The Official Top 40 biggest songs of 2018
Congratulations to Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa, who claim the UK’s biggest single of 2018 on the Official Chart with One Kiss.
The track, which spent eight weeks at Number 1 between April and June, takes the top spot on the chart of the year with a combined sales figure of 1.57 million – made up of 137m audio streams, 15m video streams and 244,000 downloads.
MORE: Check out the Official Top 40 biggest songs of 2019 so far here
It was closely fought race for the top spot; Drake’s God’s Plan finishes just 7,000 combined sales behind (1.56m). The song, which trailed his fifth album Scorpion, spent nine weeks at the helm between February and April. Drake may have just missed out on the top spot, but he bags two more spots in the Top 40: fellow chart-toppers Nice For What and In My Feelings place at 7 and 15. God's Plan also finishes as the year's most streamed song with 147m plays. See Drake's full UK Chart history here.
Drake and Calvin's impressive streaming numbers comes as the British Phonographic Industry (BPI)’s annual report reveals that streaming was up 34% year-on-year in the UK last year, with 91 billion audio streams across the year. In December, a landmark 2 billion audio streams were served in a single week for the first time.
Shotgun by George Ezra was the official song of the summer, and it's the third biggest track of 2018 with 1.49m combined sales, while another George tune, Paradise, is at 8 (1.11m). Check out George Ezra's biggest songs on the Official Chart.
MORE: The Top 40 biggest albums of 2018 on the Official Chart
From w/e 05 July: George Ezra - Shotgun After fourteen weeks scaling the chart, Shotgun finally rode to Number 1 with 6,500 more sales than its closest competitor.
Keala Settle’s This Is Me from The Greatest Showman soundtrack is at Number 4, with 1.4m combined sales – it's also the biggest song of 2018 based on pure sales, clocking up 277,000 downloads.
Rudimental’s These Days ft. Macklemore, Jess Glynne and Dan Caplen – Number 1 for a single week in April – has topped 1.39m combined sales and is the year's fifth biggest song so far. These Days was key to Jess Glynne breaking the record for being the British female soloist with the most Number 1 hits, now tallying at seven. Jess Glynne's full UK Chart history can be found here.
Portugal. The Man’s slow-burner Feel It Still – which took 33 weeks from its first entry point to finally peak at Number 3 – is tenth (1.02m), and Dua Lipa makes two more appearances in the Top 40 of 2018; IDGAF is at 11 (1.01m) and 2017 chart-topper New Rules was still a major player in 2018, placing 20th (837k). Check out all of Dua Lipa's biggest songs and albums here.
The year’s most popular song so far to miss the Official Chart Top 10 is The Greatest Show from, yes, The Greatest Showman, which peaked at 20, and is 18th in the countdown.
Video streams began to be counted toward the Official Chart from July 2018, and the most streamed clip is Maroon 5 and Cardi B's Girls Like You, with 61m plays – it's at 26 on the overall tally of the year.
Biggest breakthroughs of 2018
Aside from Portugal. The Man, the next top-selling breakthrough single is Lil Dicky viral Number 1 Freaky Friday, featuring Chris Brown, at Number 14 (953k).
More big breakthrough hits from 2018 come from: Benny Blanco's Eastside ft. Halsey & Khalid (20), Loud Luxury's Body (33) and Tom Walker's Leave A Light On (36).
It was a strong year for British acts on the Official Chart, with almost half (18) of the Top 40 made up of songs by (or featuring) British acts.
