The biggest songs and albums of 2023 so far have been revealed

The Official Charts Company (OCC) have revealed their rundowns of the biggest songs and albums of the year so far, with Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, The Weeknd and Lewis Capaldi all taking a spot.

Cyrus’ ‘Flowers’ is the most successful track of the year so far, having shifted 1.2 million units. It’s been streamed 147 million times and downloaded 80,000 times, making it the most-streamed and most-downloaded song of the year so far in the UK. The lead single off of Cyrus’ eighth album, Endless Summer Vacation, ‘Flowers’ handed the singer her first UK number one in almost a decade; it sat top of the pile for ten weeks.

That stint tied Cyrus for the record for longest run at number one in the UK singles chart for a female artist; she now shares the accolade with Whitney Houston, for ‘I Will Always Love You’, and Rihanna, for ‘Umbrella’. Elsewhere, ‘Escapism’, RAYE’s single with 070 Shake, is at number two on the six-month chart. The full top ten is as follows:

1. Miley Cyrus – ‘Flowers’
2. RAYE feat. 070 Shake – ‘Escapism’
3. SZA – ‘Kill Bill’
4. PinkPantheress – ‘Boy’s a Liar’
5. Taylor Swift – ‘Anti-Hero’
6. Rema – ‘Calm Down’
7. Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding – ‘Miracle’
8. Libianca – ‘People’
9. Harry Styles – ‘As It Was’
10. Miguel – ‘Sure Thing’

The OCC also released data on the top ten albums of the year so far in the UK. Top of the stack is The Weeknd’s greatest hits collection The Highlights, which was released in 2021 but is enjoying a stellar 2023. In fact, none of the top five are albums released this year, with Taylor Swift’s ninth studio album, last year’s Midnights, at two, Harry Styles’ ‘Harry’s House’, also released last year, at three, SZA’s SOS, another 2022 record, at four, and Elton John’s 2017 best-of, Diamonds, rounding out the top five.

That means that Lewis Capaldi can lay claim to having the highest-charting 2023 rerelease in the top ten. Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent is at six, even though it’s been out for fewer than two months. Another couple of greatest hits records are at seven and nine – Eminem’s Curtain Call – The Hits and Fleetwood Mac’s 50 Years – Don’t Stop respectively. Ed Sheeran’s – is at eight, with Capaldi rounding out the top ten with his debut album, 2019’s Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent. You can see the full top ten below.

1. The Weeknd – The HighlightsA
2. Taylor Swift – Midnights
3. Harry Styles – Harry’s House
4. SZA – SOS
5. Elton John – Diamonds
6. Lewis Capaldi – Broken by Desire to be Heavenly Sent
7. Eminem – Curtain Call – The Hits
8. Ed Sheeran – –
9. Fleetwood Mac – 50 Years – Don’t Stop
10. Lewis Capaldi – Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent