TheUK Singles Chart is one of many music charts compiled by theOfficial Charts Company that calculates the best-selling singles of the week in the United Kingdom.^[1] Since 2004 the chart has been based on the sales of bothphysical singles anddigital downloads, withairplay figures excluded from the official chart.^[2][3] Since 2014, the singles chart has been based on both sales and streaming, with the ratio altered in 2017 to 150:1 streams and only three singles by the same artist eligible for the chart.^[4][5] From July 2018, video streams fromYouTube Music andSpotify among others began to be counted for the Official Charts. This list shows singles that peaked in the Top 10 of theUK Singles Chart during2021, as well as singles which peaked in2020 and2022 but were in the top 10 in 2021. The entry date is when the song appeared in the top 10 for the first time (week ending, as published by the Official Charts Company, which is six days after the chart is announced).

One-hundred and five singles were in the top 10 this year. Fourteen singles from 2020 remained in the top 10 for several weeks at the beginning of the year, while "Seventeen Going Under" bySam Fender, "Coming for You" by SwitchOTR featuringA1 x J1, "Overseas" byD-Block Europe featuringCentral Cee, "ABCDEFU" byGayle, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" byBrenda Lee and "Come On Home for Christmas" byGeorge Ezra were all released in 2021 but did not reach their peak until 2022. "Sweet Melody" byLittle Mix, "34+35" byAriana Grande, "Step into Christmas" byElton John, "This Christmas" byJess Glynne, "Whoopty" by CJ and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" byJustin Bieber were the singles from 2020 to reach their peak in 2021.The Kid Laroi,Mimi Webb,Olivia Rodrigo,Sam Fender andTom Grennan were among the many artists who achieved their first top 10 single in 2021.

"Last Christmas" byWham!, originally released in 1984, topped the chart for the first time in the first week of 2021. The first new number-one single of the year was "Sweet Melody" byLittle Mix. Overall, thirteen different songs peaked at number-one in 2021, withEd Sheeran (4) having the most songs hit that position.

One hundred and five singles charted in the top 10 in 2021, with ninety-two singles reaching their peak this year (including the re-entry "Last Christmas").

On New Year's Day 2021 (7 January 2021, week ending),Wham!'s iconic festive classic "Last Christmas", written by the group's lead singerGeorge Michael, finally reached the coveted number-one spot in the UK chart. Upon its initial release in 1984, the single peaked at number two for five consecutive weeks. It returned to number two in 2017, one year after George Michael's death. The single finally reached the top spot more than 36 years after its initial release, the longest amount of time for a song to reach number-one, surpassingTony Christie's almost 16 year-long record for the longest time a single has taken to top the UK Singles Chart after its initial release with "(Is This The Way To) Amarillo?" in March 2005, which had itself taken 33 years 4 months to top the chart (withPeter Kay, though credited, only actually appearing in the video). Prior to it reaching number one, "Last Christmas" had for many years held the record as the highest-selling single never to top the charts, with 1.9 million copies sold (not including streams).^[6][7][8]

On 28 May 2021 (3 June 2021, week ending), American singerOlivia Rodrigo became the youngest solo artist to achieve the coveted UK chart double at 18 years and 3 months old. Her single "Good 4 U" climbed to number-one in theUK Singles Chart after debuting at number two the previous week, while her debut albumSour entered theUK Albums Chart at number-one. Rodrigo became the first artist sinceSam Smith in 2015 to garner a UK chart double with a debut album.^[9]

On 29 July 2021, British girl groupLittle Mix became the first girl group to spend 100 weeks inside the Top 10 of the Official UK Singles Chart.Heartbreak Anthem, the trio's collaboration with Swedish music duoGalantis, and French DJDavid Guetta, placed at number 7, marking their 100th week in the Top 10 across all of their releases.^[1]

On 25 June 2021 (1 July 2021, week ending), rock groupMåneskin, winners of theEurovision Song Contest 2021, became the first act from Italy to have two singles in the top-ten of theUK Singles Chart simultaneously with "I Wanna Be Your Slave" at number six and "Beggin'" (a cover of the 1967 song byFrankie Valli and the Four Seasons) at number ten.^[10]

On 10 September 2021 (16 September 2021, week ending), Swedish pop music legendsABBA returned to the top-ten of theUK Singles Chart for the first time in almost forty years when "Don't Shut Me Down" debuted at number nine, becoming their 20th top-ten single. The group's last single to reach the top-ten of the UK charts was "One of Us", which peaked at number three in December 1981.^[11]

2021 proved to be the comeback year for Elton John in theUK Singles Chart, with the British music icon earning the eighth, ninth and tenth number-one singles of his career in less than three months.

On 15 October 2021 (21 October 2021, week ending), he achieved his first UK number-one single in sixteen years when his collaboration withDua Lipa, "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)", rose to the top of theUK Singles Chart during its fifth week in the top-ten.^[12]

On 10 December 2021 (16 December 2021, week ending), his festive collaboration withEd Sheeran, "Merry Christmas", entered the chart at number-one. The song claimed 76,700 chart sales in its first week, including 22,100 pure sales (physical + digital downloads) and 7.6 million streams. It also earned the biggest week of CD single sales of 2021, with 8,100 copies sold on disc during its first week of release.^[13]

On 24 December 2021 (30 December 2021, week ending), after two weeks at number-one, "Merry Christmas" was denied theChristmas number-one single by Sheeran and John's collaboration withLadBaby, "Sausage Rolls for Everyone".^[14]

On 22 October 2021 (28 October 2021, week ending),Adele returned to theUK Singles Chart after a five-year absence when her single "Easy on Me" entered the chart at number-one. The song amassed 217,300 chart sales in its first week, the highest first week figure sinceEd Sheeran's "Shape Of You", which earned 226,800 in January 2017. Adele also set a new chart record with the single as "Easy On Me" racked up 24 million streams in the UK in its first week of release, the most streams for a song in one week – toppingAriana Grande's record of 16.9 million set back in January 2019 with "7 Rings". "Easy On Me" also earned the biggest week of digital download sales of 2021 so far, with 23,500.^[15]

LadBaby made chart history this year when his song "Sausage Rolls for Everyone", a sausage roll-themed parody ofEd Sheeran andElton John's number-one single "Merry Christmas", and also featuring Sheeran and John, debuted at number-one in theUK Singles Chart on 24 December 2021 (30 December 2021, week ending), giving the Nottingham-bornYouTuber and musician his fourth consecutiveChristmas number-one single. LadBaby became only the second act in history, afterThe Beatles, to secure four Christmas number-one singles, but was the very first to achieve four consecutive Christmas chart-toppers, surpassing the records of both The Beatles andThe Spice Girls. "Sausage Rolls for Everyone" also became the 70th Christmas number-one single in the history of the UK Singles Chart since its introduction in 1952.^[14]

Thirty-two artists achieved their first charting top 10 single in 2021, either as a lead or featured artist. Of these, five artists went on to record another hit single that year:A1 x J1,Ardee,The Kid Laroi,Måneskin andPolo G.Central Cee andTom Grennan both scored two more chart hits this year.Olivia Rodrigo achieved three more chart hits in her breakthrough year.

The following table (collapsed on desktop site) does not include acts who had previously charted as part of a group and secured their first top 10 solo single.

¹ WhilstSaweetie is a featured artist on the single version of "Confetti", the Official Charts does not recognise her as a featured artist for this particular entry.

Notes

Jesy Nelson earned her first UK top ten debut in October 2021 with "Boyz". This also became her first top 10 since her departure from UK girl bandLittle Mix in December 2020.Willow Smith of The Anxiety had previously reached the top 10 as a solo artist in 2010 with "Whip My Hair".

Ed Sheeran had the best-selling single of the year with "Bad Habits". The song spent 22 weeks in the top 10 (including eleven weeks at number-one), sold over 1,700,000 copies and was certified 2× platinum by theBPI. "Good 4 U" byOlivia Rodrigo came in second place, while Olivia Rodrigo's "Drivers License", "Save Your Tears" byThe Weeknd and "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" byLil Nas X made up the top five. Songs byDua Lipa,The Kid Laroi andJustin Bieber,Glass Animals, The Weeknd ("Blinding Lights") andRuss Millions andTion Wayne were also inthe top ten best-selling singles of the year.

Key

The following table shows artists who have achieved two or more top 10 entries in 2021, including singles that reached their peak in 2020. The figures include both main artists and featured artists, while appearances on ensemble charity records are also counted for each artist. The total number of weeks an artist spent in the top ten in 2021 is also shown.

• 2021 singles chart archive at theOfficial Charts Company (click on relevant week)

• 2021 record charts
• 2021 in British music
• Lists of UK top-ten singles

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata