Allen’s third No 1 in the UK and is of course a cover of the Keane track (#3, 2004) and was used by the Labour party in their advert for the 2017 General election. The promo followed the making of the advert “The Bare & The Hare” for the Christmas advert with physical copies available in store.
Posted by: M4NGO 26th October 2020, 05:36 PM
I've always had a soft spot for Lily and 'Somewhere Only We Know' is a gorgeous version of the song. Hope she's back with new music soon!
Posted by: danGnation 26th October 2020, 07:27 PM
two more great tracks, DCMU was one of the best pop bops of the past year and SOWT is my fave of the John Lewis ad songs, sounds lovely in the Christmas playlist.
Posted by: Grim Bréaper 26th October 2020, 09:51 PM
It doesn't top the original but I do really like Lily's version of 'Somewhere Only We Know'.
Posted by: Gezza 27th October 2020, 05:14 PM
46. SKYFALL- Adele (1,113,000)
PEAK POSITION: 2
YEAR: 2012
Although this is the best-selling Bond theme of all time and equalled the best ever placing on the UK chart for a track from the franchise it could have been so much better. It was released on a Friday and so had two days sales to debut at No 4 before reaching No 2 the week after BUT based on sales over its first 7 days it would have been No 1.
There was a touch of destiny about the project with Adele commenting “After “21” I was like why do I want to ruin things? But then I heard it was the 23rd Bond film and I was 23 and it felt a little like fate”
Posted by: Gezza 27th October 2020, 05:19 PM
45. ELASTIC HEART- Sia (1,115,000)
PEAK POSITION: 10
YEAR: 2015
First appearing in 2013 as a collaboration between Sia, Diplo and Weeknd and featured in the film “Hunger Games: Catching Fire”, this got re-recorded as a Sia sole track for release two years later. It came with a mildly controversial video featuring actor Shia LeBeouf and which caused some to comment on paedophilic undertones which were addressed by Sia on Twitter.
Posted by: jlj 27th October 2020, 05:21 PM
Elastic Hearts sales! Didn’t realise it had sold as much as that!
Love Skyfall, Be The One and Blank Space too.
Domino is alright but not top tier Jessie and Don’t Call Me Up has already aged for me but I did love it at the time.
Posted by: Grim Bréaper 27th October 2020, 06:09 PM
2 more great songs there - I am also surprised to see 'Elastic Heart' so high, forgot how long it stuck around for. 'Skyfall' is my fave Bond theme I think, real shame that it missed out on what should have been an extremely easy #1.
Posted by: M4NGO 28th October 2020, 11:18 AM
Skyfall and Elastic Heart both 10/10s. And obviously more Adele and Sia to come, which I'm looking forward to!
Posted by: Gezza 28th October 2020, 05:59 PM
44. DANCE MONKEY- Tones & I (1,122,000)
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2019
An Australian No 1 for 24 weeks!!!! It also broke records in the UK when it topped the charts for 11 weeks (more than any other record ever by a female solo act) and dropped from 1-10 as it hit ACR (though its reign would have ended regardless). That made it the 8th biggest record in the UK last year, not bad for a song about busking, as she explained it “"I wrote this song when I was busking, and about the pressure that I felt to always be entertaining people on the street. And if they didn't like it, when they looked at their phones they could just click something else; ... we are all so used to being entertained at the click of a button."
"So when you're busking on the street, .. to command your attention, people would be like: 'again! again!' .. 'more! more!' .. or they would just leave. So if you replace the lyric: 'dance for me, dance for me' with 'sing for me, sing for me,' it's pretty literal,"
Posted by: Gezza 28th October 2020, 06:03 PM
43. I’LL BE THERE- Jess Glynne (1,138,000)
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2018
First single from Glynne’s second album predictably became her 7th chart topper on release though its solitary week at No 1 saw sales of just 38k needed- that was the lowest weekly tally of the entire decade (she only made it to the top by under 900 copies as well). Not to worry as it remained a strong seller for the rest of the decade and her ability to generate massive sellers remains intact. It was written by her friend and reflected events in both their lives which they had supported each other through.
Posted by: Grim Bréaper 28th October 2020, 07:24 PM
Gross
Posted by: Blade 28th October 2020, 07:30 PM
A double dosage of horror
Much love for '7 rings' and 'Be The One' since I last posted in here
Posted by: davidas 28th October 2020, 07:41 PM
Dance Monkey + I’ll be there = trash
Posted by: M4NGO 28th October 2020, 07:52 PM
I'm not here for the 'Dance Monkey' hate. I just wish it would have got a few more weeks at number one
Posted by: Esmerelda 28th October 2020, 08:33 PM
I notice Dance Monkey is now the 4th most streamed song of all time on Spotify now and now far behind 2nd.
I hope she eventually topples Sheeran
Posted by: jlj 28th October 2020, 09:48 PM
Dance Monkey was overplayed but for a time it was great.
I’ll Be There is cute as well. One of Jess’s best.
Posted by: JulianT 29th October 2020, 09:17 AM
Dance Monkey would surely be very near the top if you included figures up to today (in fact if it was an all time list of female hits it would be very near the top).
Another great run of songs for me. I'll be there is my favourite from Jess Glynne. I'm lukewarm about much of Adele's stuff but Skyfall is brilliant. Elastic Heart is pure genius, and I didn't know it was a millionaire so that's great news.
Posted by: Gezza 29th October 2020, 04:35 PM
42. HALO- Beyonce (1,139,000)
PEAK POSITION: 45 (in the 2010’s)
YEAR: 2009
Another one of those WTF moments- this ladies and gentlemen is the best selling solo Beyonce record of the 2010s and is now one of her signature tracks. It was the subject to a number of rumours- firstly that Ryan Tedder (OneRepublic lead singer and writer of the track) had reused the melody from the Kelly Clarkson track “Already Gone” and secondly that he had offered it first to Leona Lewis whose schedule didn’t lend itself to her recording the track, both of which Tedder disputed. Total sales are now over 1.6 million and an amazing performance for a record that only charted for 12 weeks in the decade!
The singer reflected “The song feels angelic, like you see angels when you hear it. It's saying I had this wall built up about love and you completely tore it down, so I look at you and see your halo”.
Posted by: Gezza 29th October 2020, 04:37 PM
41. WHEN WE WERE YOUNG- Adele (1,145,000)
PEAK POSITION: 9
YEAR: 2015
The official second single from “25” it benefited from a live BRITS performance which saw it rocket into the top 10 though it didn’t exactly replicate the success of her 2011 performance. Another million seller it helped the singer to be the biggest UK female act of the decade- how many songs has she placed on the list?
Adele said “It was based on us being older, and being at a party at this house, and seeing everyone that you’ve ever fallen out with, everyone that you’ve never loved, and stuff like that, where you can’t find the time to be in each other lives. You’re all thrown together at this party when you’re like 50, and it doesn’t matter and you have so much fun and you feel like you’re 15 again. So that’s the kind of vibe of it really.”
Posted by: M4NGO 29th October 2020, 05:39 PM
'Halo' being that big is definitely a WTF moment!! I always found the song a bit over-rated anyway.
WWWY again isn't Adele's best but it's nice enough.
Posted by: vibe 29th October 2020, 06:45 PM
I never ever connected with Halo.
I’ll Be There really grew on me.
Posted by: oof 29th October 2020, 07:00 PM
I'll Be There outselling as it should, one of Jess' best (didn't think it was a millionaire however). I used to hate Dance Monkey at the start but then loved it, her voice is a bit grating I must admit.
Skyfall should have been #1 but that would have meant blocking Diamonds or Don't You Worry Child both of which are classic #1s in their own right as well so I'm not too fussed about that.
Posted by: Wall 29th October 2020, 07:25 PM
How the f*** did I’ll be there sell so much?
Posted by: Wall 29th October 2020, 07:26 PM
PEAK POSITION: 37 (in the 2010’s)
YEAR: 2009
The first of those 8 tracks which charted before 2010 is this track famously co-penned by a pre fame Jessie J and intended for her debut album but passed up as it wasn’t “edgy enough”, some lyrics were re-written to reflect Cyrus’ personality and demographic and we got this. The track sold 116k in 2009 so is now approaching 1 million overall and was first performed at the Teen Choice awards in 2009 which caused minor controversy around the overly sexual performance given its audience. Clearly it’s now a fan favourite shifting steadily over the decade even if Cyrus is allegedly not keen on it now.
