List of UK singles chart number ones of the 2000s
The UK Singles Chart is a record chart compiled by The Official Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the British record industry. The chart week runs from Sunday to Saturday, and the new Top 40 chart is first revealed each Sunday on BBC Radio 1.[1] Before the advent of music downloads, the chart was based entirely on sales of physical singles from retail outlets. Airplay statistics are not used to compile the official chart.[2][3]
During the 2000s, 248 singles have reached the number one position on the chart, as of 1 February 2009. Over the same period, Westlife have been the most successful group with 11 number-one singles. Rihanna and Jay-Z's song "Umbrella", spent 10 weeks at number one in 2007, the longest spell at the top of the charts since Wet Wet Wet's 1994 hit "Love Is All Around" topped the charts for 15 weeks. The Internet allowed music to be heard by vast numbers of people on social networking sites such as YouTube and MySpace (Lily Allen first gained exposure on the internet and her debut single "Smile" reached number one in 2006). This and the introduction of the UK Download Chart in 2004[4] saw a decrease in record sales and the number of copies needed to achieve a Number-One reduced.[5] Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" became the first song to reach the top of the charts on downloads alone in 2006, remaining at number one for nine consecutive weeks.[6] Physical single sales fell during the middle of the decade and subsequently revived after the introduction of downloads in 2008.[7]
Reality television show produced several successful artists. Hear’Say won the original series of Popstars in 2000 and topped the charts with their debut single "Pure and Simple". This set a trend that was continued by Pop Idol winners Will Young and Michelle McManus and runner-up Gareth Gates; Fame Academy winner David Sneddon, and the winner of the first series of The X Factor Steve Brookstein in 2005. Reality television winners did especially well during Christmas: every Christmas number one from 2005 to 2008 came from an X Factor winner. Shayne Ward reached number one in 2005 with "That's My Goal" and he was followed by Leona Lewis, Leon Jackson and Alexandra Burke. Girls Aloud, the Popstars: The Rivals winners, also had the Christmas number one in 2002 with "Sound of the Underground."
The first number one of the decade, the double-A side "I Have a Dream" / "Seasons in the Sun" by Westlife, first hit the top of the charts at the end of 1999. Lily Allen's song "The Fear" is currently the number one single, as of the week of 1-7 February 2009.
Singles
The year 2000 saw 42 different songs hit the top spot, a UK charts record. In 2007, only 18 songs reached number one, the lowest number during the 2000s. Four songs (Shakira and Wyclef Jean's "Hips Don't Lie" (2006), Eric Prydz "Call on Me" (2004), S Club 7's "Don't Stop Movin'" in 2001 and Daniel Bedingfield's "Gotta Get Thru This" in December 2001 and then again in January 2002) were at number one for two separate spells.
By artist
The following artists scored three or more number one hits during the 2000s. A number of artists achieved number one singles on their own as well as part of a collaboration. Madonna, Timbaland and Justin Timberlake's song "4 Minutes", for example, is counted for all three artists because they were credited on the cover. Appearances on Band Aid 20's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" are also included, even though artists did not receive individual credit on the cover.
| Artist | Number one hits |
|---|---|
| Westlife | 11 |
| Eminem | 7 |
| McFly | 7 |
| Sugababes | 7[A] |
| Busted | 5[A] |
| Madonna | 5 |
| Robbie Williams | 5[A] |
| Will Young | 5[A] |
| Beyoncé | 4[B] |
| Britney Spears | 4 |
| Daniel Bedingfield | 4[A] |
| Elvis Presley | 4 |
| Gareth Gates | 4 |
| Girls Aloud | 4 |
| Justin Timberlake | 4 |
| Oasis | 4 |
| Timbaland | 4 |
| Atomic Kitten | 3 |
| Blue | 3 |
| Christina Aguilera | 3 |
| Jay-Z | 3 |
| Kylie Minogue | 3 |
| Leona Lewis | 3 |
| Nelly | 3 |
| Pink | 3 |
| S Club 7 | 3 |
| Take That | 3 |
| U2 | 3 |
- A. ^ Total includes appearance on the "Do They Know It's Christmas?" single.
- B. ^ Total does not include appearances on Destiny's Child's two number one singles, "Independent Women Part I" and "Survivor".
Million-selling singles
Since the beginning of 2000, ten number one singles have sold over 1 million copies in the UK. Five have been the debut singles of talent show winners, two have been charity singles ("Do They Know It's Christmas" and "(Is This The Way To) Amarillo") and one was a novelty record ("Can We Fix It?"):[8]
- Shaggy featuring Rikrok – "It Wasn't Me"
- Bob The Builder – "Can We Fix It?"
- Hear'say – "Pure and Simple"
- Kylie Minogue – "Can't Get You Out of My Head"
- Gareth Gates – "Unchained Melody"
- Will Young – "Evergreen"/"Anything Is Possible"
- Band Aid 20 – "Do They Know It's Christmas"
- Tony Christie featuring Peter Kay – "(Is This the Way to) Amarillo"
- Shayne Ward – "That's My Goal"
- Alexandra Burke – "Hallelujah"
References
- General
- "Number one singles". everyhit.com. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
- Roberts, David (ed.). Guinness World Records: British Hit Singles and Albums (18th edition).
- Specific
- ^ "Corporate FAQs". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 December 2008.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dateformat=ignored (help) - ^ Roberts, David (2005). Guinness World Records: British Hit Singles and Albums (18th edition). Guinness World Records Limited. p. 14. ISBN 1-9049-9400-8.
- ^ "New singles formats to save the charts". BBC News. 16 October 2003. Retrieved 22 December 2008.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dateformat=ignored (help) - ^ "How downloads will change the chart". BBC News. 12 April 2005. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dateformat=ignored (help) - ^ Davies, Rob (18 May 2008). "Legal downloads fail to revive record sales". Telegraph Online. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dateformat=ignored (help) - ^ "Digital hit seals chart revolution". BBC News. 3 April 2006. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dateformat=ignored (help) - ^ "Downloads boost 2008 single sales". BBC News. 7 January 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dateformat=ignored (help) - ^ "Alexandra Burke's 'Hallelujah' joins 'million-selling' singles". NME. 9 January 2009. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
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See also
- List of number-one singles from the 1950s (UK)
- List of number-one singles from the 1960s (UK)
- List of number-one singles from the 1970s (UK)
- List of number-one singles from the 1980s (UK)
- List of number-one singles from the 1990s (UK)
- List of number-one music downloads (UK)
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