6. Chrystal – ‘The Days‘

Last week, the track had peaked at number five, and it is now holding tight to the top ten. Originally released in 2024, the song climbed charts slowly but steady after going viral on TikTok and became Chrystal’s first single to chart in the UK. The Bolton-based DJ has now signed, thanks to the song’s popularity, a contract with Polydor records. Her songs had been previously featured on BBC, but with ‘The Days’ Chrystal finally achieved her breakthrough, and we’ll surely see more from her.

7. Teddy Swims - ‘The Door‘

Teddy Swim’s hit has now spent 37 weeks in the UK top 100, six of which in the top ten. ‘I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy‘ was included in Official Chart’s list of biggest albums of 2024 at number 34 after peaking at number twelve and spending more than fifty weeks on charts. ‘The Door’ has peaked at number five but fell down to number 65 at the end of December; it seems like now, however, Teddy Swims is ready to make a big comeback and perhaps climb up to that top three that the song has yet to reach.

8. Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars – ‘Die With a Smile‘

It is Bruno Mars’s second song in the top ten, and has earned Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars the titles of second and first artists on Spotify. The song was a surprise drop and released in August of 2024. Despite the hype around the song, it has yet to reach the number one position, and has so far peaked at number two. Charting at number eight last week, it has made a comeback on charts and perhaps will be climbing the top ten once more.

9. Teddy Swims – ‘Bad Dreams‘

Another song by Teddy Swims in the top ten, it has charted for sixteen weeks so far and four in the top ten, peaking at number six. Despite being active on the music scene for over a decade, the artist has had his breakthrough in the past couple years thanks to his latest album and its singles.

10. Wicked Soundtrack – ‘Defying Gravity‘

The chart-defying tune off Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s screen-adaptation of ‘Wicked‘ has charted for two consecutive weeks at number ten after peaking at number seven at the beginning of December. While Idina and Kristen’s ‘Defying Gravity‘ had peaked at number 79, and the Glee Version of the song at number 38, Cynthia Erivo is proving to be the highest peaking version of Elphaba.

1. Gracie Abrams – ‘That’s so True’

The song off of Abrams’s deluxe version of ‘The Secret of Us‘ is currently on its seventh week charting. It debuted on UK charts at number nineteenth shortly after its release in October, and ever since it’s been a staple in the top five. It is Gracie’s first and only song to achieve this position. The artist will be beginning her UK tour in early March, performing at London’s O2 Arena for a sold out show.

2. Rosé and Bruno Mars – ‘Apt‘

On its 11th week in the top ten, ‘Apt’ has made numbers on radios and social media but has still to claim the number one position. It has charted at number two for three non-consecutive weeks, and its popularity has helped Rosé’s debut album ‘Rosie‘ peak at number four shortly after its release. Last week, Official Charts has revealed the song was close to dethroning Gracie’s number one hit: will next week bring a climb of charts for Rosé?

3. Lola Young – ‘Messy‘

The TikTok viral hit ‘Messy’ is on its ninth week on charts and is finally getting closer to becoming a certified chart-topper. It charted at number three last week and it is proving its longevity, challenging Gracie and Rosé. With three weeks spent in the top ten, it is Lola Young’s biggest hit to date and her only song to make it in the UK’s top 100.

4. Gigi Perez – ‘Sailor Song’

What started off as a viral song on social media has once again made its way back to the charts. It was Gigi Perez’s first song to chart in the UK, and it has now spent 24 weeks in the top 100. It has previously peaked at number one, and has spent 11 weeks in the top 10. It fell down the charts during the month of December but came back stronger than ever, and has spent the past two weeks at number four.

5. Jimin – ‘Who‘

Jimin’s ‘Who’ has made a big comeback on UK charts, climbing up from last week’s 64th position. It debuted on charts in August, peaking at number four in its debut week, but afterwards it failed to hold its position and fell out the charts. Last week, it made a comeback in the top 100 and quickly climbed back up; is it meant to stay this time?