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2013
Cyrus’ first No 1 in the US it quickly became her second chart topper in a row here, and it’s the third of 28 number ones on the survey. Penned with Beyonce in mind, Cyrus snapped it up for her “Bangerz” album and debuted at No 1 in the same week as the album did the same. It opened with 21k less sales than “We Can’t Stop” but ended up beating it in total sales maybe it was the mildly controversial video that helped? At any rate Cyrus regrets the promo now “Swinging around naked on a wrecking ball lives forever, once you do that it’s forever, I’m never living that down I will always be the naked girl on a wrecking ball…I should’ve thought [about] how long that was going to follow me around. That’s my worst nightmare”
Iconic!
I’m guessing Party In The USA will overtake Wrecking Ball as PITUSA seems to hang around Spotify a lot! Will PITUSA become her first million seller?
Posted by: danGnation 29th October 2020, 07:38 PM
It's probably already passed 1m sales given those are just its 2010s figures.
Posted by: Tefo 29th October 2020, 08:31 PM
'When We Were Young' really stood the test of time. It's her 5th biggest song on Spotify ever. Well deserved as it's such a beautiful song
Posted by: Gezza 30th October 2020, 06:02 PM
40. PRETTY GIRL- Maggie Lindemann (1,164,000)
PEAK POSITION: 8
YEAR: 2017
I had never heard this track until the countdown! Anyway this was her first major label release at just 18 though it remains her only hit in this country.
Of the song she said “"'Pretty Girl' was inspired by my experiences growing up on social media and being constantly judged and underestimated based on the superficial, which is something I think a lot of girls are going through right now. Being on the set of 'Pretty Girl' with all of the amazing girls was so much fun, just hanging out and getting into trouble. We had a good time, and I think it shows, especially in the shots outside where we got to be a bit sassier."
Posted by: Gezza 30th October 2020, 06:05 PM
39. INTO YOU- Ariana Grande (1,168,000)
PEAK POSITION: 14
YEAR: 2016
Grande’s third track on this countdown and a song that never even made the top 10 here but was still a million seller and had some Max Martin help in the writing. Not bad sales for a fourth release from an album.
Posted by: Grim Bréaper 30th October 2020, 06:25 PM
I had never heard this track until the countdown! Anyway this was her first major label release at just 18 though it remains her only hit in this country.
This is another case that is almost the same as Starley - the vast majority of its sales came from the Cheat Codes x CADE remix. I don't recommend you looking that up though if you've not heard it before, it's dreadful. (I have never heard the original version but I have to imagine it's probably better than the remix).
'When We Were Young' feels like one of Adele's least relevant singles from the last 2 albums so the fact that it's comfortably a millionaire and this high up the list even so is pretty remarkable! I really like it but I can see why it's overshadowed by other songs from her that are pretty similar.
Posted by: Gezza 31st October 2020, 01:48 PM
38. YOUR SONG- Rita Ora (1,178,000)
PEAK POSITION: 7
YEAR: 2017
Ora’s first single in 2 years saw her back in the top 10 thanks in part to a certain Ed Sheeran who co-wrote and provides backing vocals on this song. It would act as the first single on her second album “Phoenix” despite being released a year before the album.
Ora revealed “It was the last song I recorded for the album, we (Ed Sheeran and her) were talking and I said I have my friends on the album and I’d really love for him to be involved but he was on a world tour so maybe next time, and he said “Funny you should say that because I just wrote this song” and so he sent the demo over. I recorded it the next day and it just worked for the album”
Posted by: Gezza 31st October 2020, 01:51 PM
37. I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE- Taylor Swift (1,188,000)
PEAK POSITION: 2
YEAR: 2012
Becoming Swift’s biggest UK hit to that point this was held off the top spot here by Will.i.am and Britney Spears “Scream & Shout” in early 2013 and was popularly thought to be about her relationship with John Mayer. Another Max Martin creation whilst lyrically Swift ponders “The song is about being frustrated with yourself because here you are heart-broken and you knew when you first saw that person you saw all these red flags and you just went for it anyway, so shame on me”.
Posted by: jlj 31st October 2020, 06:59 PM
Pretty Girl was quite a shock on here didn’t realise that was so big!
When We Were Young, Into You, Your Song and I Knew You Were Trouble
lol at Your Song being the last song recorded for the album yet the album come like a year later surely she meant what was the album at the time but she then recorded more.
Posted by: M4NGO 1st November 2020, 11:06 AM
Yeah, that didn't make sense to me either
'Your Song' is pretty great though, as is 'I Knew You Were Trouble', both fine examples of how pop songs should sound in the 2010s.
Posted by: Gezza 1st November 2020, 01:08 PM
36. SKINNY LOVE- Birdy (1,204,000)
PEAK POSITION: 17
YEAR: 2011
Winning that open mic competition at age 12 was the precursor to Birdy’s career which started with this track when she was the ripe old age of just 15! The cover of the Bon Ivor track marks the first of our double platinum tracks of the decade and is the highest non top 15 hit on the rundown- helped by its use in a few “X Factor” episodes over the years.
Posted by: Gezza 1st November 2020, 01:13 PM
35. SET FIRE TO THE RAIN- Adele (1,210,000)
PEAK POSITION: 11
YEAR: 2011
Third official single from “21” and its smallest seller incredibly at a mere 1.2 million. It was a US chart topper but missed the top 10 entirely here and has no official promo as the singer was recovering from Vocal surgery at the time.
It was nearly never a single with the label deciding in the end “Our research found more programmer preference for ‘Set Fire to the Rain’. Both ‘Rumour Has It’ and ‘Fire’ came back strong, but ‘Fire’ was a bit stronger. It’s a better plan to go with ‘Fire’ over ‘Rumour’ at pop and adult radio. Everyone, from radio to the buying public, seems to be on board.”
Posted by: JulianT 1st November 2020, 01:36 PM
Set Fire to the Rain is epic; that and Turning Tables are my favourites from 21 by a long way.
Think it’s 4 down and 4 to go for Adele.
Posted by: Henry G 1st November 2020, 01:39 PM
Where’s Sorry Not Sorry by Demi Lovato?
I think it has sold over 900k
Posted by: Bré 1st November 2020, 02:16 PM
'Set Fire To The Rain' is probably my favourite Adele song, sucks that it stalled outside the top 10 here but it did at least become her third #1 on the trot in the US to make up for it!
The less said about Birdy's Bon Iver evisceration the better. At least with 'exile' going top 10 it is no longer the highest charting Justin Vernon adjacent song though.
Posted by: Gezza 1st November 2020, 02:54 PM
I think it has sold over 900k
I had it on around 750k at the end of 2019 (over 800,000 now) but there is a margin of error on my calculations as noted in the OP so it may have made the list. it was certified Platinum in April 18 but hasn't charted since, the most recent list on her best sellers put "Heart Attack" on 549k (Aug 2020) and her 6th best seller, with "Up" on 1.06 million and her 2nd best seller. Figures aren't given for her 3rd, 4th or 5th best sellers (of which "Sorry Not Sorry" is the third) so there's a huge range of speculation on them apart from the fact they are all platinum at least (600,000+)
Posted by: jlj 2nd November 2020, 02:03 AM
Adele getting a US #1 but a UK #11 with Set Fire To The Rain feels so strange but it was a massive hit despite its peak.
Top tier Adele but then again I could say that about most of her releases they are all strong!
Birdy I love her cover of Skinny Love!
Posted by: Gezza 2nd November 2020, 05:47 PM
34. HOW LONG WILL I LOVE YOU- Ellie Goulding (1,211,000)
PEAK POSITION: 3
YEAR: 2013
A flop single by the Waterboys in 1990 was turned into a “millionaire” track by Goulding who used this song as her second single from “Halcyon Days” and for the benefit of Children In Need that year. It came with two promo’s – one using clips from the film “About Time” which doesn’t actually feature the track, and the other from a short film “Tom & Issy” which starred Goulding.
Posted by: Gezza 2nd November 2020, 06:10 PM
33. DON’T BE SO HARD ON YOURSELF- Jess Glynne (1,243,000)
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2015
Glynne’s fifth chart topper in under 2 years, this was released the week before her debut album “I Laugh When I Cry” and debuted straight at the top spot. That equalled the record held by Cheryl Cole of most UK chart toppers by female artists though of course Glynne’s tally included guest vocals on hits by Route 94, Tinie Tempah and Clean Bandit. Glynne stated "When I was meeting my publisher, managers and label and everything was happening for me, I was going through a really hard time. I had my heart broken and I was in a dark place. It was even harder because my dreams were coming true and I had to put a smile on my face every day and power through”.
