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The Official Top 40 Biggest Songs of 2023
The Official biggest tracks of 2023 unveiled - including Miley Cyrus, RAYE, Dave & Central Cee and more
By George Griffiths
Miley Cyrus’s Flowers claimed the title of 2023’s Official biggest song in the UK, Official Charts can confirm today.
The lead single from Miley’s chart-topping eighth studio album Endless Summer Vacation, Flowers spent 10 weeks at the Official Singles Chart summit upon its release in January; making it the joint-longest-running Number 1 single of the year.
Miley’s third chart-topping single, joining 2013 hits We Can’t Stop and Wrecking Ball, Flowers went on to accumulate 198 million combined audio and video streams in the UK in 2023, making it the most-streamed song of the year, and the most-streamed music video too. Overall, Flowers has shifted 1.7 million UK chart units in total. Flowers even saw Miley claim her second Official Chart Double; topping both the Official Singles Chart and Official Albums Chart simultaneously, in Flowers’ ninth week on chart back in March.
Flowers also leads as the year’s most-downloaded track, with 91,000 UK downloads in 2023.
MORE: The Official Top 40 Biggest Albums of 2023 so far
Also boasting 10 consecutive weeks atop the Official Singles Chart in 2023, Dave and Central Cee’s Sprinter comes in second on the year-end list. The team-up, lifted from David Orobosa Michael Omoregie and Oakley Caesar-Su’s collaborative EP Split Decision, racked up a total of 161 million UK audio and video streams since its release in June. Sprinter ends 2023 with 1.2 million chart units earned in total.
Debuting at Number 1 upon its release, Sprinter broke UK chart records as it clinched the biggest streaming week for any rap song in Official Chart history, as well as claiming the title of the longest-running rap Number 1 in the UK; a truly serendipitous moment as the hip-hop genre celebrated its 50th anniversary.
2023’s first Official Number 1 single, RAYE and 070 Shake’s Escapism., comes in third. RAYE’s first-ever chart-topper followed her decision to release music as an independent artist, and shifted a total of 1.2 million UK chart units; including 142 million audio and video streams.
At the time, RAYE told Official Charts: “We are Number 1 in the UK! It’s the first Number 1 of the year, it’s my first Number 1 in my life. I’m an independent artist, this is sickening!
“This is proof you should back yourself, no matter what. Thank you, this is mad. These are happy tears!”
Taylor Swift’s 2022 chart-topper Anti-Hero proved its endurance to become 2023’s fourth-biggest-seller; the single having accumulated 1.1 million UK chart units since its release.
Rounding out the 2023 Top 5 are Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding, with their collaboration Miracle. The trance banger, and the pair’s third team-up to date, boasts 135 million audio and video streams in the UK.
Celebrating their success at the time, Ellie Goulding told Official Charts: “Oh my God, we’re Number 1! I’m so excited, and it’s so nice to be by myself just for a moment to appreciate it. Thank you Calvin for letting me be a part of this song. I love working with you, always.
“I know you’re just as ecstatic as I am. This is just very cool. Thank you very much to everyone for listening to it and supporting it, Oontz, oontz...rave on!”
There are several UK Number 1 hits from this year present on this list, including Olivia Rodrigo’s vampire (14), Dua Lipa’s Dance the Night (19), Doja Cat’s Paint the Town Red (26) and Ed Sheeran’s Eyes Closed (31).
Other Top 10 hits from 2023 making the year-end list are David Kushner’s Daylight (16), Switch Disco & Ella Henderson’s React (20), Jazzy’s debut solo single Giving Me (28), and cassö, RAYE & D-Block Europe’s Prada (33).
Moreover, Irish breakout star Jazzy’s Giving Me claims the title of 2023’s biggest new debut single. On hearing the news, Jazzy told Official Charts, "Wow, of all the amazing news on the different crazy records Giving Me has broken this year, I think this might be the most unbelievable!
"Thank you so much to anyone who has has streamed, bought, played it out - it’s mad to say but the truth of it is you genuinely have changed my life."
The only debut single to rank higher than Giving Me is Tom Odell’s 2012 release Another Love (more on that below.)
As TikTok continues to be one of the main avenues for UK chart success this year we have, once again, seen several tracks reach brand-new all-time peaks on the Official Singles Chart thanks to viral resurgence on the video-sharing app.
Initially denied single status, Taylor Swift’s 2019 Lover album track Cruel Summer was finally issued as a single this summer, and managed a brand-new peak of Number 2 in the UK. It ends the year at Number 11 overall.
Miguel’s 2011 cut Sure Thing (12) also achieved a career best peak this year, becoming the first-ever Top 10 single for the US R&B savant, who has collaborated with the likes of Mariah Carey and Dua Lipa.
The Weeknd’s 2016 release Die for You got a big boost this year thanks to a brand-new remix featuring Ariana Grande (17), while English singer-songwriter Tom Odell’s Another Love (21) became a surprise viral hit, managing a re-peak of Number 11 on the Official Singles Chart.
Other TikTok hits making an impact in the UK years after their initial release include Lizzy McAlpine’s tender ballad Ceilings (35), Stephen Sanchez’s Until I Found You (39) and Vance Joy’s Riptide (40).
Finally, two modern Christmas classics end 2023 as some of the biggest songs of the year. WHAM! made UK chart history this month as Last Christmas finally became Official Christmas Number 1 single, 39 years after release. It ends 2023 at Number 18 on the year-end list, joined further down by its perennial rival, Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is You, at Number 29.
Official Top 40 Biggest Songs of 2023
| POS | TITLE | ARTIST | PEAK |
| 1 | FLOWERS | MILEY CYRUS | 1 |
| 2 | SPRINTER | DAVE & CENTRAL CEE | 1 |
| 3 | ESCAPISM | RAYE FT 070 SHAKE | 1 |
| 4 | ANTI-HERO | TAYLOR SWIFT | 1 |
| 5 | MIRACLE | CALVIN HARRIS/ELLIE GOULDING | 1 |
| 6 | CALM DOWN | REMA | 3 |
| 7 | KILL BILL | SZA | 3 |
| 8 | BOY'S A LIAR | PINKPANTHERESS | 2 |
| 9 | AS IT WAS | HARRY STYLES | 1 |
| 10 | PEOPLE | LIBIANCA | 2 |
| 11 | CRUEL SUMMER | TAYLOR SWIFT | 2 |
| 12 | SURE THING | MIGUEL | 4 |
| 13 | I'M GOOD (BLUE) | DAVID GUETTA & BEBE REXHA | 1 |
| 14 | VAMPIRE | OLIVIA RODRIGO | 1 |
| 15 | MESSY IN HEAVEN | VENBEE & GODDARD | 3 |
| 16 | DAYLIGHT | DAVID KUSHNER | 2 |
| 17 | DIE FOR YOU | WEEKND | 3 |
| 18 | LAST CHRISTMAS | WHAM | 1 |
| 19 | DANCE THE NIGHT (FROM BARBIE THE ALBUM) | DUA LIPA | 1 |
| 20 | REACT | SWITCH DISCO & ELLA HENDERSON | 4 |
| 21 | ANOTHER LOVE | TOM ODELL | 10 |
| 22 | MR BRIGHTSIDE | KILLERS | 10 |
| 23 | CREEPIN' | METRO BOOMIN/WEEKND/21 SAVAGE | 7 |
| 24 | I AIN'T WORRIED | ONEREPUBLIC | 3 |
| 25 | FORGET ME | LEWIS CAPALDI | 1 |
| 26 | PAINT THE TOWN RED | DOJA CAT | 1 |
| 27 | SOMEONE YOU LOVED | LEWIS CAPALDI | 1 |
| 28 | GIVING ME | JAZZY | 3 |
| 29 | ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU | MARIAH CAREY | 1 |
| 30 | BAD HABITS | ED SHEERAN | 1 |
| 31 | EYES CLOSED | ED SHEERAN | 1 |
| 32 | GREEN GREEN GRASS | GEORGE EZRA | 3 |
| 33 | PRADA | CASSO/RAYE/D-BLOCK EUROPE | 2 |
| 34 | UNHOLY | SAM SMITH & KIM PETRAS | 1 |
| 35 | CEILINGS | LIZZY MCALPINE | 6 |
| 36 | MADE YOU LOOK | MEGHAN TRAINOR | 2 |
| 37 | 10:35 | TIESTO & TATE MCRAE | 8 |
| 38 | SHIVERS | ED SHEERAN | 1 |
| 39 | UNTIL I FOUND YOU | STEPHEN SANCHEZ | 14 |
| 40 | RIPTIDE | VANCE JOY | 10 |
©2023 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.
Related artists
BEBE REXHA
BUGZY MALONE & TEEDEE
CIAN DUCROT
COI LERAY
DAVID GUETTA
ELIZA ROSE
GEORGE EZRA
HARRY STYLES
JVKE
KILLERS
KIM PETRAS
LEWIS CAPALDI
LIBIANCA
LIZZY MCALPINE
MEGHAN TRAINOR
METRO BOOMIN
MIGUEL
MILEY CYRUS
MIMI WEBB
PINKPANTHERESS
RAYE
REMA
SAM SMITH
STEPHEN SANCHEZ
STRANDZ
SZA
TATE MCRAE
TAYLOR SWIFT
TIESTO
VENBEE & GODDARD
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C
circo
Half of the songs in Top 100 of 2023 (available on BBC iPlayer) are not from 2023. Embarrassing.
alfielock
Whatever you think in this day and age when you take away the non sales from skinflints(streaming) your left realistically with pathetic amounts of downloads today and nowhere near the days when downloads where the main statistic between 2006-2014. 91,000 can hardly be called big for Miley Cyrus' chartopper or anywhere in the world with streaming now. I frankly was past caring for the charts 9 years ago..Long live the revived vinyl for real record buyers but boy do i miss BEANO'S,the greatest 2nd hand record store in Europe that was right on my Croydon doorstep.
