Calvin Harris and Ed Sheeran top PPL Most Played Charts of 2019

PPL has announced its Most Played Charts of 2019, with Giant - Calvin Harris’ collaboration with Rag ‘n’ Bone Man - the most played track of the year.

Calvin Harris was also the second most played artist, behind Ed Sheeran. It is the fourth time in five years Ed Sheeran has been named the most played artist in the UK. No other artist has matched Ed’s multi-year chart-topping airplay. There has only been a small selection of acts to appear in the top 10 artists chart four times alongside Ed since 2015: Calvin Harris; Coldplay, Jess Glynne and Little Mix.

Collaborations deliver chart success

Collaborations were particularly popular again last year – the top four most played tracks were all multi-artist works, with Tom Walker’s Just You And I the first non-collaboration, coming in at #5.  In a 2018 study, PPL found that the share of radio airplay to tracks that are collaborations between artists had grown four-fold between 2008 and 2017, from 5% to 22%.

Homegrown talent

PPL’s Most Played Charts of 2019 also highlight another great year for British talent. All of the top five tracks are made by or feature British artists, as do seven of the top 10 – a figure that has remained constant for the past three years, showing the continued popularity of UK tracks in their home market. It is a similar story in the artist chart – in 2019 four of the top five artists are British, as are eight of the top 10, with comparable British success going back each year to 2015.

These results reveal a clear path from emerging artist to chart-topping act for British talent. Winners and nominees of the BRIT Awards for Rising Star or Best New Act (previously British Breakthrough Act) since 2010 make up six of the top 10 tracks (Rag ‘n’ Bone Man, Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran, Tom Walker, Lewis Capaldi, and Mabel) and five of the top 10 artists (Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Jess Glynne, George Ezra, and Rita Ora).

Peter Leathem, Chief Executive Officer at PPL said: ‘From rising stars to established names, the PPL Most Played Charts for 2019 showcase the songs and artists that soundtracked our year. British music was particularly popular, with Ed Sheeran maintaining his popularity while acts such as Tom Walker and Mabel established themselves on the airwaves.’

PPL’s Most Played Tracks Chart of 2019

1. Giant – Calvin Harris & Rag ‘n’ Bone Man
2. Nothing Breaks Like A Heart – Mark Ronson Feat. Miley Cyrus
3. Dancing With A Stranger – Sam Smith & Normani
4. I Don’t Care – Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber
5. Just You And I – Tom Walker
6. Higher Love – Kygo & Whitney Houston
7. Sweet But Psycho – Ava Max
8. Someone You Loved – Lewis Capaldi
9. Don’t Call Me Up – Mabel
10. Walk Me Home – P!nk

PPL’s Most Played Artist Chart of 2019

1. Ed Sheeran
2. Calvin Harris
3. Sam Smith
4. Jess Glynne
5. P!nk
6. George Ezra
7. Rita Ora
8. Little Mix
9. Coldplay
10. Maroon 5

PPL’s annual charts are compiled from exclusive music usage and airplay data from radio stations and television channels as well as public performance locations such as pubs, clubs, bars, jukeboxes, and shops all across the UK, showcasing the music that soundtracks our lives.