Posted by: jlj 2nd November 2020, 06:42 PM
LOVE that Ellie song Makes me think of my young nephew everytime I hear it so there’s definite sentimental value to it. I’d also say that Jess’s best solo song is Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself! Such an anthem.
Posted by: Tefo 2nd November 2020, 10:26 PM
Somehow I often forget that Don't Be So Hard peaked at number one
Posted by: JCM20 3rd November 2020, 12:02 AM
The fact that DBSHOY basically samples If You're Happy and You Know It, is my favourite music fact ever
Posted by: Sid_ 3rd November 2020, 01:38 AM
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2015
SMASH
Posted by: Gezza 3rd November 2020, 06:46 PM
32. THANK U NEXT- Ariana Grande (1,243,000)
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2018
Another instant No 1 on both sides of the Atlantic, this was Grande’s first solo chart topper and almost grabbed the festive top spot in the UK after spending 5 weeks at the top. In the US in February 2019 it was one of Grande’s three tracks to complete the top 3 on the Hot 100- the first act to do so since the Beatles. Lyrically it references four of her ex relationships and came with a promo which referenced several movies such as “Mean Girls”, “Legally Blonde” and “Bring It On” including some of the stars from those films and cameo’s by the likes of Kris Jenner and Troye Sivan.
Posted by: Gezza 3rd November 2020, 06:50 PM
31. BURN- Ellie Goulding (1,267,000)
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2012
Another Ryan Tedder composition which was, rather famously, recorded first as a demo by Leona Lewis but ultimately not used on her “Glassheart” album and it became free for Tedder to work on it with Goulding for her re-issue of the extended “Halcyon” album. It became the singer’s first UK No 1 single when it topped the charts for 3 weeks.
Posted by: Brightest Blue 3rd November 2020, 07:06 PM
Smash
Posted by: Jamie Barkley 3rd November 2020, 07:28 PM
You forget how many big hits Ellie had
Posted by: Bré 3rd November 2020, 08:00 PM
'Burn' the song that marked the start of Ellie transitioning to being mostly mediocre ~
Posted by: M4NGO 4th November 2020, 12:09 AM
I agree with you if we can agree that 'Burn' itself was anything but mediocre
Posted by: jlj 4th November 2020, 12:20 AM
Omg I did not know this!
Posted by: jlj 4th November 2020, 12:21 AM
thank u, next is such a pinnacle song for Ariana. The time she entered that imperial phase.
I guess Burn is also Ellie’s song for that too. It’s not one of her best songs overall for me but I can see why it was huge
Posted by: Gezza 4th November 2020, 05:15 PM
30. FAST CAR- Tracy Chapman (1,277,000)
PEAK POSITION: 4
YEAR: 1988
Crazy now to think that until downloads were a thing this had sold about 150,000 copies in the UK from its chart run in 1988. Chapman was of course launched to fame after she performed at the Nelson Mandela concert that year and this was her only hit of note in the UK, her tale of grinding poverty and dreams was used on Britain’s Got Talent in 2011 and propelled it back into the charts to a new peak and into public consciousness. A cover by Jonas Blue in 2016 was a major hit (#2) and helped with the sales of the original which are now over 1.5 million.
On its origins Chapman said “growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, coming from a working class background, I was raised by single mom, I was just watching people being in a community of people who were struggling. So everyone was really just 1. Working hard and 2. hoping that things would get better.
In part everything that a person writes is autobiographical but some of my songs are directly so but “Fast Car” wasn’t one that was directly autobiographical. I never had a Fast Car, it’s just a story about a couple, how they are trying to make a life together and they face challenges.”
Posted by: Gezza 4th November 2020, 05:19 PM
29. NO TEARS LEFT TO CRY- Ariana Grande (1,291,000)
PEAK POSITION:2
YEAR: 2018
Following the events in Manchester during her concert there in 2017, Grande worked on this track as the first single to be released in its wake. Lyrically it was written to touch upon her feelings of the event but also to offer hope for the future and clearly struck the right note with the public almost giving her a No 1 were it not for Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa. Oh and we haven’t had a Max Martin co-written song in a while- consider that break over.
Posted by: Tefo 4th November 2020, 05:22 PM
Alright, after Tracy Chapman nothing will surprise me in this countdown
Posted by: Jade 4th November 2020, 05:25 PM
The power of reality TV was still so huge for the first few years of the 2010s!
'no tears left to cry' it was sooooo unlucky to be blocked by the biggest song of the year finished in the EOY top 10 of 2018 at least.
Posted by: M4NGO 4th November 2020, 05:37 PM
Would NEVER in a million years have predicted 'Fast Car' to be in this countdown! 'No Tears' is my favourite Ariana song, I much prefer her when she's delivering pop bops.
Posted by: Bré 4th November 2020, 06:48 PM
I do like 'Burn' (although I don't think it's aged that well), it was just the start of a downhill trend x
'Fast Car' being here does entirely make sense (after all its peak position was during the 2010s!) but definitely feels like another curveball
Much love for 'no tears left to cry' ofc <3
Posted by: dandy* 4th November 2020, 09:13 PM
Tracy Chapman
Was not expecting to see that here but it's great how some older songs have gained a whole new audience in the past 10 years.
Posted by: Gezza 5th November 2020, 04:43 PM
28. ANYWHERE- Rita Ora (1,302,000)
PEAK POSITION: 2
YEAR: 2017
Inspired by her previous song with Avicii (“Lonely Together”), it’s apparently about “a love song about escapism" and "having a desperation of wanting to break free from whatever it is you're going through”. It’s New York lensed promo helped it to No 2 where it was held off by Camila Cabello’s “Havana”.
Posted by: Gezza 5th November 2020, 04:46 PM
27. IDGAF- Dua Lipa (1,303,000)
PEAK POSITION: 3
YEAR: 2018
Lipa’s follow up to “New Rules” spent 8 weeks in the top 5 without getting higher than No 3. MNEK helps out on the songwriting and backing vocals on the track which is about “this person that, a long time after you've broken up, comes back to say 'hi' and you think to yourself, 'What gives him the right to call me now and see how I'm doing? Does he not realize the damage he's done?'"
Posted by: jlj 5th November 2020, 05:10 PM
Fast Car was a definite shock!
no tears left to cry is still my favourite Ari track.
Anywhere my favourite Rita track too. Both so unlucky to peak at #2 behind songs what were huge smashes.
Posted by: Nick Jonas 5th November 2020, 05:14 PM
PEAK POSITION: 2
YEAR: 2017
Inspired by her previous song with Avicii (“Lonely Together”), it’s apparently about “a love song about escapism" and "having a desperation of wanting to break free from whatever it is you're going through”. It’s New York lensed promo helped it to No 2 where it was held off by Camila Cabello’s “Havana”.
One of my favourite songs ever
Posted by: danvember 5th November 2020, 05:25 PM
great to see Anywhere have such a high sales total, shame it was unlucky enough to get behind a proper massive hit, when it was a bigger song than her actual #1s.
Posted by: Tefo 5th November 2020, 08:06 PM
'IDGAF' must be one of the most successful post-album singles of the streaming era
Posted by: jimwatts 5th November 2020, 08:43 PM
but not as successful as New Rules ...let alone Perfect
Posted by: M4NGO 5th November 2020, 10:35 PM
As great as 'Anywhere' is, I preferred 'Your Song' - I presume that didn't make the list? (unless I haven't been paying attention and I've missed it)
Posted by: Gezza 5th November 2020, 10:50 PM
#38
Posted by: M4NGO 6th November 2020, 12:21 PM
Oops, I even commented on it
I'm clearly losing my marbles.
Posted by: Gezza 6th November 2020, 04:03 PM
26. JAR OF HEARTS- Christina Perri (1,317,000)
PEAK POSITION: 4
YEAR: 2011
A song that took an unusual route to fame, Perri’s best friend worked on the US version of “So You Think You Can Dance” and she handed a recording of the track to the choreographer who decided to use it on the show. It was put onto i-tunes the following week despite Perri not being signed at the time and flew to No 17 in 2010, a year later and we got the track which took 11 weeks to make the top 20 here making No 4. Eight weeks later the song went back to No 4 again following a performance by a contestant on X Factor. Perri explained “I wrote the song after I went home to Philadelphia for the holiday last December (2009). I sat in my childhood bedroom and hid from the boy (with the jar of hearts) who wanted to see me. My heart wanted to see him, my head knew better. I couldn't take one more break so I wrote the song instead."
Posted by: Gezza 6th November 2020, 04:07 PM
25. BAD GUY- Billie Eilish (1,341,000)
PEAK POSITION: 2
YEAR: 2019
One of the breakthrough acts of last year, this is Eilish’s biggest hit so far but then she was only 17 at this point. This track was released simultaneously with her debut album “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” and debuted at No 2 behind Lewis Capaldi whilst the album made No 1 enabling Eilish to become the youngest female ever to top the UK album chart. A remix was later added featuring Justin Bieber.
Posted by: Bré 6th November 2020, 07:15 PM
Am I also losing my marbles and forgetting it already being announced or does this mean 'A Thousand Years' is ahead of 'Jar Of Hearts' despite peaking a fair bit lower? (It does feel like 'A Thousand Years' has had more lasting impact so that does make sense - both good songs anyway, Christina Perri pretty solidly a 2 hit wonder).
'bad guy' must be a fair bit higher if its 2020 numbers were added on too!
Posted by: jlj 6th November 2020, 07:18 PM
bad guy is one of my least favourites from Billie these days but it was everywhere last year!
Posted by: Tefo 6th November 2020, 09:36 PM
It's crazy how 'Bad Guy' sold more in a couple of months than 'Jar of Hearts' during whole decade
Posted by: Riser 7th November 2020, 03:55 AM
Posted by: Bjork 7th November 2020, 07:18 AM
love Christina Perri and Jar of Hearts is an incredible song. I still remember it all started cos it was used in So You Think You Can Dance in the US for a dance routine
Bad Guy is great but in a way it's like so different to the rest of Billie's song, which are mostly ballads and downtempo tracks
Posted by: Gezza 7th November 2020, 01:51 PM
24. STARSHIPS- Nicki Minaj (1,356,000)
PEAK POSITION: 2
YEAR: 2012
She’s better known for her collaborations but Minaj struck commercial with this single which for Gotye would have topped the UK charts. Produced by RedOne it served as the lead single to her album “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded” and was helped by a promo shot in Hawaii.
Minaj herself is no fan of the song now “I hate ‘Starships,’ I mean ew, ‘Starships?’ I’m like, ‘Why did I do that?’ I really think that every time I hear it.”
Posted by: Gezza 7th November 2020, 01:55 PM
23. ONLY GIRL (IN THE WORLD)- Rihanna (1,384,000)
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2010
Rihanna was back in 2010 with this corker which debuted at No 2 behind Cheryl Cole (who’d had the benefit of an “X Factor” performance that week), so what better way to hit back than doing the song on that same show the following week! It helped Rihanna replace Cole at the top and increase sales from 126k to 134k to do it, it became her fourth UK chart topper and launched “Loud” on its way to becoming her biggest selling album ever in the UK.
Posted by: Bré 8th November 2020, 12:12 AM
Two songs there that have aged extremely poorly (although I never particularly liked 'Only Girl (In The World)' to begin with).
Posted by: Sid_ 8th November 2020, 03:13 AM
Only Girl still Rihanna's best lead single.
Posted by: Gezza 8th November 2020, 12:58 PM
22. MAKE YOU FEEL MY LOVE- Adele (1,403,000)
PEAK POSITION: 4
YEAR: 2008
Written by Bob Dylan in 1997 and already covered by Billy Joel and Gareth Brooks before Adele added her version was included on her debut album as the only cover on it, she explained “My manager is the biggest Dylan fan, and for ages, he'd been bugging me to listen to the song, because I hadn't heard it before. I was being quite defiant against it. I said, 'I don't want a cover on my album. It kind of implies that I'm incapable of writing enough of my own songs for my first record.' And then I heard it in New York when he played it for me, and it just really touched me. It's cheesy, but I think it's just a stunning song, and it really just summed up everything that I'd been trying to write in my songs”.
Revitalised in 2010 by two performances on X factor to turn it into a top 10 single and coupled with regular use on various talent programmes throughout the decade coupled with Adele’s ever rising profile helped to sell the song into the millionaire club.
Posted by: Gezza 8th November 2020, 01:01 PM
21. 2002- Anne-Marie (1,422,000)
PEAK POSITION: 3
YEAR: 2018
We’ve already met Julia Michaels on this rundown and here she is as co-writer on this hit for Anne-Marie along with Benny Blanco and Ed Sheeran, though of course the list writers is much longer as the song cites a wide variety of songs. The reason for that is, as the singer put it “It is all about that year, when I was that age just listening to that music that I loved at that time. You know, Christina Aguilera, Missy Elliott. All of these songs...Yeah, it just takes me back to that time.”
Posted by: T Boy 8th November 2020, 02:07 PM
2002 is uncomfortably high here.
Posted by: M4NGO 8th November 2020, 03:59 PM
I'm not here for the Anne-Marie hate (unless it's for her latest era). '2002' isn't quite up there with 'Alarm' and 'Ciao Adios' but I do still enjoy it a lot.
'Make You Feel My Love' is obviously just stunning and deservedly high up on this list
Posted by: JCM20 8th November 2020, 05:30 PM
Make You Feel My Love is what made Adele
Don't @ me
Posted by: Bjork 8th November 2020, 05:50 PM
That is a decent cover but Adele has much better songs on her debut
Lots of great songs recently and then 2002, can't think of a worst song
Posted by: danvember 8th November 2020, 06:29 PM
Ew at 2002 having that many chart sales. :|
Posted by: jlj 8th November 2020, 06:52 PM
Disappointed but not surprised at 2002 and Starships being here!
Starships should be Nickis highest track here though hopefully!
Make You Feel My Love definitely made Adele. 21s release was timed so well because her getting such a big X Factor boost in 2010 back when X Factor really dominated the charts. Perfect timing.
Only Girl is one of Rihanna’s very best too! A brilliant song. I remember the week one chart battle too i imagine it was a similar event on this site to Kylie v Little Mix this week.
Posted by: Bré 8th November 2020, 09:25 PM
Gross.
'Make You Feel My Love' tho <3
Posted by: Riser 9th November 2020, 12:24 AM
I didn't realize the original 'Make You Feel My Love' was from as recently as 1997, with it being a Bob Dylan classic I just assumed it was much older than that
Posted by: Sid_ 9th November 2020, 02:12 AM
2002 What a smash, deserved 1 peak.
Posted by: kelechi.... 9th November 2020, 04:05 PM
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2019
An Australian No 1 for 24 weeks!!!! It also broke records in the UK when it topped the charts for 11 weeks (more than any other record ever by a female solo act) and dropped from 1-10 as it hit ACR (though its reign would have ended regardless). That made it the 8th biggest record in the UK last year, not bad for a song about busking, as she explained it “"I wrote this song when I was busking, and about the pressure that I felt to always be entertaining people on the street. And if they didn't like it, when they looked at their phones they could just click something else; ... we are all so used to being entertained at the click of a button."
"So when you're busking on the street, .. to command your attention, people would be like: 'again! again!' .. 'more! more!' .. or they would just leave. So if you replace the lyric: 'dance for me, dance for me' with 'sing for me, sing for me,' it's pretty literal,"
How do you know how Much a Song has sold.. which website did you find this information from
Posted by: Gezza 9th November 2020, 06:22 PM
Sources in the OP plus guesstimates.
Posted by: Gezza 9th November 2020, 06:34 PM
20. ALL ABOUT THAT BASS- Meghan Trainor (1,508,000)
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2014
Unsigned at the time of writing this track, Trainor was busy writing songs intended for other acts but this one ended up being kept for her debut solo single. It’s theme of self empowerment, “I didn't work this hard to hate on skinny people, I wrote the song to help my body confidence—and to help others", obviously struck a cord at it flew 33-1 on digital release and caused a cover version to slide 13-131 (remember when those held back big hits generated dodgy covers that people bought because they just COULDN'T wait?). Anyway it spent a month on top on the way to over 1.5 million sales.
Posted by: Gezza 9th November 2020, 06:37 PM
19. FIREWORK- Katy Perry (1,517,000)
PEAK POSITION: 3
YEAR: 2010
Launched with an “X Factor” appearance (when that meant something) this charged straight into the top 5 and eventually became the third top 3 for her during a rather purple patch. Its inspirational lyrics came with a promo filmed in Budapest.
It was inspired by the book “On The Road” by Jack Kerouac which Perry had read “writing a song like this made me realise that anyone could be a firework, it’s just about you igniting the spark within yourself. I’m really proud of the song and it would be my favourite song on the album” Katy commented.
Posted by: T Boy 9th November 2020, 07:14 PM
Firework is brilliant, one of my favourites by Katy.
