We've updated our Privacy and Cookies Policy
We've made some important changes to our Privacy and Cookies Policy and we want you to know what this means for you and your data.
Ed Sheeran is most-played artist on UK radio and TV
Image source, PA Media
Ed Sheeran was the most played artist of 2021 in the UK on radio and TV.
He also claimed the year's most played single with Bad Habits.
The pop superstar is the first artist to claim both titles in two different years.
Ed previously did the double in 2017 with the release of his album Divide and hit single Shape Of You.
Adele is the only other artist to have topped both charts in the same year, with Rolling In The Deep and the popularity of her album 21 in 2011.
Big artists
Image source, EPA
The second most played artist of the year was David Guetta with Dua Lipa in third.
Little Mix, who recently went on a break, claimed fourth place.
This is the fourth time in five years where Sheeran has been the UK's most played artist, being dethroned only in 2020 by Dua Lipa following the release of her chart-topping second album Future Nostalgia.
Big Songs
Image source, Getty Images
Tom Grennan claimed both the second and third most played tracks of 2021 with By Your Side with Calvin Harris and Little Bit Of Love respectively.
The Weeknd's Blinding Lights was the fourth most played track - even though it was originally released in November 2019.
The annual charts are compiled by the Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) company who license tracks to be played on radio stations and television channels as well as in public performances.