The Official Top 40 biggest singles of 2018
POS | TITLE | ARTIST | PEAK |
1 | ONE KISS | CALVIN HARRIS & DUA LIPA | 1 |
2 | GOD'S PLAN | DRAKE | 1 |
3 | SHOTGUN | GEORGE EZRA | 1 |
4 | THIS IS ME | SETTLE/GREATEST SHOWMAN ENS | 3 |
5 | THESE DAYS | RUDIMENTAL/GLYNNE/MACKLEMORE | 1 |
6 | PERFECT | ED SHEERAN | 1 |
7 | NICE FOR WHAT | DRAKE | 1 |
8 | PARADISE | GEORGE EZRA | 2 |
9 | NO TEARS LEFT TO CRY | ARIANA GRANDE | 2 |
10 | FEEL IT STILL | PORTUGAL THE MAN | 3 |
11 | IDGAF | DUA LIPA | 3 |
12 | 2002 | ANNE-MARIE | 3 |
13 | FRIENDS | MARSHMELLO & ANNE-MARIE | 4 |
14 | FREAKY FRIDAY | LIL DICKY FT CHRIS BROWN | 1 |
15 | IN MY FEELINGS | DRAKE | 1 |
16 | SOLO | CLEAN BANDIT FT DEMI LOVATO | 1 |
17 | HAVANA | CAMILA CABELLO FT YOUNG THUG | 1 |
18 | THE GREATEST SHOW | JACKMAN/SETTLE/EFRON/ZENDAYA | 20 |
19 | EASTSIDE | BENNY BLANCO/HALSEY/KHALID | 1 |
20 | NEW RULES | DUA LIPA | 1 |
21 | BETTER NOW | POST MALONE | 6 |
22 | PSYCHO | POST MALONE FT TY DOLLA SIGN | 4 |
23 | I LIKE IT | CARDI B/BAD BUNNY/J BALVIN | 8 |
24 | ROCKSTAR | POST MALONE FT 21 SAVAGE | 1 |
25 | PROMISES | CALVIN HARRIS & SAM SMITH | 1 |
26 | GIRLS LIKE YOU | MAROON 5 FT CARDI B | 7 |
27 | LULLABY | SIGALA & PALOMA FAITH | 6 |
28 | YOUNGBLOOD | 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER | 4 |
29 | BARKING | RAMZ | 2 |
30 | RIVER | EMINEM FT ED SHEERAN | 1 |
31 | SHAPE OF YOU | ED SHEERAN | 1 |
32 | REWRITE THE STARS | ZAC EFRON & ZENDAYA | 16 |
33 | BODY | LOUD LUXURY FT BRANDO | 4 |
34 | I'LL BE THERE | JESS GLYNNE | 1 |
35 | THE MIDDLE | ZEDD/MAREN MORRIS/GREY | 7 |
36 | LEAVE A LIGHT ON | TOM WALKER | 7 |
37 | A MILLION DREAMS | ZIV ZAIFMAN/JACKMAN/WILLIAMS | 22 |
38 | ALL THE STARS | KENDRICK LAMAR & SZA | 5 |
39 | BREATHE | JAX JONES FT INA WROLDSEN | 7 |
40 | TASTE | TYGA FT OFFSET | 5 |
©2018 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.
Chart compiled combining sales, audio and video streams.
View the Official Top 100 Biggest Singles of 2018 in full
The Official Top 40 most streamed audio tracks of 2018
POS | TITLE | ARTIST | PEAK |
1 | GOD'S PLAN | DRAKE | 1 |
2 | ONE KISS | CALVIN HARRIS & DUA LIPA | 1 |
3 | SHOTGUN | GEORGE EZRA | 1 |
4 | THESE DAYS | RUDIMENTAL/GLYNNE/MACKLEMORE | 1 |
5 | THIS IS ME | SETTLE/GREATEST SHOWMAN ENS | 3 |
6 | NICE FOR WHAT | DRAKE | 1 |
7 | PERFECT | ED SHEERAN | 1 |
8 | PARADISE | GEORGE EZRA | 2 |
9 | IDGAF | DUA LIPA | 3 |
10 | IN MY FEELINGS | DRAKE | 1 |
11 | 2002 | ANNE-MARIE | 3 |
12 | NO TEARS LEFT TO CRY | ARIANA GRANDE | 2 |
13 | FRIENDS | MARSHMELLO & ANNE-MARIE | 4 |
14 | FREAKY FRIDAY | LIL DICKY FT CHRIS BROWN | 1 |
15 | FEEL IT STILL | PORTUGAL THE MAN | 3 |
16 | BETTER NOW | POST MALONE | 6 |
17 | ROCKSTAR | POST MALONE FT 21 SAVAGE | 1 |
18 | EASTSIDE | BENNY BLANCO/HALSEY/KHALID | 1 |
19 | PSYCHO | POST MALONE FT TY DOLLA SIGN | 4 |
20 | HAVANA | CAMILA CABELLO FT YOUNG THUG | 1 |