Posted by: JulianT 9th November 2020, 10:18 PM
I’m thinking Price Tag would have been around here had it been eligible. Do you have a rough figure for it Gezza？
Posted by: JulianT 9th November 2020, 10:18 PM
Double
Posted by: M4NGO 9th November 2020, 10:44 PM
'Firework' still sounds great but 'All About That Bass' already sounds very much of its time. I actually preferred 'Dear Future Husband'.
Posted by: Bré 9th November 2020, 10:51 PM
Someone has to
I still like 'All About That Bass' (as a bit of a guilty pleasure), 'Lips Are Movin' was better though.
Posted by: M4NGO 9th November 2020, 11:16 PM
Sing along with me, sing, sing along with me. You know you want to.
Posted by: Just_Jack 10th November 2020, 03:29 PM
Any idea what "Ex's and Oh's" by Elle King has sold?
Posted by: Gezza 10th November 2020, 04:12 PM
About 530k
Posted by: Gezza 10th November 2020, 04:13 PM
Yes i'd put it in the 1.4 million bracket.
Posted by: Gezza 10th November 2020, 04:25 PM
18. DIAMONDS- Rihanna (1,564,000)
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2012
Written by Sia, Benny Blanco, and Stargate, it was conceived as a song that could be given to Kanye West but then turned into a Rihanna song. It arrived at No 1 in the UK (her 7th chart topper here) but had to overturn a midweek lead by One Direction to do it, it meant that she had a credit on a No 1 single in every year from 2007-2012 (eventually the run would end in 2014). Rihanna enthused “The lyrics are very hopeful and positive, but it’s about love and I think it’s a little different from what people would expect and I’m excited to surprise people sonically”.
Posted by: Gezza 10th November 2020, 04:28 PM
17. SWEET BUT PSYCHO- Ava Max (1,577,000)
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2018
A No 1 in 22 countries (apparently) the title was inspired by Max’s parents who used the phrase to describe her when she was young. It was the Christmas No 2 song in 2018 and famously denied Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” from finally making No 1 in the UK by just 152 “sales”. It aroused some criticism for its use of terms like “Psycho” and “Crazy” which some felt stigmatised mental health, but Max confirmed “It’s about a girl in a relationship who’s misunderstood, I’m not calling woman Psycho’s. in the song it’s actually empowering and strong and outspoken, and in the end the guy loves all the sides of her”
Posted by: jimwatts 10th November 2020, 04:38 PM
Diamonds is one of Rihanna's best songs and vocals.
Sweet But Psycho being above it is interesting: the OCC published the top 100 singles of the decade in early December [edit: I've removed the link to avoid spoilers for what's left] - Diamonds was #98, but Sweet But Psycho didn't feature. As far as I know, they never released an updated list once the decade ended, but I always thought Ava would have made it in, and this just about confirms it.
Posted by: M4NGO 10th November 2020, 09:22 PM
'Sweet But Psycho' hitting number one was such a surreal moment for me - I'd been loving it for such a long time before that and songs I love taking off like that literally NEVER happens for me! I don't listen to it so much nowadays though and I think it'll be one of those songs that doesn't quite stand the test of time, you'll hardly hear it played in ten years' time.
Posted by: Gezza 11th November 2020, 06:11 PM
16. HOLD MY HAND- Jess Glynne (1,587,000)
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2015
Otherwise known as that “Jet2 holidays” music, this was her first solo chart topper spending three weeks at the top. It is the fifth Glynne song on the rundown with only two other woman having more songs to feature.
On its conception Glynne noted ““I actually wrote it with Jack Patterson from Clean Bandit and this girl called Janee Bennett who I pretty much write all my songs with. When we started it, me and Janee had this idea before we even got to the studio of the line “Darling, hold my hand”, it wasn’t originally like, Oh we’re thinking country, but when we put the chords down and started singing, it kind of sounds a little bit like Dolly Parton’s ‘9 to 5.’ I later on realized that, but it wasn’t done on purpose.”
Posted by: Gezza 11th November 2020, 06:17 PM
15. LET IT GO- Idina Menzel (1,629,000)
PEAK POSITION: 11
YEAR: 2013
Menzel was of course a celebrated Broadway star and television star (Starring in “Glee”, “Enchanted” etc) long before she landed the part of Elisa in Disney’s film “Frozen” but this certainly elevated her to a new level. The “Frozen” phenomenon saw the film become the highest grossing animated film of all time and “Let It Go” was the song, more than any other, which took off garnering both Oscars and Grammy’s and getting recorded in 44 languages worldwide. In chart terms it missed the top 10 and Demi Lovato also covered the song for the soundtrack album with her version just missing the top 40.
Posted by: dandy* 11th November 2020, 06:26 PM
Jess Glynne's songs really don't feel big enough to be this high up! They're so nondescript compared to everything that surrounds them.
Posted by: danvember 11th November 2020, 07:08 PM
Hold My Hand still one of the best tracks Jess has released, Jet2 hasn't even ruined it for me like with many others - pleased it was clearly such a huge hit.
great to see Diamonds up this high too, a highlight of Rihanna's.
I still maintain that Let It Go is one of the most annoying songs to have ever been a big hit, can't stand it.
Posted by: Bré 11th November 2020, 07:15 PM
The amount of people who usually have good taste but like 'Let It Go' is slightly disturbing x
Posted by: UltraFolklore 11th November 2020, 07:32 PM
Let It Go
Iconic, timeless CLASSIC. Still perfection, whew
(btw following & reading through this countdown has been so great so far!!)
Posted by: T Boy 11th November 2020, 07:44 PM
Say what you like about Jess Glynne, but Hold My Hand is a great track.
Posted by: davidas 11th November 2020, 08:01 PM
Hold my hand is such an overrated song ugh.
Posted by: Colm 11th November 2020, 08:20 PM
I wasn't aware she had more than one song.
Posted by: Sid_ 11th November 2020, 09:18 PM
Queen Jess omg, Hold My Hand was huge
Posted by: Gezza 12th November 2020, 04:34 PM
14. GHOST- Ella Henderson (1,642,000)
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2014
She may only have finished in 6th place on “X Factor” in 2012 but was soon snapped up by Syco after exiting the competition and was set about to record her debut album. This debut single was co-written by Ryan Tedder and became an instant No 1 moving 132k in its first week.
Obviously it’s not about an actual ghost but the memory of an ex “"You know, there’s a lot of religious references in there," Henderson explained. "Me myself, I’m not religious, you know, but I wanted to use powerful and strong words that really reflect imagining somebody literally kneeling on their knees besides the river, praying, and the depths of their despair."
Posted by: Gezza 12th November 2020, 04:39 PM
13. ONE LAST TIME- Ariana Grande (1,647,000)
PEAK POSITION: 2
YEAR: 2015
Co-written by David Guetta this track only made No 24 on release in 2015 but of course bounded to No 2 in the aftermath of the Manchester Concert bombing in 2017 and the subsequent “One Love Manchester” concert in June of that year. With proceeds now going to charity the calls to re-issue the single were answered and it became something of a rallying song for the commemoration of the events that day. It’s her 6th and final song on the survey- more than any other female bar one.
Posted by: Nina West 12th November 2020, 05:02 PM
Ella Henderson - Ghost , YES one of my all-time faves, she had so much potential but never managed to quite live up to this brilliance (artistically or commercially)
Posted by: Jade 12th November 2020, 05:07 PM
'One Last Time' going from a top 20 miss to the 13th best selling female solo hit of the 2010s an amazing second wind, albeit godawful circumstances.
Posted by: M4NGO 12th November 2020, 05:40 PM
'Ghost' is SUCH a tune, I still love it when it comes on the radio! 'One Last Time' is obviously one of Ari's best.
Posted by: Bjork 12th November 2020, 06:01 PM
Diamonds and Ghost are the best from the last batch, especially Diamonds, one of the best songs Sia has written
One Last Time and Hold my Hand are also ok, didn't know One Last Time was a Guetta song
Sweet but Psycho is also ok but so unoriginal, too much of a Gaga copycat
and Let it Go is just an abomination
Posted by: danvember 12th November 2020, 06:42 PM
Ghost, now that has to be one of the best songs on this list, such a good pop tune. So glad that Ella's hiatus came to an end last year and she's now doing dance tunes too even if sadly most of those aren't hits.
Posted by: Gezza 13th November 2020, 06:13 PM
12. A THOUSAND YEARS- Christina Perri (1,669,000)
PEAK POSITION: 11
YEAR: 2011
Here it is then, the biggest selling song not to make the top 10 by a female artist EVER!, she may only have 3 UK chart hits but two of them are million sellers so she’s made her money. Written for the film “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1” it had three distinct chart runs, the first off the back of the movie (#32) the second when “Breaking Dawn Part 2” was released (#13) and the third when the song was covered on “X Factor” when it finally made #11 in 2013.
