In a musical landscape coloured by diverse beats and rhythms, Miley Cyrus’s “Flowers” emerged victorious, claiming the crown as the UK’s biggest song of 2023. The track, a magnetic opener from her eighth studio album, “Endless Summer Vacation”, enjoyed an exceptional journey atop the charts.
Securing its spot at the peak of the UK Official Singles Chart for an impressive 10 weeks since its January release, “Flowers” created a historic moment, tying for the year’s longest-running Number 1 single.
The song’s resonance reverberated across streaming platforms, accumulating a staggering 198 million combined audio and video streams in the UK alone. Its widespread popularity earned it the coveted title alongside titles for the most-streamed song and music video of the year.
Miley Cyrus, no stranger to chart-topping success with previous hits like “We Can’t Stop” and “Wrecking Ball” in 2013, celebrated her third chart-topping single “Flowers”, back in January, where it became a new entry, sliding right into that top spot. The track not only dominated the singles chart but also demonstrated its prowess contributing to the “chart sales” of her album which also debuted at Number 1 only this time on the UK Official Albums Chart, enabling Miley to clinch her second Official Chart Double of her career.
Beyond streaming triumphs, “Flowers” emerged as 2023’s most downloaded track, resonating deeply with audiences and garnering 91,000 downloads in the UK. As a total, “Flowers” has gone on to impressively shift 1.7 million UK “chart units”.
The year-end chart also honoured other musical milestones, with standout tracks like Dave and Central Cee’s “Sprinter” securing the second spot. Their collaborative effort, a standout from the EP “Split Decision”, amassed an impressive 161 million UK audio and video streams. In total, the addictive rap track ends 2023 with an unstoppable 1.2 million “chart units”, marking its place in the year’s top hits.
“Sprinter” sure made a name for itself, going on to match Miley Cyrus’ impressive run by claiming the top spot for an incredible 10 consecutive weeks. It even won the accolade as the most-streamed track in a single week for any rap song making UK Chart history. Tieing perfectly with hip-hop celebrating its 50th year, the song also managed to claim the accolade for the longest-running rap Number 1.
RAYE and 070 Shake’s “Escapism” placed third, showcasing RAYE’s evolution as an independent artist and amassing 142 million audio and video streams with a total combined 1.2 million “chart units”. The track, RAYE’s first chart-topper, garnered heartfelt elation as she expressed gratitude for the monumental achievement.
Taylor Swift’s enduring hit “Anti-Hero” and Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding’s electrifying collaboration “Miracle”, rounded out the Top 5, while an array of other sensational tracks adorned the top slots, including Rema, SZA, PinkPantheress, and Harry Styles.
Further down the list, we have TikTok anthems, Christmas classics, and resurgent tracks, including top stars such as Ed Sheeran, Olivia Rodrigo, Sam Smith, and Doja Cat. What’s most interesting is the appearance of chart mainstay, The Killers with “Mr. Brightside”, which is placed at Number 22, right behind Tom Odell’s 2012 track “Another Love”. Rounding out the UK Official Top 40 Biggest Songs of 2023 is Vance Joy’s 2013 anthem “Riptide”.
You can view the UK Official Top 40 Biggest Songs of 2023 on the Official Charts Company website. We expect they’ll update the year-end charts on their database listings sometime this week, which will showcase the Top 100 Biggest Songs of the Year.
The year 2023 in music stood as a testament to diverse sounds, resurgences, and timeless classics, underscoring the vibrant tapestry of musical expression that resonates with audiences across the UK. We look forward to an exciting 2024 chart rundown week-on-week and we cannot wait for more genre variation in music as a whole.
Right now, every UK “chart unit” counts towards the UK charts so get buying, downloading, streaming, and watching music videos to ensure your favourite songs of this year make it onto the year-end lists. It looks like Noah Kahan is set to make a blazing comeback this week as the Christmas festivities fall from the chart, so be prepared for “Stick Season” to ignite and start to rack in those all-important “chart units”.