WHAM! “Last Christmas” is on its 103^rd week in the top 100, and eight as number one. The song first begun charting in 2007, many years after its first release in December 1984. It took almost forty years for the song to achieve the number one position, despite being one of the most popular Christmas songs ever released. It achieved the number one position in 2021 and 2023, peaking at one around Christmas in 2022 but failing to hold on to the position over Christmas day. Will it take the title again this year?

Right after “Last Christmas”, Gracie Abrams is still holding on to the top five with her hit song “That’s so True” off of the deluxe edition of “The Secret of Us”, her second full length album. This is Abrams’s first song to achieve such a high position, which has granted her a fanbase big enough to play a sold-out show at the London’s O2 Arena next year. Will Abrams hold on to the title long enough, or will it lose spots to give space to other Christmas hits?

At number three, Mariah Carey is getting closer and closer to that number one spot that “All I want for Christmas is You” has never reached over Christmas. In 2021 and 2023, the song reached the top spots of UK charts in the weeks leading up to Christmas, but each time lost the place before the Christmas number one of the year could be announced. Is this Mariah’s year? The song is already playing all over radios all throughout the UK, and it is perhaps seen worldwide as the most iconic of all Christmas songs. It’s only a couple more spots to climb, and the title goes to Carey!

Rosè and Bruno Mars’s “APT” is still charting in the top five, on its eight week in UK’s charts. After peaking at number two, the song has held on the top spots tight despite the growing number of Christmas songs climbing the charts.

Finally, at number five, Brenda Lee’s “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree” is climbing up the charts. It’s its 78^th week charting, and has, so far, only peaked at number four in 2023. But this is the song’s fourth year in the top five. Does this mean 2024 is Lee’s year? Only time will tell.

The Christmas number one will be announced on the BBC Radio 1 on December 20.

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American singers Gracie Abrams and Gigi Perez hold their positions tight, and the latter is once again at number two with the viral hit “Sailor Song” which first begun getting recognition over tiktok. This is the first of Perez’s songs which achieves such popularity and success, being at its 18th week charting and having already achieved the first position. Currently, Perez counts almost 28 million listeners on spotify and a million followers on TikTok.

Rosè and Bruno Mars’s “Apt” is also firm on their number three position, on their sixth week charting. This is one of Rosè’s first releases as a solo artist, and its success is really a testament to the singer’s talent. It is also Bruno Mars’s second hit song this year, as he had previously peaked at number two with his collaboration with Lady Gaga titled “Die With a Smile”. 

British singer Sam Fender, who last week was peaking at number four with his song “People Watching” is now charting at number 11, at its second week charting. “The Door” by Teddy Swims, which we saw last week peaking at number 5, has now gone down to number 9 at its 32rd week charting. 

Instead, positions number four, five and six are now taken by Kendrick Lamar who has recently released his sixth studio album “GNX”. The first single off the album, titled “Luther”, a collaboration with SZA, is currently peaking at number five. The song “Squabble Up” holds number four and “TV off”, featuring Lefty Gunplay, holds number six. Lamar’s new album is expected to take over more sosta in the top ten chart in the upcoming weeks and is already gaining popularity and success at its first week on charts. The album is currently at number one on UK album charts. 

Number seven is, to no surprise, held by Wicked’s “Defying Gravity”: the iconic song originally performed by Idina Menzel, now in the movie version sung by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.

Only a few days before December, positions 8 and 10 are taken by two of the most iconic modern Christmas hits: “Last Christmas” by WHAM and “All I want for Christmas is you” by Mariah Carey. Both songs have previously peaked at number one and have spent countless weeks in charts. Both songs are expected to rise as the Christmas excitement grows and are surely going to be some of the most played songs on radio for the upcoming month. 

“That’s So True” is Gracie Abrams’s first song to be peaking at number one in the UK; her album “The Secret of Us”, released in June, peaked at number one but only held on to the title for a week. Abrams had previously teased the song at various concerts, where it had become a fan favorite.

The second spot on the UK top five goes to Gigi Perez’s “Sailor Song”. It is Perez’s first song to achieve the top ten and to peak at number one. The American artist had first teased a snippet of the song on TikTok, where it went viral with over 5 million views; Perez had previously released a few singles and EPs, but they had failed to gain her the recognition and popularity that she is achieving thanks to “Sailor Song”: the song is, in fact, on its 17^th week on the top 75 and will likely continue to top charts.