Posted by: Gezza 13th November 2020, 06:17 PM
11. SHAKE IT OFF- Taylor Swift (1,692,000)
PEAK POSITION: 2
YEAR: 2014
Leading single from the “1989” campaign and the era that made her one of the biggest solo female popstars on the planet, another Max Martin co-written number Swift said “I've had every part of my life dissected—my choices, my actions, my words, my body, my style, my music. When you live your life under that kind of scrutiny, you can either let it break you, or you can get really good at dodging punches. And when one lands, you know how to deal with it. And I guess the way that I deal with it is to shake it off. I really wanted to kind of take back the narrative, and have more of a sense of humour about people who kind of get under my skin – and not let them get under my skin”.
An immediate US #1, this became her third No 2 hit in the UK when it was blocked by Meghan Trainor though it won the long game and is Swift’s biggest selling single in the UK to date.
Posted by: kelechi.... 13th November 2020, 06:27 PM
if you don't mind send me a link to a website where you can find out how much a song has sold
Posted by: Tefo 13th November 2020, 09:21 PM
I swear even nowadays there is not a single week without 'A Thousand Years' re-entering iTunes top 100. Even this week it was at like #76 or something few days ago. And it's at #121 as I'm writing this post. This song is like iTunes 'Mr. Brightside'
Posted by: jlj 13th November 2020, 11:46 PM
Diamonds my favourite solo Rihanna track!
Also love Ghost, One Last Time and Shake It Off.
Amazing sales for Let It Go and A Thousand Years too despite their peaks.
My minds really gone blank trying to predict the top 10! I can think of like 5 songs what I think are there but the rest I just can’t work out
Posted by: Gezza 14th November 2020, 01:32 PM
10. ROLLING IN THE DEEP- Adele (1,701,000)
PEAK POSITION: 2
YEAR: 2011
Three songs in the top 10 of the decade then for Adele, and appropriately we start right back with the lead single from “21”. A 7 week chart topper in the US it missed the top here thanks to Bruno Mars and was premiered in the UK at the Royal Variety show in December 2010, it was famously used in Trumph’s campaign in 2016 which was opposed by Adele but to no avail.
On its genesis she commented “I wrote the first verse in a basement of a Chinese restaurant in San Francisco where I was doing a radio gig, the first few lines are about a guy I met in a club who was like “I’m gonna sell a story on you” and I was like “Yeah, you don’t even know me” and then I didn’t touch the song for 2 years and when I wrote the rest it was about my last relationship”.
Posted by: Gezza 14th November 2020, 01:36 PM
09. ROAR- Katy Perry (1,821,000)
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2013
More Max Martin and Dr Luke co-writing here on Perry’s lead single to her “Prism” album and her biggest seller of the decade (And indeed of all time) and a transatlantic chart topper. Some minor controversy around the supposed similarity to the song “Brave” by Sara Bareilles but was dismissed by both singers and Dr Luke who claimed the song was written before “Brave”.
Mostly about the aftermath of her divorce from Russell Brand she said the song was a “kind of a ‘pick yourself up and dust yourself off and keep going’, female empowerment song”
Posted by: Nina West 14th November 2020, 02:14 PM
Katy Perry's 'Roar' does sound like 'Brave', just listen to the chorus. However both songs are great & 'Brave' should have smashed as-well.
Posted by: JulianT 14th November 2020, 02:26 PM
Rolling in the Deep is the highest placed Adele song that I like.
Roar is good but I don’t think it’s as special as Firework; I suspect the latter will be remembered more in 10 years’ time.
Posted by: Bré 14th November 2020, 03:27 PM
The higher up this list has got the less I have felt I have to comment on here - I guess all of these biggest hits mostly speak for themselves ~ and/or have just become boring from overplay.
Will show some appreciation for 'Rolling In The Deep' though, a perfectly played comeback single to build on the delayed success of 'Make You Feel My Love', and a travesty it was denied #1 by one of Bruno Mars' worst songs.
Posted by: Bjork 14th November 2020, 03:54 PM
Rolling in the Deep should have been a 10 week#1
A Thousands Years I like it but don't love it like Jar of Hearts or even Human. But it's a decent song.
Shake it Off I really like, a 11/10 for me, and one of Taylor's best even if under-appreciated.
Roar is just average to me but not the biggest Katy Perry fan.
Posted by: Gezza 15th November 2020, 02:13 PM
08. LUSH LIFE- Zara Larsson (1,829,000)
PEAK POSITION: 3
YEAR: 2016
After winning the Swedish equivalent “Britain’s got talent” at just 10 and ultimately led to her first EP in 2012 which was a hit in a few Scandinavian countries and by 15 she had signed her first international deal with Epic and launched her debut album in 2014. By 17 she was onto album No 2 and that was the one that really made her a star, “Lush Life” was her first charting solo track in the UK.
It comes with three promo’s (for the Swedish release, the international release, and the US version) and was the result of a song writing camp “By the end of the week, we all play the songs for each other. 'Lush Life' was really the only song that stood out that I was like, 'Whoa. What is this?' It just had a really nice vibe to it, and I love it so much. We were approaching summer, and it's a very good summer song."
Posted by: Gezza 15th November 2020, 02:16 PM
07. LOVE ME LIKE YOU DO- Ellie Goulding (1,831,000)
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2015
"I wasn't going to get involved in that soundtrack because I've done a lot of soundtracks and we kind of thought we've done a bit too much film stuff. So we should probably just chill and write that third album, which is what I should be focusing on. And then I met the director and everyone involved and I was like, 'This is a pretty cool thing to be involved in.' Then I heard the song and I was like, 'Woah, this is a pretty awesome song.' I didn't know that it was going to be this big, genuinely. I thought maybe it would do well”.
It certainly did well for Golding becoming her second UK No 1 topping the charts for a full month in support of the film “50 Shades Of Grey”, it was initially considered for Demi Lovato before being offered to Goulding by co-writers Max Martin and Tove Lo (among others).
Posted by: kandrew 15th November 2020, 03:37 PM
This is a really great countdown, quite a few surprises too 😊
Posted by: T Boy 15th November 2020, 05:02 PM
Rolling In The Deep is the only song so far in the top 10 that feels good enough to be there.
Posted by: jlj 15th November 2020, 05:05 PM
Lush Life was such a smash but it definitely doesn’t feel as culturally huge as what the other three songs in the top ten did.
Rolling In The Deep feels like the biggest hit in the top ten so far.
Posted by: Brightest Blue 15th November 2020, 05:05 PM
Love Me Like You Do is a cute song. Not her best though.
Posted by: Bjork 15th November 2020, 05:20 PM
yes the Zara Larsson song is nice and cute but it's not a classic, crazy this is close to 2 million and Madonna for instance has never had a 1 million seller single
Love me like you do at least sounds more like. bigger song but not sure if it's a classic either
Posted by: Bré 15th November 2020, 05:45 PM
'Lush Life' did feel pretty huge at the time but I don't think I have heard or even thought about it for quite a while now
Posted by: JulianT 15th November 2020, 09:25 PM
Lush Life never felt as big as it was really - and it was odd how it became big in the winter here when it’s so summery. It’s a great, uplifting record though.
Love Me Like You Do is a modern classic. Amazing how it manages that with a chorus that’s almost all on 2 notes.
Posted by: Ne Plus Ultra 15th November 2020, 09:28 PM
The OCC hasn't announced it yet but current estimates do have Into The Groove over a million at least.
Posted by: Bjork 16th November 2020, 12:43 PM
Love Me Like You Do is a modern classic. Amazing how it manages that with a chorus that’s almost all on 2 notes.
it has 4, which is more than your average song
so nope...
Posted by: Gezza 16th November 2020, 06:25 PM
06. CALL ME MAYBE- Carly Rae Jepsen (1,858,000)
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2012
"That song, for me, has always been a little bit about how you wish you would have the confidence to act in real life. It’s the more fantastical side of things, where you go up to a complete stranger and do something wild that makes you feel alive. I think that everyone has a secret part of themselves that wants to have the confidence to do that.”- Jepsen
A hit first in Canada in late 2011 this really showed signs of becoming an international hit when it was picked up by Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez who tweeted about it and instantly propelled it worldwide. A spoof video by the two along with Ashley Tinsdale and Big Time Rush garnered over 30 million views before the song was released in the UK and there were no less than 4 cover versions in the top 200 which pushed the official UK release forward by some weeks. It arrived predictably at No 1 selling over 430k in its first month on sale swelling to over 1.1 million before the year end and 1.8 million by decade end.