21 | SOLO | CLEAN BANDIT FT DEMI LOVATO | 1 |
22 | NEW RULES | DUA LIPA | 1 |
23 | SHAPE OF YOU | ED SHEERAN | 1 |
24 | THE GREATEST SHOW | JACKMAN/SETTLE/EFRON/ZENDAYA | 20 |
25 | I LIKE IT | CARDI B/BAD BUNNY/J BALVIN | 8 |
26 | BARKING | RAMZ | 2 |
27 | YOUNGBLOOD | 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER | 4 |
28 | SAD | XXXTENTACION | 5 |
29 | RIVER | EMINEM FT ED SHEERAN | 1 |
30 | REWRITE THE STARS | ZAC EFRON & ZENDAYA | 16 |
31 | LULLABY | SIGALA & PALOMA FAITH | 6 |
32 | THE MIDDLE | ZEDD/MAREN MORRIS/GREY | 7 |
33 | BODY | LOUD LUXURY FT BRANDO | 4 |
34 | LUCID DREAMS | JUICE WRLD | 10 |
35 | PROMISES | CALVIN HARRIS & SAM SMITH | 1 |
36 | TASTE | TYGA FT OFFSET | 5 |
37 | JUMANJI | B YOUNG | 13 |
38 | ALL THE STARS | KENDRICK LAMAR & SZA | 5 |
39 | I'LL BE THERE | JESS GLYNNE | 1 |
40 | TASTE | TYGA FT OFFSET | 5 |
©2018 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.
The Official Top 40 most downloaded singles of 2018
POS | TITLE | ARTIST | PEAK |
1 | THIS IS ME | SETTLE/GREATEST SHOWMAN ENS | 3 |
2 | SHOTGUN | GEORGE EZRA | 1 |
3 | ONE KISS | CALVIN HARRIS & DUA LIPA | 1 |
4 | THESE DAYS | RUDIMENTAL/GLYNNE/MACKLEMORE | 1 |
5 | FEEL IT STILL | PORTUGAL THE MAN | 3 |
6 | PARADISE | GEORGE EZRA | 2 |
7 | PERFECT | ED SHEERAN | 1 |
8 | PROMISES | CALVIN HARRIS & SAM SMITH | 1 |
9 | NO TEARS LEFT TO CRY | ARIANA GRANDE | 2 |
10 | SOLO | CLEAN BANDIT FT DEMI LOVATO | 1 |
11 | FOR YOU (FIFTY SHADES FREED) | LIAM PAYNE/RITA ORA | 8 |
12 | LEAVE A LIGHT ON | TOM WALKER | 7 |
13 | GIRLS LIKE YOU | MAROON 5 FT CARDI B | 7 |
14 | 2002 | ANNE-MARIE | 3 |
15 | GOD'S PLAN | DRAKE | 1 |
16 | I'LL BE THERE | JESS GLYNNE | 1 |
17 | LULLABY | SIGALA & PALOMA FAITH | 6 |
18 | FLAMES | DAVID GUETTA FT SIA | 7 |
19 | LOST WITHOUT YOU | FREYA RIDINGS | 9 |
20 | SAY SOMETHING | JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE FT STAPLETON | 9 |
21 | FREAKY FRIDAY | LIL DICKY FT CHRIS BROWN | 1 |
22 | SHALLOW | LADY GAGA & BRADLEY COOPER | 1 |
23 | NEVER BE THE SAME | CAMILA CABELLO | 7 |
24 | THE GREATEST SHOW | JACKMAN/SETTLE/EFRON/ZENDAYA | 20 |
25 | MEANT TO BE | BEBE REXHA FT FLORIDA GEORGIA | 11 |
26 | BODY | LOUD LUXURY FT BRANDO | 4 |
27 | STRANGERS | SIGRID | 10 |
28 | RIVER | EMINEM FT ED SHEERAN | 1 |
29 | IDGAF | DUA LIPA | 3 |
30 | BREATHE | JAX JONES FT INA WROLDSEN | 7 |
31 | FRIENDS | MARSHMELLO & ANNE-MARIE | 4 |
32 | YOUNGBLOOD | 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER | 4 |
33 | HAVANA | CAMILA CABELLO FT YOUNG THUG | 1 |
34 | NEVER ENOUGH | LOREN ALLRED | 24 |
35 | IN MY FEELINGS | DRAKE | 1 |
36 | NICE FOR WHAT | DRAKE | 1 |
37 | RISE | JONAS BLUE FT JACK & JACK | 3 |
38 | IF YOU'RE OVER ME | YEARS & YEARS | 6 |
39 | ANYWHERE | RITA ORA | 2 |
40 | TASTE | TYGA FT OFFSET | 5 |
©2018 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.
The Official Top 40 most streamed video tracks of 2018
POS | TITLE | ARTIST | PEAK |
1 | GIRLS LIKE YOU | MAROON 5 FT CARDI B | 7 |
2 | SHOTGUN | GEORGE EZRA | 1 |
3 | EASTSIDE | BENNY BLANCO/HALSEY/KHALID | 1 |
4 | TASTE | TYGA FT OFFSET | 5 |
5 | RISE | JONAS BLUE FT JACK & JACK | 3 |
6 | BABY SHARK | PINKFONG | 27 |
7 | 2002 | ANNE-MARIE | 3 |
8 | PROMISES | CALVIN HARRIS & SAM SMITH | 1 |
9 | I LOVE IT | KANYE WEST & LIL PUMP | 3 |
10 | SOLO | CLEAN BANDIT FT DEMI LOVATO | 1 |
11 | I LIKE IT | CARDI B/BAD BUNNY/J BALVIN | 8 |
12 | NO TEARS LEFT TO CRY | ARIANA GRANDE | 2 |
13 | YOUNGBLOOD | 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER | 4 |
14 | BODY | LOUD LUXURY FT BRANDO | 4 |
15 | FEFE | 6IX9INE/MINAJ/MURDA BEATZ | 17 |
16 | PERFECT | ED SHEERAN | 1 |
17 | FUNKY FRIDAY | DAVE FT FREDO | 1 |
18 | LET YOU LOVE ME | RITA ORA | 4 |
19 | ONE KISS | CALVIN HARRIS & DUA LIPA | 1 |
20 | 079ME | B YOUNG | 23 |
21 | THESE DAYS | RUDIMENTAL/GLYNNE/MACKLEMORE | 1 |
22 | DESPACITO (REMIX) | LUIS FONSI/DADDY YANKEE/BIEBER | 1 |
23 | THANK U NEXT | ARIANA GRANDE | 1 |
24 | OH MY | DAPPY FT AY EM | 23 |
25 | LONDON | AJ & DENO FT EO | 45 |
26 | LUCID DREAMS | JUICE WRLD | 10 |
27 | I'LL BE THERE | JESS GLYNNE | 1 |
28 | NO BRAINER | DJ KHALED/BIEBER/QUAVO/CHANCE | 3 |
29 | WOMAN LIKE ME | LITTLE MIX FT NICKI MINAJ | 2 |
30 | TAKI TAKI | DJ SNAKE/GOMEZ/CARDI B/OZUNA | 15 |
31 | SICKO MODE | TRAVIS SCOTT | 9 |
32 | BUTTERFLIES | AJ TRACEY & NOT3S | 19 |
33 | RAP DEVIL | MACHINE GUN KELLY | 15 |
34 | SHALLOW | LADY GAGA & BRADLEY COOPER | 1 |
35 | THIS IS ME | SETTLE/GREATEST SHOWMAN ENS | 3 |
36 | JACKIE CHAN | TIESTO/DZEKO/PREME/POST MALONE | 5 |
37 | GOD IS A WOMAN | ARIANA GRANDE | 4 |
38 | PRAISE THE LORD (DA SHINE) | ASAP ROCKY FT SKEPTA | 18 |
39 | PARADISE | GEORGE EZRA | 2 |
40 | TASTE | TYGA FT OFFSET | 5 |
©2018 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.
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Oscat Zapata
Hi, I'd like to retake the glory days of music. So anyone have idea where to get the Top 40 biggest songs of every year since 1980 until 2000. Obviously wikipedia is not the most reliable source for this matter. Thanks and best.
