U.K. BEST-SELLERS THROUGH Q3

“Flowers” (Columbia), by Miley Cyrus, has retained its title as the biggest-selling song of the year in the U.K. so far, while Lewis Capaldi has 2023’s biggest new album release.

“Flowers” has tallied 1.5m U.K. chart sales—178m streams and 87k downloads—since its release in January, recording 10 weeks at #1. It has the biggest week of any track so far this year (121k sales during its second stint at #1) and ties with “Sprinter” (Neighbourhood) by Dave and Central Cee for the longest run at #1. “Sprinter” is the one new arrival in the singles Top 10 since the Official Charts half-yearly report, coming in at #5. The track claims the biggest first week for any song in 2023 (108k sales) and set an all-time record for the most weekly streams for a rap track in the U.K. with 13.4m.

At #2, “Escapism” (Human Re Sources/The Orchard) by RAYE f/070 Shake tallies almost 1m chart units.

The Weeknd’s The Highlights (Republic Records/XO) remains at #1 on the Official Albums Top 10 YTD. Capaldi’s Broken By Desire to be Heavenly Sent (EMI) is the best-selling album released in 2023 at #8. It’s the most physically purchased album as of Q3, selling 100k copies.

New arrivals in the albums Top 10 since mid-year are: AM (Domino) by Arctic Monkeys at #9 and Gold - Greatest Hits (Polydor) by ABBA at #10.

Sony is still leading the Top 10 singles tally with six entries, where there are two independent releases and one each from Universal and Warner. Universal also still dominates the albums Top 10 with five, where Sony has two and there’s one entry each from Warner and Domino.

Official Singles Chart 2023 (through September)

1. “Flowers” Miley Cyrus (Columbia)
2. “Escapism” RAYE f/070 Shake (Human Re Sources/The Orchard)
3. “Miracle” Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding (Columbia)
4. “Kill Bill” SZA (RCA/Top Dawg)
5. “Sprinter” Dave and Central Cee (Neighbourhood)
6. “Anti-Hero” Taylor Swift (EMI)
7. “Calm Down” Rema (Mavin)
8. “Boy’s a Liar” PinkPantheress (Parlophone)
9. “As It Was” Harry Styles (Columbia)
10. “People” Libianca (5K/Sony)

Official Albums Chart 2023 (through September)

1. The Highlights The Weeknd (Republic Records/XO)
2. Midnights Taylor Swift (EMI)
3. Harry’s House Harry Styles (Columbia)
4. Diamonds Elton John (EMI)
5. SOS SZA (RCA)
6. 50 Years - Don’t Stop Fleetwood Mac (Rhino)
7. Curtain Call - The Hits Eminem (Interscope)
8. Broken By Desire to be Heavenly Sent Lewis Capaldi (EMI)
9. AM Arctic Monkeys (Domino)
10. Gold - Greatest Hits ABBA (Polydor)