Posted by: vibe 16th November 2020, 06:32 PM
No idea Lush Life was that successful !! It’s really an average track.
Posted by: T Boy 16th November 2020, 06:42 PM
Call Me Maybe definitely deserved top 5.
Posted by: JulianT 16th November 2020, 08:18 PM
Call Me Maybe is bubblegum pop, but one of the finest pieces of bubblegum pop of recent times.
It was the first ever streaming #1 - I like the way 'streaming' is in inverted commas in this article, as though it is really a very strange idea indeed.
https://metro.co.uk/2012/05/14/carly-rae-jepsen-tops-first-ever-streaming-chart-431607/
Posted by: M4NGO 16th November 2020, 10:59 PM
Brilliant to see 'Call Me Maybe' so high up! Easily one of the best pop songs of the last ten years. If only Carly could have had a few more hits even half as big as that.
Posted by: jlj 17th November 2020, 01:24 AM
I’m still trying to work out one of the top 5!
I think I’ve got the other four worked out but there’s one I just have no idea on and when I see it I’ll probably kick myself
Posted by: Gezza 17th November 2020, 04:25 PM
05. ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU- Mariah Carey (1,937,000)
PEAK POSITION: 2
YEAR: 1994/ 2017/2018/2019
Didn’t this do well? Mariah’s 1994 festive warmer returns to the charts every year to delight us once again, Year by year it peaked at #22, #11, #20, #12, #16, #11, #5, #2, #2, #2 showing how streaming has really benefitted it. Twice it has been denied the top spot by under 5,000 “sales” much less than when it originally peaked at No 2 in 1994, it finally topped the US chart in 2019 as the decade closed though. Total UK “sales” are now 2.6 million putting it in the top 20 best selling tracks EVER!
By all accounts Carey wasn’t convinced on releasing the song initially “I didn’t feel, from a strategic point of view, that it was time to do something like that. As much as I love Christmas, I thought that the record company was off. Obviously, I couldn’t have been more wrong.”
Posted by: Gezza 17th November 2020, 04:29 PM
04. CHANDELIER- Sia (1,961,000)
PEAK POSITION: 6
YEAR: 2014
Lead single from her 6th album “1000 Forms Of Fear” until this point Sia’s fame really rested on her feature tracks and writing cracking pop tunes for others. Indeed this was initially written with either Beyonce or Rihanna in mind but Sia kept this one for herself and bagged herself the biggest solo hit of her career. Thematically about the burn out of a hedonistic and alcoholic fused lifestyle, it came with a memorable 11 year old dancer Maddie Ziegler who would reprise her starring role in “Elastic Heart”. At 114 weeks in the top 100 it is the longest running track in the whole of the top 100.
Posted by: Bré 17th November 2020, 04:55 PM
Mariah to end up being #1 on this list for the 2020s?
Not been a fan of Sia's most recent releases but 'Chandelier' is still a fantastic song <3
Posted by: M4NGO 17th November 2020, 05:40 PM
Siaaaaaaaaa the woman can do no wrong for me and 'Chandelier' is pretty much perfection!
I completely overlooked AIWFC when I was considering what else might be in the Top 10.
I think that's pretty much a given!
Posted by: T Boy 17th November 2020, 07:48 PM
Not Mariah almost tripling her total sales in the last decade.
Posted by: JulianT 17th November 2020, 10:04 PM
1994 was the first year I got into the charts as a wee schoolboy. I remember how huge the East 17 record that held Mariah off #1 felt at the time in comparison to her song. Amazing how AIWFCIY has gone on to overshadow everything from that year since, even Wet Wet Wet’s 15 week chart topper.
Chandelier was out during a period when I fell out of love with the charts as the inclusion of streaming felt really jarring to me at first, but there was a time when I would tune in every week pretty much just to see if it had extended its Top 40 run by yet another week. I love everything about the record but also the fact that she has refused to play along with the media’s image expectations of a female popstar.
Posted by: Gezza 18th November 2020, 05:28 PM
03. NEW RULES- Dua Lipa (2,210,000)
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2017
We cross the 2 million mark with Dua Lipa and the song that elevated her to the next level of pop stardom. It’s one of two tracks on her debut album not to be at least co-written by her (the other is “Be The One”) and you may recall the singer’s reluctance to record and release material that she doesn’t have a hand in but on this one “I still take a lot of pride in being able to write my own songs. My story's coming from me. But 'New Rules' is a song that I felt like I had been in the room and written. I'm so close with Emily [Warren] and Caroline [Ailin] and Ian [Kirkpatrick], who had worked on it, that I feel like it was a song they had written with me in mind.
I'm proud of it as if I had been in that room. I just feel so closely to it. I guess I don't have that perspective anymore. But like I said, I still love writing everything. And I'm still going to do it. But it's a song that I feel like I can relate to on a personal level, that I also feel that when I do perform it, it becomes mine and I embody it in a different way”.
It’s never been stated exactly who is referred to, but the song was written with “another major female artist” in mind for some time but was rejected as they felt it didn’t have a hook, but it became Lipa’s only solo UK No 1. Wonder if they regret it now?
Posted by: Bré 18th November 2020, 05:44 PM
'New Rules' blowing up so much so quickly was really quite a spectacle after the previous single did nearly nothing, though it did just raise the question of why it wasn't a single earlier, it was pretty instantly the obvious big hit when I first heard it!
Posted by: T Boy 18th November 2020, 06:07 PM
I’ve never been fussed with New Rules or Dua in general. My favourite from her is one of her floppier songs.
Posted by: M4NGO 18th November 2020, 07:24 PM
I actually had no idea 'New Rules' had sold that much!
Posted by: ts7sfkptm 18th November 2020, 07:32 PM
Chandelier huge!
Posted by: JulianT 18th November 2020, 09:57 PM
I don’t think New Rules is anything that special, but what’s been great is how she’s grown as an artist since.
Posted by: oof 18th November 2020, 10:20 PM
new rules SMASH HIT
Posted by: jlj 19th November 2020, 01:15 AM
Mariah I knew would be here. Crazy how huge it’s been and how eventually it’ll be the biggest song ever bc of streams it gets every year and this year might even be its biggest year yet A 90s song managing to sell more copies than every other female song bar four songs across a decade two decades after its original release is legendary.
Chandelier was the song I didn’t work out on the list! I had no idea it was as big as this at all! I just looked at it’s OCC chart run though and wow at the amount of weeks it spent on there. I completely overlooked this one. I think because of its peak and it’s initial chart performance I always thought it’s success was more moderate and that Cheap Thrills was the bigger hit. I was so wrong!
New Rules was gigantic at the time. That viral video release was such a spectacle. I agree why did it not get pushed earlier it was screaming for a release but that definitely turned Dua into what she is today. Her real breakthrough “Umbrella” like hit where she went from pop girl with potential to major potential future superstar. I’d love to know who turned down New Rules! There’s so many gigantic pop female solo hits that were turned down or recorded by someone else first
Posted by: Gezza 19th November 2020, 04:11 PM
02. HELLO- Adele (2,225,000)
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2015
Remember the anticipation for this one? Lead single from “25” was launched with an enigmatic advert in the middle of “X Factor” which just showed the lyrics as the opening lines of the song flashed up. Needless to say we lapped it up- 332k in week one, that’s the fifth highest weekly sale of the decade (all the others were either charity records or X Factor winning tracks) and easily became her second UK No 1 single by a cool 231k. It sold 1.1 million in just 10 weeks and has since doubled that figure, needless to say it also debuted at No 1 in the US.
Adele clarified its meaning “"I felt all of us were moving on, and it's not about an ex-relationship, a love relationship, it's about my relationship with everyone that I love. It's not that we have fallen out, we've all got our lives going on and I needed to write that song so they would all hear it, because I'm not in touch with them. “"Hello from the other side"” signifies the other side of becoming an adult, making it out alive from your late teens, early twenties”
Posted by: Gezza 19th November 2020, 04:14 PM
01. SOMEONE LIKE YOU- Adele (2,492,000)
PEAK POSITION: 1
YEAR: 2011
Do you remember THAT BRITS performance? The moment a bona-fide star was born? Her performance of this track sent it surging from No 47 to No 1 just 5 days later and made the singer the first living artist ever to have 2 records in the top 5 on both the singles and album charts simultaneously since The Beatles in 1964. And all that without even a promo at that point! It spent 5 weeks at the top becoming the biggest single of the year and the 16th biggest of the decade, and naturally was a US #1.
Thematically it was about her ex relationship with an older man (popularly thought to be fashion photographer Alex Sturrock though never confirmed) “"When I was writing it I was feeling pretty miserable and pretty lonely, which I guess kind of contradicts 'Rolling in the Deep'. Whereas that was about me saying, 'I'm going to be fine without you', this is me on my knees really. I can imagine being about 40 and looking for him again, only to turn up and find that he's settled with a beautiful wife and beautiful kids and he's completely happy... and I'm still on my own. The song's about that and I'm scared at the thought of that.”
So that’s our winner and if the 2010’s belonged to any female act then Adele must be that woman, she has 8 songs on the list, more than any other, and still has the power to shift albums that no other female act today can!
Posted by: Bré 19th November 2020, 04:16 PM
Adele.
Posted by: Gezza 19th November 2020, 04:25 PM
Top 100 female solo hits of the 2010s
01. Someone Like You Adele 2,492,000
02. Hello Adele 2,225,000
03. New Rules Dua Lipa 2,210,000
04. Chandelier Sia 1,961,000
05. All I Want For Christmas Is You Mariah Carey 1,937,000
06. Call Me Maybe Carly Rae Jepsen 1,858,000
07. Love Me Like You Do Ellie Goulding 1,831,000
08. Lush Life Zara Larsson 1,829,000
09. Roar Katy Perry 1,821,000
10. Rolling In The Deep Adele 1,701,000
11. Shake It Off Taylor Swift 1,692,000
12. A Thousand Years Christina Perri 1,669,000
13. One Last Time Ariana Grande 1,647,000
14. Ghost Ella Henderson 1,642,000
15. Let It Go Idina Menzel 1,629,000
16. Hold My Hand Jess Glynne 1,587,000
17. Sweet But Psycho Ava Max 1,577,000
18. Diamonds Rihanna 1,564,000
19. Firework Katy Perry 1,517,000
20. All About That Bass Meghan Trainor 1,508,000
21. 2002 Anne-Marie 1,422,000
22. Make You Feel My Love Adele 1,403,000
23. Only Girl (In The World) Rihanna 1,384,000
24. Starships Nicki Minaj 1,356,000
25. Bad Guy Billie Eilish 1,341,000
26. Jar Of Hearts Christina Perri 1,317,000
27. IDGAF Dua Lipa 1,303,000
28. Anywhere Rita Ora 1,302,000
29. No Tears Left To Cry Ariana Grande 1,291,000
30. Fast Car Tracey Chapman 1,277,000
31. Burn Ellie Goulding 1,267,000
32. Thank U Next Ariana Grande 1,243,000
33. Don't Be So Hard On Yourself Jess Glynne 1,243,000
34. How Long Will I Love You Ellie Goulding 1,211,000
35. Set Fire To The Rain Adele 1,210,000
36. Skinny Love Birdy 1,204,000
37. I Knew You Were Trouble Taylor Swift 1,188,000
38. Your Song Rita Ora 1,178,000
39. Into You Ariana Grande 1,168,000
40. Pretty Girl Maggie Lindemann 1,164,000
41. When We Were Young Adele 1,145,000
42. Halo Beyonce 1,139,000
43. I'll Be There Jess Glynne 1,138,000
44. Dance Monkey Tones & I 1,122,000
45. Elastic Heart Sia 1,115,000
46. Skyfall Adele 1,113,000
47. Somewhere Only We Know Lily Allen 1,071,000
48. Don't Call Me Up Mabel 1,070,000
49. Blank Space Taylor Swift 1,044,000
50. Your Song Ellie Goulding 1,041,000
51. Be The One Dua Lipa 1,039,000
52. Domino Jessie J 1,037,000
53. Lost Without You Freya Ridings 1,021,000
54. Send My Love (To Your New Lover) Adele 1,017,000
55. What About Us Pink 1,004,000
56. 7 Rings Ariana Grande 1,001,000
57. Call On Me Starley 1,001,000
58. Fight Song Rachel Platten 999,000
59. Without Me Halsey 959,000
60. Hideaway Kiesza 957,000
61. S & M Rihanna 954,000
62. Born This Way Lady Gaga 936,000
63. I Really Like You Carly Rae Jepsen 922,000
64. Take Me Home Jess Glynne 922,000
65. Bad Romance Lady Gaga 916,000
66. Crazy In Love Beyonce 910,000
67. Royals Lorde 907,000
68. Wrecking Ball Miley Cyrus 899,000
69. Never Enough Loren Allred 897,000
70. Rude Boy Rihanna 884,000
71. Wings Birdy 879,000
72. Thursday Jess Glynne 873,000
73. Empire State Of Mind (Part II) Alicia Keys 873,000
74. Read All About It Part III Emeli Sande 869,000
75. Where Have You Been Rihanna 869,000
76. Party In The USA Miley Cyrus 869,000
77. Sax Fleur East 865,000
78. Let You Love Me Rita Ora 865,000
79. Teenage Dream Katy Perry 859,000
80. Ciao Adios Anne-Marie 858,000
81. I Will Never Let You Down Rita Ora 840,000
82. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together Taylor Swift 839,000
83. Crying In The Club Camila Cabello 838,000
84. We Can't Stop Miley Cyrus 833,000
85. Best Thing I Never Had Beyonce 828,000
86. Issues Julia Michaels 826,000
87. Next To Me Emeli Sande 824,000
88. Only Love Can Hurt Like This Paloma Faith 824,000
89. Do It Like A Dude Jessie J 816,000
90. Video Games Lana Del Rey 815,000
91. Chasing Highs Alma 812,000
92. Mr Saxobeat Alexandra Stan 803,000
93. Never Be The Same Camila Cabello 787,000
94. Say Something Karen Harding 787,000
95. Alarm Anne-Marie 783,000
96. Dangerous Woman Ariana Grande 783,000
97. Look What You Made Me Do Taylor Swift 773,000
98. Edge Of Glory Lady Gaga 769,000
99. Love On Top Beyonce 766,600
100. Hotter Than Hell Dua Lipa 758,000
Posted by: Gezza 19th November 2020, 04:27 PM
My thanks as always to those who contributed!
Posted by: danvember 19th November 2020, 04:34 PM
Who else but Adele!!
(I prefer the non-Adele songs in that top five)
Posted by: JulianT 19th November 2020, 05:36 PM
I find Hello melodramatic and overblown. Someone Like You is for me the Someone You Loved of the early 2010s (though Adele’s a better singer than Capaldi) - a piano ballad about heartbreak that became ubiquitous but musically isn’t really that inspiring.
If only it could be Set Fire to the Rain and Skyfall in the Top 2!
Posted by: T Boy 19th November 2020, 05:42 PM
Hello isn’t anything special, I think being Adele’s big comeback helped it initially. Someone Like You is very deserving of this title though. I’m not a huge Adele fan but she has something special here.
Posted by: Bré 19th November 2020, 05:43 PM
'Hello' is definitely my least favourite of the singles from '25' (and I prefer all of the big hits from '21' + 'Skyfall' as well) but it's still great.
Thanks for putting this together btw Gezza, has been fun to follow ~
Posted by: M4NGO 19th November 2020, 05:46 PM
That's a great top two, I don't care what anyone says. And *that* advert for 'Hello' in the middle of an X Factor ad break was without a doubt one of the TV moments of the decade!
Thanks for this countdown, I've really enjoyed it
Posted by: jlj 21st November 2020, 02:31 PM
Thanks for this countdown.
I definitely expected that winner but it is amongst the most famous songs ever and that BRITs performance was just breathtaking to watch at the time.
Some real surprises along the way but I’m glad that the winner was one what genuinely feels like a huge cultural smash.
Posted by: Riser 22nd November 2020, 01:03 AM
I'm still disappointed that SLY "only" ended up 16th overall for the 2010s, so I'm glad it remained the best-selling female solo hit throughout the decade.
Thanks for this, Gezza!
Posted by: T Boy 22nd November 2020, 10:12 AM
Thanks for this, Gezza!
It would have been interesting to see a sales only chart of the decade. Mr Brightside ‘outselling’ Someone Like You doesn’t sit right.
Posted by: JulianT 23rd November 2020, 01:01 PM
I'd be really interested to see the sales only version too.
Off the top of my head:
Someone Like You would be #1 by a mile (~1.7M?)
Call Me Maybe would be #2 (~1.4M?)
Others over 1M:
Roar
Rolling in the Deep
Diamonds
Firework
Only Girl
Starships
Jar of hearts
Think Hello was in the 900Ks but not sure if it made 1M. Anything released after that would be nowhere.
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