W
Wolfwalker
I'm so surprised to see that Tattoo by Loreen was not included in this list. It reached a peak in number 2 position and it was on the charts for a pretty long time
alfielock
Regretably it came down to the streaming again as Eurovision is limited to diehard fans of that event and not tire some Rap that continues to rear it's ugly head.
Piran
Now that the full list is out...
Can't wait to see what next year has in store for the charts. See you all in 2024! ❤️
A
Alfie
MY THOUGHT ABOUT THE YEAR'S BEST-SELLERS:
Bam
If you're gonna play some old hits, you might as well play them all.
I totally agree.
*Good for Loreen to sneak in at 84 + *the rest of the Top 100.
I couldn't listen to the Top 100 Biggest Songs of the Year,
will it also be published or do they only show the Top 40?
Y
YoCheese
GIVING ME - JAZZY 31!!!! HOW!!!!
B
blee87uk
quite a few tracks to see that was before 2023, not many new music released get played now, that why back 20 years ago there was about 8-13 new song entry in the Top 40 each week on UK Singles. now just a couple a week like 4 max, not relative to this list here a fact that has got changed, before it was removed in 2011 due to legal reasons the original version video of Rebecca Black Friday was the first to break the one billion views on all total count ever on YouTube , it was Reset and re-loaded after the remove later that year and never had the impact since , so PSY figure of Gangnam Style a year later was after Rebecca Black Original billion count.
B
beatsandbops
Raye's Escapism is 2x certified plat. Doesn't that mean she has at least 1.2m units?
S
sukimix
This list is invalid . I just checked YouTube and Shakira Collab with Bizarrap has 625 million views while Flowers of MC has 593 million views. This means that Shakiras song is bigger than MC song .
Who ever wrote this list , please do better next time because we re not stupid and we can see that you lied. Try harder and do some proper research .
A
Alfie
No offence, but I doubt most of the 625 million viewers for the Bizarrap tune hail from the UK. And given the track peaked at 31 over here, it would be an utter miracle if it even got MENTIONED on the article.
Video streaming takes a whole lot more effort to take advantage of than normal streaming. Do keep up. :/
W
WalkInTropics
This is for the UK only charts... Youtube is global views...
denisetenny
I just looked up the most popular music in the United States. It said Latin and K pop about 80% of streaming. Wow, not one on this list. Goes to show America's inclusiveness still has century's to go.
S
sukimix
America is everything from Canada to Argentina. I guess you mean the United States country . Just saying America is ambiguous , it can be any of 35 countries .
O
oski_at_the_charts
When it updates Sprinter will be a lot higher.
THIERRY
For once i really love the Top 4!! but surprised to see the beautiful DAYLIGHT only at number 28!! but at least the amazing MIMI made the list so i am happy!!
🧡 oliviasnoodles 🍜
if flowers wasn’t a thing and everything moved up one, then that’d be the best year-end top 5 to date! especially raye and pinkpantheress/ice spice. amazing songs
Piran
Glad to see 'Escapism' in the runner-up position! 😊
Really deserved more than a week at the top...
Blank
If we take the remix version of Calm Down with Selena Gomez, there's not a single all-male act in the top 10!
🧡 oliviasnoodles 🍜
sure thing by miguel?
Blank
Missed that one. Being an 11 year old record, it means there are no current all-male acts with top 10 records. Which itself is quite amazing.
H
HazDaSprinter
Lots of Rap singles in the chart, Central Cee's Let Go, Metro Boomin's Creepin, Bugzy Malone's Out Of Nowhere, Chris Brown's Under The Influence, Strandz's Us Against The World and Stormzy's Hide & Seek. Good to see Rap getting a lot more recognition than it did last year, where D-Block Europe & Central Cee dominated.
R
River
I hope People can eventually find itself in the top 10
Simon Alcaraz
Yet another big mistake in the article. Celine Dion did not go anywhere near 10 weeks at number one with My Heart Will Go on, it was only 2 weeks.
Bengy
True.
Think Twice was no. 1 for 7 weeks.
NN
Nu No
This is just a 3 months update... this will be very different in 3 months and a lot more different in 9 months!
Nice to see "Mr. Brightside"" by Killers at #40 - it's insane how this song is always here!
Blank
It's probably spent more weeks in the top 40 of the Year than it has in the top 40 of the week!
Just 6 weeks in the actual top 40.