As the year comes to an end, one thing’s for sure – music fans in the UK looked close to home as they binged on their favourite tracks, artists, albums and podcasts. Global music streaming service Deezer reveals the biggest winners of 2021.
Top Artist: English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran steals the crown, coming in as the #1 most streamed artist, followed by Eminem and The Weeknd. Fellow Brit Dua Lipa wasn’t far behind at #4 and Little Mix rounded out the top 10.
Top Female Artist: Dua Lipa beat out Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande as the most streamed female artist of the year. Little Mix lands the #4 spot jumping ahead of Billie Elish, Rihanna and Lady Gaga.
Top Track: There’s just something about The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights,’ that Brits just can’t get enough of. The hit track from his 2019 album After Hours takes the #1 spot followed by ‘Dance Monkey’ by Tones and I. Ed Sheeran come in strong, with his ‘Bad Habits’ at #3, while fellow UK artists Joel Corry’s track, ‘Head & Heart’ featuring MNEK comes in at #4 and Harry Styles’ ‘Watermelon Sugar,’ makes the cut at #10.
Top Album: Olivia Rodrigo has no reason to be Sour. Her debut studio album wins hands down as the most streamed album of the year. The Weeknd wasn’t far behind coming in at #2 with After Hours and Ed Sheeran’s ÷ (Divide) album landed the #3 spot. Harry Styles edged out Billie Eilish with his album Fine Line. Long established artists such as ABBA and Fleetwood Mac came in strong with their respective albums, ABBA Gold Anniversary Edition and Rumours.
Top Karaoke Song: What would a good song be if we can’t sing-along to it? Our favourite song to follow using lyrics this year was ‘Bad Habits,’ by Ed Sheeran. Måneskin wins a double whammy as their two tracks, ‘Beggin’’ and ‘I Wanna Be Your Slave’ take the #2 and #3 spots. Lil Nas X also managed to score two of his tracks ‘Industry Baby,’ at #6 and ‘Montero (Call Me By Your Name) at #10.
Top Playlist: Most of our music fans regularly hit play on playlists curated by our local editors. Our Deezer Hits UK playlist was the #1 most streamed, followed by UK Hot 40 and Dance Anthems. Although summer has passed us by, Summer Hits UK was the #7 most streamed playlist of the year.
Top Deezer Originals Song: The ‘80s ruled, as our Deezer Originals album, Deezer Inversions 80, got a lot of love from music fans who embraced how alternative artists put their own spin on 80s classics. Milky Chance’s version of ‘Tainted Love’ was the most streamed Originals track, followed by Holly Humberstone’s ‘I would Die 4 U.’ L’impératrice’s take on Whitney Houston’s ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)’ landed at #5.
Top Podcast: This year, our podcast fans were craving parenting tips and comedy. Sh**ged Married Annoyed topped the list as #1, followed by Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe’s Parenting Hell and No Such Thing as Fish. Crime and History also appealed to podcast fans as Casefile True Crime ranked #6 and The British History Podcast came in at #10.
“It’s fantastic to see so many homegrown artists like Ed Sheeran and Dua Lipa continue to shine both internationally and here in the UK. What really stands out is the enduring appeal of older material. The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’ and Tones and I’s ‘Dance Monkey’, both continue to dominate the charts more than 18 months after release. And it’s remarkable that Eminem remains as popular now as he was two decades ago” said Nigel Harding, Deezer’s Global VP of Artist Relations.
Music fans who want to discover what they’ve listened to the most won’t have to wait too long. Our #MyDeezerYear will return in a few days. Just login to your mobile app to find a complete breakdown on all the tracks, artists and podcasts that you’ve listened to the most. Don’t forget to listen also to our ‘Best of 2021’ channel to hear all the top tracks that stood out this year.