@gigi4perezFinally put verses on sailor song

♬ original sound – Gigi Perez

Rosé and Bruno Mars with their duet “Apt” (the title refers to the Korean pronunciation of “apartment” and a drinking game Rosé often plays) have achieved the third position on UK charts. It’s the song’s fifth week in the top 75 UK charts: first released in mid-October, it’s the first single off of Rosé’s debut studio album “Rosie”. The song’s current peak is number three, but it is expected to reach higher positions in the upcoming weeks. Earlier this year, Bruno Mars’s collaboration with Lady Gaga titled “Die with a Smile” had peaked at number 2 and stayed on charts for 14 weeks.

Sam Fender’s “People Watching” is peaking at number four, after being released only ten days ago. The British singer has announced that a new record will follow the release of this single and has already announced tour dates for 2025. “People Watching” is Fender’s third single to achieve the UK’s top ten, following “Seventeen Going Under” and a duet of the song “Homesick” with Noah Kahan. With many upcoming (and past!) sold out shows, Sam Fender is the voice of a generation, and will surely become one of the UK’s greatest stars.

Lastly, the fifth spot on UK’s charts sees Teddy Swim’s “The Door”. It is the singer’s second song to reach the top five, previously “Lose Control”, off the same album as “The Door”, had peaked at number two. His debut album “I’ve Tried Everything but Therapy – Part 1”, released last year, peaked at number 21 but stayed on the charts for 45 weeks.

Have a look at UK charts here.

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The iHeartRadio music awards ceremony took place on 22nd March 2022 at the Shrine Auditorium located in Los Angeles, marking the annual event’s ninth ceremony. Founded in. 2014, the event celebrates and awards artists who have gained recognition and success within iHeartRadio’s various digital music platforms. This year’s ceremony saw a return to an important venue, the event was last held at the famed Shrine Auditorium for its inaugural and second year. The 2022 ceremony also saw three artists walk away with multiple awards; Olivia Rodrigo, Foo Fighters and Silk Sonic were a trio of big winners at the event.

Rodrigo is amongst the three artists to score a hat trick of prizes; the singer was crowned Female Artist of the Year and Best New Pop Artist, the chart-topping artist also won TikTok Bob of the Year for her double-platinum single “good 4 u”.  The Grammy-nominated track also scored high within the Best Cover Song category; Camila Cabello clinched the win for her cover of “good 4 u”. Rodrigo also took to social media to announce her win, posting a photo of herself proudly showing her awards.

 

 

 

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American rockers Foo Fighters also secured a triple win at the ceremony. The band won Rock Artist of the Year, Rock Song of the year for their single “Waiting on a War” and Rock Album of the Year for their tenth studio album Medicine at Midnight. Whilst accepting the award for Rock Artist of the Year, lead singer Dave Grohl gave the following speech, “Thank you so much for voting us Best Rock Artist of the Year, iHeartRadio thank you very much. We’d like to thank all our friends and family that we work with. Most of all, the fans and audience that like our music.”

Supergroup Silk Sonic saw great success at the 2022 ceremony; the duo consisting of Bruno Mars and multi-talented artist Anderson. Paak also took home a triple win. The singer’s musical partnership first took shape in 2017 when Anderson. Paak opened for Bruno Mars during his 24k Magic World Tour. The pair’s first studio album An Evening With Silk was released in 2021. The debut album garnered multiple wins at the ceremony, securing the R&B Album of the year and the album’s lead single “Leave the Door Open” was awarded the R&B Song of the year. The celebrated duo clinched their third award for Best Duo/ Group of the Year, beating out American group Maroon 5 and the K-pop sensations BTS.

Superstar artist Lil Nas X also garnered acclaim within the ceremony, having been named this year’s Male Artist of the Year. The American rapper is no stranger to accolades; Lil Nas X has accumulated a long list of awards throughout his career including two Grammy Awards for Best Pop Duo/ Group Performance and Best Music Video for the 2020 single “One Town Road (Remix)”.  The 22-year-old artist gave a passionate and inspiring speech whilst accepting his award, “I wouldn’t be where I am right now, in my life and my career, if I weren’t delusional. Believing I could drop out of school and become an international success within a year. It’s delusional! Believing that I could come out of the closet in the height of my career … to think that I could do that would be delusional!”

The full list of this year’s winner can be found here.

The people behind the lawsuit are the band Collage, a funk group that were active largely in the early 80’s, and claim that parts of ‘Uptown Funk’ are “deliberately and clearly copied” from their 1983 single ‘Young Girls’. Pitchfork acquired the official complaint from Collage, and the band are quoted as saying:

“Upon information and belief, many of the main instrumental attributes and themes of ‘Uptown Funk’ are deliberately and clearly copied from ‘Young Girls’, including, but not limited to, the distinct funky specifically noted and timed consistent guitar riffs present throughout the compositions, virtually if not identical bass notes and sequence, rhythm, structure, crescendo of horns and synthesizers rendering the compositions almost indistinguishable if played over each other and strikingly similar if played in consecutively.”

You can compare the two songs for yourself :

Only one member of Collage is still alive, in Larry White, but the other two members of the band are being represented by their respective estates.

It is well worth noting that this is not the first claim of infringement that Ronson and Mars have faced for their ubiquitous hit. Earlier this year all-female group The Sequence claimed that ‘Uptown Funk’ infringed on their song ‘Funk You Up’ due to the obvious lyrical similarities the songs share.  However this didn’t culminate in a formal lawsuit, as this new case has.

A year previous to this, The Gap Band were themselves awarded a songwriting credit on Uptown Funk, following a legal claim that suggested that their 1979 hit ‘Oops Upside Your Head’ had heavily influenced the writing of ‘Uptown Funk’ taking the number of credited songwriters on the track from 6 to 11. By adding the 5 additional writers, Ronson and Mars were able to avoid the escalation of the lawsuit, to the level that saw Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke have to pay Marvin Gaye’s family for the resemblance of Gaye’s song ‘Got To Give It Up’ and Williams’ and Thicke’s 2013 hit ‘Blurred Lines’.

When Bruno Mars announced the single release, he said:

“You can call it my new single, but I call it the invitation to the party.”

Today Bruno Mars (real name Peter Gene Hernandez) announced: MY ALBUM IS DONE! via Twitter. No doubt a gigantic tour will support this to rival the Moonshine Jungle Tour which grossed over $156million.

Since 2011 Bruno Mars has been clocking up awards including the MTV Europe Music Award for Best Act (2011). Recently, ‘Uptown Funk’ was recognised with Grammy Award for Record of the Year (2016) and also Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (2016).

Watch the huge ‘Uptown Funk’ below.

Mars’ past two albums have both been critically well regarded. Both albums were released within relatively quick succession of each other; with his first debut album ‘Doo-Wops & Hooligans’ having been released in 2010 and his second in 2012 ‘Unorthodox Jukebox’. Fans of Mars will no doubt be thinking that it’s about time for his latest album!

Bruno’s dad when speaking to Press Reader released details on his upcoming album:

“It was due in March, but by doing the Super Bowl, it threw him back several months,”​ Bruno’s dad Pete Hernandez spoke

​”Bruno has seven great new songs – I’ve heard ‘em – but the album should now be released in September or October, to qualify for next year’s Grammy Awards.”​

It’s not just through his own music that Bruno Mars has enjoyed such widespread success; Mars has also written a great deal of hit songs for other artists, collaborating with the likes of Adele, Mark Ronson, Adam Levine, Flo Rida, Cee Lo Green and many, many more.

Mars first burst onto the scene featuring his vocals with Travie McCoy on the hit song ‘Billionaire’ in 2010, since then Mars has enjoyed phenomenal success being one of the best selling artists of all time with over 100 million sales combined on his singles and albums. One can understand why Mars has taken time to release his third album, with such past successes he’ll be very keen to continue his established reputation as one of the greatest and best out there in the music industry.

Enjoy my personal favourite Bruno Mars song below: