2010 in British music charts

The British music charts are compiled by the Official Charts Company to measure sales of recorded music on compact disc and digital download.

Summary

In early January, Iyaz's début single "Replay" went to number one. It became the first number one single of the 2010s; not counting Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" which first reached number one in 2009. February saw the release of X Factor finalist Jedward's debut single, "Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby)". Debuting at number one mid-month was the Helping Haiti single, a cover of "Everybody Hurts". The single, which was arranged by Simon Cowell, features 21 artists including Kylie Minogue, Cheryl, Leona Lewis, Robbie Williams, Mariah Carey, Rod Stewart and Susan Boyle. It recorded the biggest first-week sales of any single since 2000, selling over 453,000. All of the proceeds went to the Disasters Emergency Committee and The Sun's Helping Haiti charity.

The BRIT Awards on 16 February boosted the sales of both singles and albums; the songs performed on the BRIT Awards climbed the singles chart while the albums that won BRIT Awards climbed the albums chart. British artists received awards recognition overseas, with The Ting Tings, Adele, Seal, Imogen Heap, Pet Shop Boys and Coldplay nominated at the 52nd Grammy Awards. Also in February, the band Sade's first studio album in ten years, Soldier of Love, debuted at number one in the United States.

In March, rapper Tinie Tempah's debut single "Pass Out" entered the singles chart at number one, with sales of just over 92,000. In April, Scouting for Girls returned to the charts with their first UK number-one single "This Ain't a Love Song", the first single from their second album Everybody Wants to Be on TV. A Facebook group called Christian Music set up an Internet campaign to get Christian rock anthem "History Makers" by Delirious? to number one on Easter Sunday; it ended up getting to number four. Diana Vickers debuted at number one with "Once", and rapper Chipmunk and Dutch singer Esmée Denters secured a number-three hit with "Until You Were Gone". Tina Turner re-entered the top ten with "The Best", following an Internet campaign set up by fans of Glasgow Rangers Football Club in an attempt to get their unofficial anthem to number one.

May began with London rap collective Roll Deep releasing their first single since 2005, "Good Times", which was at number one for three weeks. Diana Vickers' debut album Songs From The Tainted Cherry Tree knocked Plan B's The Defamation of Strickland Banks off the top spot, making Vickers only the second X Factor non-winner whose debut single and album both topped their respective charts. At the end of the month, Dizzee Rascal scored his fourth number-one single with "Dirtee Disco" and Pendulum scored their first number-one album with Immersion.

June coincided with the FIFA World Cup competition, and seven World Cup-related songs entered the singles chart, including the number-one single "Shout for England" by Dizzee Rascal and James Corden, which was produced by Simon Cowell and released as a charity single. Oasis scored their seventh UK number-one album with their second compilation album, Time Flies... 1994–2009.

To begin the month of August, new British boyband The Wanted topped the UK Singles Chart with "All Time Low". The Iron Maiden album The Final Frontier was released to enormous acclaim from rock music reviewers. By September, reality television shows were starting to influence both the singles and albums charts. 2009 X Factor runner-up Olly Murs topped the singles chart with "Please Don't Let Me Go", followed by Alexandra Burke, winner of X Factor 2008, with her sixth single "Start Without You" (featuring American rapper Laza Morgan). Artists from Sky1's new reality TV show Must Be the Music achieved success during this month, including the eventual winner Emma's Imagination. Some songs used on the audition stages of X Factor 2010 also re-entered the chart, including Adele's "Make You Feel My Love" (originally recorded by Bob Dylan).

In October, Tinie Tempah repeated his initial success by topping the singles chart with "Written in the Stars" and the album chart with debut album Disc-Overy. "Ambitions" by X Factor 2009 winner Joe McElderry reached the top ten, and his album Wide Awake the top five, although sales were below expectations. The show's judge Cheryl topped the charts with "Promise This" and Messy Little Raindrops.

During November, every number-one single had been performed live on The X Factor. Take That's much anticipated comeback with Robbie Williams started successfully; new single "The Flood" reached number two, and album Progress topped the album chart for the rest of the year. The X Factor Finalists of 2010 topped the singles chart with a cover of David Bowie's "Heroes".

The winner of that show, Matt Cardle, took the Christmas number-one of 2010, with winning single "When We Collide", a cover of the Biffy Clyro song "Many of Horror". The single sold over 700,000 copies, making it the third best-selling X Factor winning single. It also prompted the re-entry of the original version of the song by Biffy Clyro. Several internet campaigns were initiated in an unsuccessful attempt to topple X Factor following the success of the Rage Against the Machine campaign in 2009.

Number ones

Singles

Chart date (week ending)	Song	Artist	Sales
2 January	"The Climb"	Joe McElderry	195,730
9 January	"Bad Romance"	Lady Gaga	76,265
16 January	"Replay"	Iyaz	106,237
23 January			86,814
30 January	"Fireflies"	Owl City	71,866
6 February			79,911
13 February			77,669
20 February	"Everybody Hurts"	Helping Haiti	453,426
27 February			102,769
6 March	"In My Head"	Jason Derülo	68,134
13 March	"Pass Out"	Tinie Tempah featuring Labrinth	92,002
20 March			64,573
27 March	"Telephone"	Lady Gaga featuring Beyoncé	65,561
3 April			58,299
10 April	"This Ain't a Love Song"	Scouting for Girls	71,954
17 April			52,393
24 April	"OMG"	Usher featuring will.i.am	58,385
1 May	"Once"	Diana Vickers	69,407
8 May	"Good Times"	Roll Deep	66,523
15 May			52,376
22 May			48,593
29 May	"Nothin' on You"	B.o.B featuring Bruno Mars	85,333
5 June	"Dirtee Disco"	Dizzee Rascal	69,757
12 June	"Gettin' Over You"	David Guetta & Chris Willis featuring Fergie and LMFAO	48,827
19 June	"Shout"	Shout for England featuring Dizzee Rascal and James Corden	113,258
26 June			84,145
3 July	"California Gurls"	Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg	123,607
10 July			93,363
17 July	"The Club Is Alive"	JLS	84,283
24 July	"Airplanes"	B.o.B featuring Hayley Williams	75,892
31 July	"We No Speak Americano"	Yolanda Be Cool & DCUP	89,107
7 August	"All Time Low"	The Wanted	84,173
14 August	"Beautiful Monster"	Ne-Yo	69,387
21 August	"Club Can't Handle Me"	Flo Rida featuring David Guetta	61,027
28 August	"Green Light"	Roll Deep	57,411
4 September	"Dynamite"	Taio Cruz	108,397
11 September	"Please Don't Let Me Go"	Olly Murs	93,239
18 September	"Start Without You"	Alexandra Burke	73,306
25 September			53,123
2 October	"Just the Way You Are"	Bruno Mars	82,855
9 October	"Written In the Stars"	Tinie Tempah featuring Eric Turner	115,073
16 October	"Fuck You"	CeeLo Green	106,962
23 October			76,331
30 October	"Just the Way You Are"	Bruno Mars	116,684
6 November	"Promise This"	Cheryl	157,210
13 November	"Only Girl (In the World)"	Rihanna	134,540
20 November			93,426
27 November	"Love You More"	JLS	118,551
4 December	"Heroes"	X Factor Finalists 2010	144,014
11 December			70,597
18 December	"The Time (Dirty Bit)"	The Black Eyed Peas	74,918
25 December	"When We Collide"	Matt Cardle	439,007

Albums

Key

Best-selling album of the year

Chart date (week ending)	Album	Artist	Sales
2 January	Crazy Love	Michael Bublé	243,226
9 January	Sunny Side Up	Paolo Nutini	58,082
16 January			49,698
23 January	Lungs	Florence + the Machine	51,005
30 January			42,360
6 February	Sunny Side Up	Paolo Nutini	35,739
13 February	The Element of Freedom	Alicia Keys	35,336
20 February			57,312
27 February	Glee: The Music, Volume 1	Glee Cast	62,451
6 March	The Fame Monster	Lady Gaga	45,358
13 March	Lights	Ellie Goulding	36,854
20 March	Brother	Boyzone	101,096
27 March	The Fame Monster	Lady Gaga	45,025
3 April	Brother	Boyzone	61,886
10 April			45,267
17 April	The Fame Monster	Lady Gaga	25,211
24 April	The Defamation of Strickland Banks	Plan B	68,173
1 May	Iron Man 2	AC/DC	56,936
8 May	The Defamation of Strickland Banks	Plan B	41,001
15 May	Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree	Diana Vickers	35,951
22 May	Night Train	Keane	28,063
29 May	Exile on Main St.	The Rolling Stones	31,287
5 June	Immersion	Pendulum	58,859
12 June	To the Sea	Jack Johnson	27,254
19 June	Bionic	Christina Aguilera	24,300
26 June	Time Flies... 1994–2009	Oasis	101,297
3 July	Recovery	Eminem	141,023
10 July			69,045
17 July	Aphrodite	Kylie Minogue	79,153
24 July	Recovery	Eminem	49,616
31 July			41,593
7 August			39,864
14 August	The Suburbs	Arcade Fire	61,263
21 August	Recovery	Eminem	32,097
28 August	The Final Frontier	Iron Maiden	44,384
4 September	Recovery	Eminem	27,081
11 September	Teenage Dream	Katy Perry	54,176
18 September	Flamingo	Brandon Flowers	65,518
25 September	Science & Faith	The Script	70,816
2 October	Going Back	Phil Collins	40,684
9 October	Science & Faith	The Script	34,313
16 October	Disc-Overy	Tinie Tempah	84,993
23 October	In and Out of Consciousness: The Greatest Hits 1990–2010	Robbie Williams	124,689
30 October	Come Around Sundown	Kings of Leon	183,298
6 November			72,611
13 November	Messy Little Raindrops	Cheryl	105,431
20 November	The Gift	Susan Boyle	102,993
27 November	Progress	Take That	518,601
4 December			208,220
11 December			176,881
18 December			203,210
25 December			330,252

Compilation albums

Chart date (week ending)	Album
2 January	Now 74
9 January
16 January	Anthems - Electronic 80s
23 January	Running Trax
30 January
6 February	Hope For Haiti Now
13 February	R&B Lovesongs 2010
20 February
27 February	BRIT Awards 2010 With MasterCard
6 March
13 March	Mash Up Mix 90s
20 March	Forever Friends - Mum In A Million
27 March	Massive R&B - Spring 2010
3 April
10 April	Now 75
17 April
24 April
1 May
8 May
15 May
22 May
29 May	Chilled Acoustic
5 June	R&B Clubland
12 June
19 June	The Twilight Saga - Eclipse
26 June	American Anthems
3 July
10 July	Clubland 17
17 July
24 July	Anthems R&B
31 July	Now 76
7 August
14 August
21 August
28 August
4 September
11 September
18 September
25 September
2 October
9 October
16 October	R&B In The Mix 2010
23 October
30 October	Now Dance 2010
6 November	BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge - Vol 5
13 November	Dreamboats & Petticoats 4
20 November	Clubland 18
27 November	Pop Party 8
4 December	Now 77
11 December
18 December
25 December

Year-end charts

Best-selling singles of 2010

[1]

For the first time in British music history, a song that never reached number one became the biggest-selling single of the year. "Love the Way You Lie", by Eminem featuring Rihanna, also sold all its singles in digital format.

No.	Title	Artist	Peak position	Sales
1	"Love the Way You Lie"	Eminem featuring Rihanna	2	854,144[2]
2	"When We Collide"	Matt Cardle	1	814,997[2]
3	"Just the Way You Are"	Bruno Mars	1	765,899[2]
4	"Only Girl (In the World)"	Rihanna	1	711,819[2]
5	"OMG"	Usher featuring will.i.am	1	675,000[3]
6	"Fireflies"	Owl City	1	844,000
7	"Airplanes"	B.o.B featuring Hayley Williams	1	766,000
8	"California Gurls"	Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg	1	780,787
9	"We No Speak Americano"	Yolanda Be Cool vs. DCUP	1
10	"Pass Out"	Tinie Tempah	1
11	"Everybody Hurts"	Helping Haiti	1
12	"Forget You"	Cee Lo Green	1
13	"Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down"	Alicia Keys	4
14	"Rude Boy"	Rihanna	2	551,735[2]
15	"Telephone"	Lady Gaga featuring Beyoncé	1
16	"She Said"	Plan B	3
17	"Dynamite"	Taio Cruz	1
18	"Replay"	Iyaz	1
19	"Firework"	Katy Perry	3
20	"Club Can't Handle Me"	Flo Rida featuring David Guetta	1
21	"Your Song"	Ellie Goulding	2
22	"Ridin' Solo"	Jason Derulo	2
23	"Billionaire"	Travie McCoy featuring Bruno Mars	3	442,431[2]
24	"Don't Stop Believin'"	Glee cast	2	438,882[2]
25		Journey	6	435,103[2]
26	"The Time (Dirty Bit)"	The Black Eyed Peas	1
27	"What's My Name?"	Rihanna featuring Drake	2[lower-alpha 1]
28	"Pack Up"	Eliza Doolittle	5
29	"Starstrukk"	3OH!3 featuring Katy Perry	3
30	"Bad Romance"	Lady Gaga	1
31	"Written in the Stars"	Tinie Tempah featuring Eric Turner	1
32	"Teenage Dream"	Katy Perry	2
33	"Cooler Than Me"	Mike Posner	5
34	"Not Afraid"	Eminem	5
35	"The Flood"	Take That	2
36	"All Time Low"	The Wanted	1
37	"If We Ever Meet Again"	Timbaland featuring Katy Perry	3
38	"Riverside (Let's Go!)"	Sidney Samson featuring Wizard Sleeve	2
39	"Promise This"	Cheryl Cole	1
40	"In My Head"	Jason Derulo	1
41	"This Ain't a Love Song"	Scouting for Girls	1
42	"Starry Eyed"	Ellie Goulding	4
43	"Wavin' Flag"	K'naan	2
44	"Kickstarts"	Example	3
45	"Nothin' on You"	B.o.B featuring Bruno Mars	1	367,038[2]
46	"Alejandro"	Lady Gaga	7
47	"Baby"	Justin Bieber featuring Ludacris	3
48	"Make You Feel My Love"	Adele	4
49	"Parachute"	Cheryl Cole	5
50	"Frisky"	Tinie Tempah featuring Labrinth	2

Best-selling albums of 2010

[4]

No.	Title	Artist	Peak position	Sales[5]
1	Progress	Take That	1	1,841,148
2	Crazy Love	Michael Bublé	2[lower-alpha 2]	1,227,909
3	The Fame/The Fame Monster	Lady Gaga	1	1,051,909
4	Loud	Rihanna	2[lower-alpha 3]	839,608
5	The Defamation of Strickland Banks	Plan B	1
6	Sunny Side Up	Paolo Nutini	1
7	The Element of Freedom	Alicia Keys	1
8	Lungs	Florence and the Machine	1
9	Recovery	Eminem	1
10	Sigh No More	Mumford & Sons	3[lower-alpha 4]
11	Come Around Sundown	Kings of Leon	1
12	My World	Justin Bieber	3
13	The Gift	Susan Boyle	1	556,933
14	In and Out of Consciousness: Greatest Hits 1990–2010	Robbie Williams	1
15	Teenage Dream	Katy Perry	1
16	Greatest Hits	Bon Jovi	2
17	Turn It Up	Pixie Lott	7[lower-alpha 5]
18	Outta This World	JLS	2
19	Science & Faith	The Script	1
20	Olly Murs	Olly Murs	2
21	Messy Little Raindrops	Cheryl Cole	1
22	Glee: The Music, Volume 1	Glee Cast	1
23	The E.N.D	The Black Eyed Peas	3
24	Lights	Ellie Goulding	1
25	Brother	Boyzone	1
26	Only Revolutions	Biffy Clyro	3
27	Forever Vienna	André Rieu	2
28	Rated R	Rihanna	9
29	Disc-Overy	Tinie Tempah	1
30	Moonlight Serenade	André Rieu and His Johann Strauss Orchestra	4
31	Only By the Night	Kings of Leon	11[lower-alpha 6]
32	Greatest Hits... So Far!!!	Pink	5
33	JLS	JLS	8[lower-alpha 7]
34	Gravity	Westlife	3
35	3 Words	Cheryl Cole	12[lower-alpha 8]
36	Seasons of My Soul	Rumer	3
37	xx	The xx	3
38	Time Flies... 1994–2009	Oasis	1
39	Iron Man 2	AC/DC	1
40	Plastic Beach	Gorillaz	2
41	The Wanted	The Wanted	4
42	Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?	Paloma Faith	13[lower-alpha 9]
43	Overcome	Alexandra Burke	18[lower-alpha 10]
44	Eliza Doolittle	Eliza Doolittle	3
45	Aphrodite	Kylie Minogue	1
46	The Beginning	The Black Eyed Peas	8
47	Glee: The Music, Volume 2	Glee Cast	2
48	I Am... Sasha Fierce	Beyoncé	15[lower-alpha 11]
49	Jason Derulo	Jason Derulo	8
50	Fly Me to the Moon... The Great American Songbook Volume V	Rod Stewart	5

Notes:

1. Reached number 1 in 2011
2. Reached number 1 in 2009
3. Reached number 1 in 2011
4. Reached number 2 in 2011
5. Reached number 6 in 2009
6. Reached number 1 in 2008
7. Reached number 1 in 2009
8. Reached number 1 in 2009
9. Reached number 9 in 2009
10. Reached number 1 in 2009
11. Reached number 2 in 2009

Best-selling compilation albums of 2010

[6]

No.	Title	Peak position	Sales[6]
1	Now 77	1	1,195,244
2	Now 76	1
3	Now 75	1
4	American Anthems	1
5	Pop Party 8: 21 Massive Hits	1
6	Anthems: Electronic 80s 2	2
7	Forever Love: 20 Cool Classics	1
8	80s Groove: Old Skool Funk Soul Classics	2
9	Dreamboats and Petticoats Four	1
10	Radio 1's Live Lounge – Volume 5	1

See also

• List of number-one singles from 2010
• List of number-one albums from 2010
• List of top 10 singles in 2010 (UK)
• 2010s in music
• List of 2010 albums
• 2010 in British television

References

1. "The 2010 Official Singles Chart Top 100". Music Week. London, England: United Business Media: 17. 15 January 2011.
2. Jones, Alan (15 January 2011). "Red-hot Rihanna". Music Week. London, England: United Business Media: 16.
3. Myers, Justin (5 July 2015). "Chart Day: Every end of year chart from 2005–2014". Official Charts Company.
4. "The 2010 Official Albums Chart Top 100". Music Week. London, England: United Business Media: 19. 15 January 2011.
5. Jones, Alan (15 January 2011). "Progress/Regress". Music Week. London, England: United Business Media: 18.
6. "2010 Compilations Chart". Music Week. London, England: United Business Media: 18. 15 January 2011.