Ed Sheeran has been named the most played artist of 2023, beating out close competition from Taylor Swift.
READ MORE: Ed Sheeran – ‘Autumn Variations’ review: a pumpkin-spiced snoozer
The Suffolk-raised singer, songwriter and guitarist has topped the charts when it comes to the most listened-to artist in the UK over the last year – ranking at the tip of the list when it comes to having his music played across radio, television and public spaces.
The study was carried out by the music licensing company PPL, who compiled all of the data across January to December last year, and made a rank of the most played artists across the country.
As aforementioned, Sheeran was closely followed on the list by Taylor Swift, with the latter becoming the second most-listened-to artist in the UK. The year prior she was in 10th position, and the huge leap sees her match the previous high she had in 2015. The jump is expected to be a result of her announcing her international ‘Eras Tour’ shows last year, and subsequently announcing her latest album ‘The Tortured Poets Department’.
Discussing the news that he had topped the list, Sheeran said: “Thank you for naming me the most played artist for last year. Thank you to my team, not just for me, but for all the other artists you work with – I’m happy that you get this recognition.”
Ed Sheeran performs live in 2024. CREDIT: Steve Jennings/Getty Images
Dua Lipa was named as the third most played artist on the list – no doubt aided by her hit contribution to the Barbie soundtrack, ‘Dance The Night’ – and the Number Four position was filled by Calvin Harris.
David Guetta, Sir Elton John and Coldplay filled up spots five, six and seven respectively, and eighth place was taken by new entrant Tom Grennan. Harry Styles came in at ninth place, while Queen of Pop Madonna made Number 10 following the announcement of her ‘Celebration’ tour.
The outlet also shared the most played songs of 2023 across the UK, with Swift, Sheeran, Lipa and Harris also making the list.
Ultimately, the most popular track of the year came from Miley Cyrus, with her hit track ‘Flowers’. Others on the Top 10 included P!nk, Jonas Brothers, Niall Horan and more. Check out both lists below.
Most played artists in 2023
1. Ed Sheeran
2. Taylor Swift
3. Dua Lipa
4. Calvin Harris
5. David Guetta
6. Elton John
7. Coldplay
8. Tom Grennan
9. Harry Styles
10. Madonna
Most played songs in 2023
1. Flowers – Miley Cyrus
2. Eyes Closed – Ed Sheeran
3. Forget Me – Lewis Capaldi
4. Anti-Hero – Taylor Swift
5. Dance The Night – Dua Lipa
6. Miracle – Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding
7. Trustfall – P!nk
8. Waffle House – Jonas Brothers
9. Cruel Summer – Taylor Swift
10. Heaven – Niall Horan
The announcement comes shortly after Ed Sheeran made a surprise appearance on stage with ‘00s nu-metal icons Limp Bizkit, and also after he shared his love for fellow pop star Olivia Rodrigo.
“Both those records actually, ‘Guts’ and ‘Sour’, are I think un-skippable. It’s just, as a record, just a great record,” he said in a recent interview, discussing the latter. He also lauded Britney Spears‘ ‘Baby One More Time’ as “top two or three best debut songs ever written”.
In other news, Sheeran recently confirmed that he was working on new music but said it’d likely be a while before it was released. He put out two studio albums last year in the form of ‘-‘ and ‘Autumn Variations’.
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