James Ian Penwell
A very poor year for music. Very few of these songs will live in the memory for long. Also, how come Thank U Next barely registers despite huge streaming numbers and 6 weeks at #1?
R.
redknapp .
What a pile of rubbish
Aka steve
Well said the glory days are long gone
P
Pelado
Agree
Piran
Actually really pleased that we had an excitingly close race for #1 this year & that 'One Kiss' came out on top ahead of 'God's Plan' (although both Calvin & Dua have done better).
I like George Ezra having two songs in the Top 10 & four songs from 'The Greatest Showman' in the Top 40! :)
SL
Shawn Li
So downloads are sinking very quickly. Sales of the best-selling according to OCC per year
2018: 244,000
2017: 787.000
2016: 530,000
2015: 1,114,000 according to source which has since been removed
...and streams weren't counted in 2014 so...
Aka steve
All the music in the charts is unlistenable, like nails down a chalkboard it gets worse each passing year
Foxes
Honestly, more people need to realise this. So many people are clinging to the sales chart and hailing it as the "proper" chart, when in reality it has very little influence anymore. I mean, paid-for sales have been under 1m sales per week since January 2018 (which hadn't happened since 2006 beforehand, in the transition period of physical and digital singles), and over 95% of the singles market has been made up by streams for almost a year as well. In 5 years the digital sales chart will likely have about as much relevance as the physical sales chart has now.
Robert Michael Todd
well said.
PK
Philip Kelly
I hope that Calvin Harris & Dua get the no 1
When I first heard gods plan is didn't like it but have started to now
Macklemore and George Ezra have returned in the top 5
Hope macklemore and Ryan Lewis make more songs with Thrift Shop & Can't hold us
No sign of Imagine Dragons with natural
Tosyma
IDGAF? Really???
Eoin Sioda
No sign of Panic! at the Disco, Twenty One Pilots, Blossoms, 30 Seconds to Mars, LCD Soundsystem...
R
RIME
6 months later, and it looks like they haven't addressed the formula yet. God's Plan was last confirmed to have ~100k sales in the UK, and the stream count is now good for 1.36m equivalent sales, meaning the total is right on the 1.46m total if 100:1 is still the formula. Again, why is the year-end on a different primary formula than the weeklies (150:1)? Doesn't that render it kinda arbitrary?
B
BrandonPenn
If we in the 90s knew what would happen in the 21st century (2010-2018)..., Id rather move to another planet.....
Those songs.... wtf...
MM
Man Machine
Agree somewhat where are the new acts? 2018 has been dismal for new musical talent. There's been a few good songs but from the list above I don't really like 70% of them that much. Streaming is the real problem if people had to actually buy music still for it to count the charts would look very different I would imagine.
TB
Tim Bar
It's !!! Despacito is not in the top 40??! What??! Really?!!!! C'mon man/lady/genderless person! Wtf!
JR
James Rhode
Loved these songs!! Get more tracks here: https://tubidy.tube
Piran
The Top 10 is looking fine in general, although I think 'God's Plan' will stay at #1 for the overall chart of 2018.
I also think 'One Kiss' will pass 'These Days' by the end of the year & 'Shotgun' will end up in the Top 10.
R
RockGolf
Song titles re so short these days. The top ten titles total only 16 words.
SB
Samuel Baker
It's due to streaming and a lack of space on screens.
R
RIME
Why is this going by 100:1 when the weekly chart itself uses 150:1? This has been an issue ever since 2016 and I don't get why it hasn't been acknowledged or addressed.
LM
Lee Moore
I totally agree, it's absolutely crazy; the 1:100 Is allowing songs to achieve overinflated sales totals - how many million sellers are we gonna have this year?! Historically, the all time list will look ridiculous.
PA
Paul Archer
Especially as youtube views, streams can still be 'gamed'.There may be efforts to stop this happening, but it obvious it has not been eliminated or ever will be totally for that matter.
Electronic money laundering still goes on & there has been billions spend to try to prevent it.If you except electronic money laundering goes on, which is much easier to trace, it is obviously hard to dismiss my 'gaming' of music plays claim.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurencoleman/2017/09/21/behind-the-numbers-the-controversy-around-music-stream-calculations/#55e3d6cb1702
https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2017/12/05/spotify-fake-plays/