Miley Cyrus led the way with her hit single “Flowers,” spending ten weeks at No 1. Other talented artists such as Dua Lipa, Ellie Goulding, Kenya Grace, Raye, Billie Eilish, Doja Cat, Olivia Rodrigo, and Taylor Swift also enjoyed time at the top spot.

In fact, Goulding, Cyrus, Swift, Raye, SZA, PinkPantheress, and Libianca dominated seven out of the top 10 most popular tracks of the year. This achievement is the highest number of female-led tracks in the history of the Official Singles Chart, which spans over 70 years.

Goulding’s collaboration with Calvin Harris, “Miracle,” was particularly notable, and the rest of the top 10 featured artists like Dave, Central Cee, and Rema.

Dr Jo Twist, the chief executive of BPI, expressed her delight at this significant shift but also stressed the importance of not becoming complacent. She emphasised the need for continued efforts in the music industry, she said,“Our work in the music industry continues to ensure that this becomes the norm.” 

Furthermore, an impressive 48.5% of all songs that reached the Top 10 this year were either solo efforts or collaborations by female artists. This represents the highest annual share of Top 10 hits by female musicians in this century.

In 2023, the British music industry saw its ninth consecutive year of growth, with album sales and streams increasing by 10% to a total of 182.8 million. Streaming reached a record high with 179.6 billion audio streams, a 12.8% increase from the previous year. However, no new releases achieved platinum status, indicating a“crisis” in the industry according to music writer Patrick Clifton. He added,“A new generation of artists is not building fanbases that will buy gig and festival tickets in two, five, or 10-years’ time, and is not popularising songs that will have ubiquity in our culture once this generation of music fans reaches old age. The artists who succeed, he argued, are those who are able to cultivate a “two-way” relationship with fans on social media, and “don’t mind revisiting songs from their repertoire if those songs blow up”.

Vinyl records sales reached a remarkable milestone, surpassing 6 million units, marking the highest total since 1990. Additionally, CD sales remained strong with a staggering 10 million albums sold. Furthermore, cassette sales maintained their steady performance, exceeding 100,000 units for the fourth consecutive year.

However, it is undeniable that streaming has become the dominant force in the UK’s music landscape. Accounting for a remarkable 87.7% of the market share, streaming has experienced a substantial growth compared to 63.6% five years ago.

the sound of 2024 longlist is here ✨

a selection of the artists will be performing at maida vale studios on monday 8th january 2024. if you want to be there, register now: https://t.co/O2HAQ3FGLx pic.twitter.com/tdHSIJiiJI

— BBC Radio 1 (@BBCR1) December 4, 2023

 The top ten acts are (in alphabetical order): Ayra Starr, Caity Baser, CMAT, Elmiene, Kenya Grace, The Last Dinner Part, Olivia Dean, Peggy Gou, Sekou and Tyla. From January 1, 2024, a countdown will kick off across Radio 1, counting down the top 5. The number one spot will be revealed live on Radio 1 on Friday, January 5.

It’s very hard to not be grateful ! I’m filled with so much joy and gratitude! Thank you too all my starrs , I see all your messages on me being your top artist , I’m so glad to be doing this life thing with you and that my music brings you peace and joy ! Ayra mob we just… pic.twitter.com/7N3TnyyNk7 — Celestial being (@ayrastarr) December 1, 2023

Head of Radio 1, Chris Price spoke of his excitement about the gender dynamic on the list, mentioning “With so many female artists on the Sound Of list this year, I’m really encouraged about the next generation of festival headliners. The list is as diverse as ever, reflecting the genre-agnostic nature of BBC Radio 1, which has supported every single one of the acts on the longlist. 2024 promises to be a great year for new music!”

The countdown of the Top 5 will kick off across Radio 1 on January 1st, 2204. The winner will be revealed live on Radio 1 during a special broadcast on Friday, January 5th. An event will be hosted at Maida Vale by Radio 1 called ‘BBC Radio 1 Sound of 2024 Live’ on January 8 2024. There is an application for tickets which is now open on the BBC Show And Tour website – see here for details.

The competition dates back two decades, with the first BBC Sound of in 2003! Among the success stories, boasts Ellie Goulding, 50 Cent, Sigrid and last year’s winner, girl group, FLO.

BRIT School alumna, Olivia Dean has also been named ‘BBC Introducing Artist of the Year’ live on-air, after the ‘secret’ award was announced unknowingly to Ladies Room’ singer, Olivia in an interview with presenter Jess Iszatt. The artist humbly accepted the award, thanking the emerging talent organisation BBC Introducing for all their support. She commented “Thank you so much for all the support over the years BBC Introducing! You are such an important and valuable platform for up-and-coming musicians. From my very first gig at the Lexington until now – poof crazy! So excited to be your artist of the year!!”

i won @bbcintroducing artist of the year !!
wow @jjiszatt thank u for being there from the beginning ❤️ https://t.co/5hSRHCy1J3

— Olivia Dean (@oliviadeano) November 28, 2023

The competition was announced back in July and the winner was just recently crowned. The virtual show featured the five finalists from Europe, the Middle East and Africa perform and receive feedback from the judging panel. The judges included British rock star Yungblud, rapper Denzel Curry, Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Julia Michaels and the founder of 88rising Sean Miyashiro.

Northern Ireland’s Lemonade Shoelace was the first performer, he brought his highly positive experimental psych-pop to the competition. Miyashiro commented on the performance“Tight band, [it’s] music that I would want to listen to, They have a distinct sound. I love it.”

Next up was London-based singer Kenya Grace who shared her enigmatic R&B creations which won praise from Michaels who said “It’s really unique, I loved her voice. She has dynamics in her songs and she can perform them and sing them live, which is rare.” KY’ORION then followed this up with the Birmingham rapper showcasing his melodic, thought-provoking bars. “He’s just gotta keep going cos I like the vibe,” Curry said. “He needs to come up with some crazy patterns.”

Welsh duo Altered Myths then mixed things up with a two-track performance with immense bluesy riffs and blasting drums. Miyashiro enjoyed the performance stating “They’re fusing a lot of different things together and I think that’s really dope to make it their own style, I think the songwriting is great. I think they’re definitely onto something.”

Paris-based electronic musician p-i used samplers and other equipment to build the layers of her music, fusing them together to form hypnotic tracks that grew greater with each layer. YungBlud liked the act saying “I can see them going on after me, not before, It feels very late night. If I was in the dance tent and that came on, fuck yeah I’m there. Big vibes.” You can view all the artists performing below.

After the artists performed, the judges then awarded each of them a mark out of 10, with a final score being worked out from their average scores. At the end of the concert receiving the highest marks is Lemonade Shoelace with a score of 8.3. Micheals said of the winner “You can tell that they’ve put a lot of time and devotion and dedication into their artistry and their craft, and I’m so happy I got to experience that today,”

As a reward for Lemonade Shoelace’s victory he has won a support slot with Yungblud when he embarks on his UK tour in January 2022, as well as Vans products, Kramer gear, global music distribution, Spotify and Apple Music playlisting and more.

He spoke to NME ahead of the Livestream concert, where he said winning “would mean the absolute world to me. I feel like I’ve won already by just being selected as a finalist, which I never thought would happen,”  to which he added. “It’s great to see recognition for my hard work; I produce everything myself and I’m so happy people are enjoying my output.”