Artists debuting at number 1 with their first ever single in the UK charts became quite common in the late 1990s to early 2010s (eg Westlife, Britney, most X Factor/Popstars/Pop Idol winners, Olly Murs, One Direction, Tinie Tempah, The Wanted, B-Witched, Billie Piper etc)

However, with singles no longer being held back during promotion, streaming overtaking sales and songs growing in popularity over time due to TikTok exposure, this has now become a rare occurrence

In the 2020s so far, I think it’s only Sir Tom Moore who can claim that (unless I’m mistaken) and before that, you’d have to go as far back as Ladbaby’s first hit.

Many popular artists nowadays build up their following over time with quieter releases rather than coming strong out the gate. Even group stars going solo (like Zayn and Harry) seems unlikely in the future too as there are far fewer groups and bands in the charts too

Any thoughts?

We've had various songs blowup and debut at #1 in the 2020s though? Not as many as before but still quite a number. Off the top of my head Olivia Rodrigo - "Driver's Licence", Miley Cyrus - "Flowers", Ed Sheeran - "Bad Habits" & "Shivers", Harry Styles - "As It Was".

It's definitely less common due to the nature of the chart now, but yes we will definitely have more #1 debuts in future.

5 minutes ago, Envoirment said:

We've had various songs blowup and debut at #1 in the 2020s though? Not as many as before but still quite a number. Off the top of my head Olivia Rodrigo - "Driver's Licence", Miley Cyrus - "Flowers", Ed Sheeran - "Bad Habits" & "Shivers", Harry Styles - "As It Was".

It's definitely less common due to the nature of the chart now, but yes we will definitely have more #1 debuts in future.

Of course but those weren’t their debut singles/first chart hits though which is what this thread is about.

Just now, -SCOTT- said:

Of course but those weren’t their debut singles/first chart hits though which is what this thread is about.

For Olivia it was with "Good For You". Apologies my reading comprehension failed me.

Edit: Kim Petras technically with "Unholy" being her first single to chart in the UK charts as well.

Edited April 5Apr 5 by Envoirment

Last time this happened was with Olivia Rodrigo in 2021 (then again this was after a song she did for High School Musical charted). Think it will only happen if a song blows up extremely fast on TikTok or someone with a massive TikTok following who has never released before teases a single for ages and releases it. In a way the fact it barely happens today is a good thing, makes the achievement more satisfying. Also an extra 2 cents, in the TikTok/streaming world it seems authenticity is appreciated much more so I don't think an artist with loads of traditional major label marketing would be able to debut at the top anymore.

Technically Olivia Rodrigo debuted at #1 with her debut single (drivers license), though of course, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series track All I Want had already made the chart at #72 (of course it later peaked at #32) so it wasn't actually her first hit.

Debut singles even charting has become an increasingly rare phenomenon as the industry has become the long game. Many artists accumulate a fanbase and decent streaming totals over a series of singles that find their way onto playlists on streaming platforms, and they can do this without even getting a chart hit.

In the current UK top 100, the only debut singles (primary artist only) to feature are:

Adele - Hometown Glory ( though even this didn't chart on its initial limited release, peaked on re-release)

Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing ( )

The Killers - Mr. Brightside ( also charted on re-release)

IN PARALLEL - NOW IT'S GONE

Skye Newman - Hairdresser

Which is a little bleak when the only two that aren't ancient are pretty low down and don't seem to be making particular gains towards the top 40 yet.

If we widen the field to look at songs in the top 100 that were their respective artist's first charting song:

WizTheMc & bees & honey - Show Me Love

Ravyn Lenae - Love Me Not

Leon Thomas - MUTT

Chrystal - The Days

Chappell Roan - Good Luck, Babe!

sombr - back to friends

Ely Oaks - Running Around

Morgan Seatree feat. Florence + the Machine - Say My Name

Sleep Token - Emergence

Sydney Rose - We Hug Now

KiLLOWEN - pick your poison

Journey - Don't Stop Believin' ( )

BL3SS & CamrinWatsin feat. bbyclose - Kisses

Which makes it look a bit better, there are still new artists managing to break through, it just shows how much time it can take now, and how the TikTok algorithm and what songs go viral can really make a difference.

1 minute ago, Envoirment said:

For Olivia it was with "Good For You". Apologies my reading comprehension failed me.

Good For You was her 4th chart hit and didn’t debut at number 1.

Her first chart hit All I Want reached the top 100 in 2020 before Drivers License debuted at number 1 in 2021. There is an argument for Olivia Rodrigo counting for this achievement though as this was her first proper single, whereas All I Want was from the soundtrack of High School Musical

4 minutes ago, Envoirment said:

Edit: Kim Petras technically with "Unholy" being her first single to chart in the UK charts as well.

Not quite - her Running Up That Hill cover had charted at #100 a few months before (though still not her debut single anyway).

I always say forever is a long time. It'll continue to be rare but sure, someone will do it again one day.

If you put those former #1 debuts in the landscape of today, it's not quite as drastic a change it seems. Streaming just re-calibrates the way we look at it all. After all, those #1 debuts typically didn't just appear in an instant like the chart tells. They come from weeks (months?) of advance promotion & airplay using an industry certified formula specifically for maximising those first week sales. If we convert them to modern times, they're either not debuting at the top, or they're not truly the most listened-to record on that given week. Ariana Grande debuted at #14 on the streaming chart this week with "twilight zone". Out of all songs this week, it very likely had the biggest increase in new listeners (given that it had 0 the week before). With the charts the way they were back then, that'd make it a cozy #1 debut, one of many that instantly pop up there to be replaced by next week's sensation, very few of which actually go to #1 instantly on the official chart.

It might still be possible to some degree. TikTok promotion can work in a similar way for a song that's not officially 'out', might just take a vagrant Addison Rae-type celebrity with a big following to do it.

Peppa Pig's new sibling is coming to buck the trend when they record an opus more impressive than their sister's My First Album

Yes this will 100% happen again.

It's pretty much healthier now... back in the days not debuting at #1 after months of hype-building and airplay was seen as a flop (like the infamous Girl Thing spectacle).

wow didn't realise debuting at #1 with your debut single isn't happening anymore but it's true

so what was the last proper one if we're strict. Drivers licence is out if one is strict

and counting only proper artists so excluding Ladbaby, Captain Tom...

who was the last one?
I can only think Harry Styles-Sign of the times?

and if counting artists that never charted in any capacity maybe that KDA-Turn the music louder song from 2015 I think it was?

I do miss when new artists could come charging out the gate with their first release and reach #1 (or even Top 10)! It was an exciting aspect of the chart, pre-this decade. A new boy band going straight to #1, such as The Wanted in 2010, seems like an impossibility now. If they had launched in 2025, would they have had the industry support/traction to even go Top 100 with their debut? Pixie Lott - how many songs would she have needed to release before eventually striking lucky?

As Joseph said, nowadays it feels more the case that new artists release a string of songs that likely don't bother the charts, but nevertheless they gradually build up a fanbase. Then that leads to being able to tour academy/theatre venues, and achieving a charting album (that's frontloaded to the first week).

It feels like some artists' measure of success is through social media engagement & stream/view counts, rather than chart positions. Of course there's moments when the stars align for artists and TikTok virality suddenly triggers a song into becoming a charting hit, maybe their very first to chart. It seems hard for some artists to sustain this. If their next song doesn't make waves on TikTok, then Spotify don't extend their support past that flash-in-the-pan moment.

I suppose it's a good thing that artists these days can have long careers which aren't reliant on any singles success - that the pressure to have singles success likely just isn't there at all now, because it would be an unrealistic expectation from their management/labels. Whereas 10-15 years ago, The Wanted/their team probably felt wary if any of their singles missed the Top 5. Very different times!

To answer the question directly: I'll be very surprised if any artist manages to get to #1 with their very first release in the future! Never say never. It just seems that it would require a remarkable stroke of a luck to be possible.

36 minutes ago, Bjork said:

wow didn't realise debuting at #1 with your debut single isn't happening anymore but it's true

so what was the last proper one if we're strict. Drivers licence is out if one is strict

and counting only proper artists so excluding Ladbaby, Captain Tom...

who was the last one?
I can only think Harry Styles-Sign of the times?

and if counting artists that never charted in any capacity maybe that KDA-Turn the music louder song from 2015 I think it was?

Yeah think it was KDA which also holds the distinction of being the last ever held back #1 single. So essentially the OA/OS era has so far at least made this achievement impossible.

Well the first act to make their chart debut at No. 1 was Whigfield  in 1994 (if you discount the first ever one and Billy Preston with the Beatles) so it was very rare and took over 40 years of initial chart history for it to happen.

Soon after it became quite common, as previously mentioned, and now rare again. I think that like most of  chart history, and history in general, it goes in cycles so will probably happen again eventually. Just that it might take a very long time and maybe another change in our music consumption methods in the future for it to happen!

Call me mad but Eurovision could potentially cause this to happen in the future? Loreen got very close to No.1 just two years ago with Tattoo after she won, granted it was her second hit but most Eurovision acts are having their first hit.

Say an extremely popular Eurovision entry coincides with a low sales week at some point, it hardly seems out of the realms of possibility that it could go to No.1. It was only Harry’s label dropping those CDs that blocked Sam Ryder having his first ever top 75 week at No.1.

I think it will happen again either from a TV or film sync that blows up suddenly, a song that has been circulating as a viral clip on TikTok that is finally released, some sort of one-off global event happening that causes it like the Captain Tom thing. There are a multitude of ways imo.

I agree with Dircadirca - all of those pop act No.1 debuts were driven by the fact that songs were simply unavailable and the hype was built up to a point that demand exploded. Many of those wouldn’t have even got there at all without that strategy, especially the likes of Mama Do and All Time Low. That is a strategy that won’t ever easily be replicated in the instant gratification age but I’m sure the labels are still working out ways to game the charts and drive buzz.

Pre-release clips of something that goes viral and explodes immediately upon release (on a low sales week preferably) is the most likely way I see this happening any time soon.

Edited April 6Apr 6 by gooddelta

depends how you consider imports, Whigfield charted 5 weeks as import before climbing to #1

I think* I read that strictly speaking the first debut to debut at #1 was the infamous Robson & Jerome :/

but agree it all goes in cycles. Also, simultaneous worldwide release make it difficult to happen. Cos back then you could have a US big hit like Britney and hold it back for the UK but nowadays you cannot

16 minutes ago, Bjork said:

depends how you consider imports, Whigfield charted 5 weeks as import before climbing to #1

I think* I read that strictly speaking the first debut to debut at #1 was the infamous Robson & Jerome :/

but agree it all goes in cycles. Also, simultaneous worldwide release make it difficult to happen. Cos back then you could have a US big hit like Britney and hold it back for the UK but nowadays you cannot

Whigfield counts though because she didn't make top 75 with that import version.