Taylor Swift, The Weeknd and Sabrina Carpenter had the best selling albums in the UK in 2024, according to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
In the newly-released list, Swift’s 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, is named as the best selling record of 2024 in the UK. In a second place is The Weeknd’s 2021 compilation album The Highlights, which has had staying power thanks to its popularity among TikTok users.
Meanwhile, culture-defining female singers dominate the rest of the rankings, with American “Espresso” singer Sabrina Carpenter’s sixth album Short ‘n’ Sweet in third place, and Billie Eilish reaching number five with her third studio album Hit Me Hard And Soft.
Noah Kahan’s record Stick Season hasmade it to number four.
Chappell Roan, the 26-year-old “Pink Pony Club” musician, who has soared to international fame in the past six months, arrives in sixth place with her debut album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.
Fleetwood Mac’s greatest hit record 50 Years – Don’t Stop has reached number seven, and British singer Charli XCX claims eighth place with her culture-shaping album Brat, which inspired the “Brat Summer” trend.
At number nine is Coldplay’s 10th studio album Moon Music, which was one of the fastest selling albums of any British act, as US singer Olivia Rodrigo rounds out the list at 10 with Guts.
Jo Twist, chief executive of the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) has hailed the past 12 months as characterised by “era-defining women” in the music industry.
“We’ve seen another strong year benefitting from streaming and driven by era-defining women,” said Twist.
“From Coldplay, and Charli XCX, to The Last Dinner Party, and Myles Smith, there were plenty of examples of UK music success stories in 2024.”
Twist also highlighted the risk that AI poses towards musicians in the UK, especially as the laws surrounding the use of AI training are unclear.
“The UK’s creative output and human creativity is being placed at risk by proposed changes to British copyright law, which would allow international tech giants to train AI models on artists’ work without payment or permission, and would be the wrong way to realise the exciting potential of AI,” said Twist.
When it came to the biggest singles of 2024, compiled by the BPI through Official Charts Company data, Kahan came in at number one with his track “Stick Season”, while at second place was American singer Benson Boone with his first chart-topper “Beautiful Things”.
Carpenter featured twice in the list with disco-inflected hit “Espresso”, which spent seven weeks at the top of the UK charts, as well as the Grammy-nominated single “Please Please Please” at number three, and number 10, respectively.
At number four is “Lose Control” by American singer Teddy Swims, while Irish singer Hozier takes the fifth spot with “Too Sweet”, and US artist Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” made it to number six.
Eilish’s “Birds Of A Feather” was at number seven, while best new artist VMA winner Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!” reached number eight, and Dasha’s “Austin” came in at ninth place.
The trajectory of women dominating the charts was reflected at the 2024 Grammy Awards, with Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, SZA and Billie Eilish dominating some of the most competitive categories.
