British musicians fall off the global best-seller charts of 2024

IFPI lists include K-pop, Latin American singers

Although home to a number of renowned artists, the UK did not see its musicians on the global charts in 2024. For the first time in over twenty years, British singers failed to make it to the worldwide annual charts of the year's top 10 best-selling singles or albums.

As per the lists published by global music industry body the IFPI, US singer Benson Boone took the crown for the number one song of 2024 with Beautiful Things. Meanwhile, The Tortured Poets Department by Taylor Swift triumphed as the world's best-selling album.

However, no UK acts made it to either list, despite holding seven of the twenty entries in the year-end singles and albums charts only two years ago. Neither concert-wonders Coldplay nor Charli XCX with her Brat summer takeover were able to score spots in the two charts.

Representing the UK by securing the 15th most popular single of 2024 spot was singer and producer Artemas with his song I Like The Way You Kiss Me.

In the past, British musicians have consistently earned their place on the top 10 lists since as far back as 2003. This year, however, the stars failed to impress even their local masses, since they also did not hold positions in the top 10 most popular singles of the year in the UK in the most recent list. This marks the first time for this phenomenon since at least 2005, as per the BBC.

The competition

Among those who did dominate the charts last year were Korean and Latin American acts, with South Korean boy groups producing four of the world's ten best-selling albums.

Following Swift's top entry on the global best-selling albums chart were Hit Me Hard And Soft by Billie Eilish and Short n' Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter. K-pop group Enhypen's Romance: Untold stayed close behind at number four. Other K-pop albums to make it to the list were Seventeen's Spill The Feels and 17 Is Right Here, as well as Stray Kids' ATE.

Swift, Eilish, and Carpenter were seen again on the global best-selling singles chart under Boone's number one entry. Following Carpenter's Espresso, Teddy Swims' Lose Control achieved the third spot, just above Eilish's Birds of a Feather. Other artists to make it to the list were Shaboozey with A Bar Song (Tipsy), Hozier with Too Sweet, Post Malone with I Had Some Help, Kendrick Lamar with Not Like Us, and - after Swift's Cruel Summer - Noah Kahan with Stick Season.

Silver linings

Despite the staggering drop in British representation on the global charts, many new stars such as Lola Young, Central Cee, and Myles Smith have been emerging and making a name at home.

While advocating for how UK record companies raise new artists, Jo Twist - chief executive of British record industry body the BPI - maintained that it is "undoubtedly becoming much harder to break talent in a hyper-competitive global music economy", in a conversation with the BBC.

"Streaming has created many benefits, enabling more artists to succeed, but has also levelled the playing field for music markets around the world, opening up more challenges to the UK," Twist said.

Meanwhile, Billboard's UK editor Thomas Smith acknowledged that UK acts indeed suffered a blow from last year's competition, though he's hopeful that the musicians can bounce back.

"It's concerning that it's going down - it feels like quite rapidly. But then, on the flip side, this is all cyclical," Smith said.