FEATURE:
Chartbusters
IN THIS PHOTO: Madonna (no other female solo artist/band has more U.K. number-one hits than her (thirteen)/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images
The Female Artists with the Most U.K. Number-One Hits
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IT would be good to say the music world has improved...
IN THIS PHOTO: Dua Lipa/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images
so we can proudly say women in the industry are being given the same attention as men. Most of the writing and production credits we see for charts hits are occupied by men. There are some great female producers and writers there but I feel they are being overlooked or not being employed by big artists. There are small changes coming in but we have a long way to go. In fact, when Dua Lipa scored a number-one hit with New Rules she became the first U.K. female solo artist since Adele to have a number-one – that song was Hello and that came out in 2015! The fact there was this two-year shocked me! We have prolific and successful female artists like Jess Glynne who do hit the top of the charts but most of the biggest numbers – women with the most number-one songs – are from the past. I wanted to present this piece to showcase the most successful female musicians but also highlight a problem we have today: the mainstream still being bowed towards the men. The fact festivals and award shows are becoming more balanced leads me to believe we can see improvement in years to come – the sheer wealth of female talent is staggering. Many say that chart positions do not matter but they do. The U.K. charts now do not reflect the very best out there and that needs to change. Here is a rundown of the female artists with the most chart-topping hits. There are some great names in the pack but let’s hope some more modern artists can join the elite. I think there is the talent out there and know that, in years to come, we will see some new artists...
IN THIS PHOTO: Beyoncé (who has scored five U.K. number-ones - not including her work with Destiny’s Child or The Carters)/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images
RUB shoulders with the greatest ever.
ALL PHOTOS/IMAGES (unless credited otherwise): Getty Images
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Madonna
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6tbjWDEIzxoDsBA1FuhfPW?si=kyuhPAXXRX26E-LwsxHHVA
How Many U.K. Number-One Hits? 13
Count It Up: Into the Groove (1985), Papa Don’t Preach (1986); True Blue (1986), La Isla Bonita (1987); Who’s That Girl (1987), Like a Prayer (1989); Vogue (1990), Frozen (1998); American Pie (2000), Music (2000); Hung Up (2005), Sorry (2006) and 4 Minutes (ft. Justin Timberlake and Timbaland) (2008).
First U.K. Number-One: Into the Groove (1985)
Most Recent U.K. Number-One: 4 Minutes (ft. Justin Timberlake and Timbaland) (2008)
Defining U.K. Chart-Topper: Vogue (1990)
Spice Girls
PHOTO CREDIT: Spotify
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0uq5PttqEjj3IH1bzwcrXF?si=2gAk6zcZSpSfKA-u3srgZg
How Many U.K. Number-One Hits? 9
Count It Up: Wannabe (1996), Say You’ll Be There (1996); 2 Become 1 (1996), Mama/Who Do You Think You Are (1997); Spice Up Your Life (1997), Too Much (1997); Viva Forever (1998), Goodbye (1998) and Holler/Let Love Lead the Way (2000)
First U.K. Number-One: Wannabe (1996)
Most Recent U.K. Number-One: Holler/Let Love Lead the Way (2000)
Defining U.K. Chart-Topper: Say You’ll Be There (1996)
Rihanna
PHOTO CREDIT: Craig McDean for The New York Times
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5pKCCKE2ajJHZ9KAiaK11H?si=RINLYHHlR2W_IPuOWM70nQ
How Many U.K. Number-One Hits? 9
Count It Up: Umbrella (ft. Jay-Z) (2007), Take a Bow (2008); Run This Town (collaboration with Jay-Z and Kanye West) (2009), Only Girl (in the World) (2010); What’s My Name (ft. Drake) (2010), We Found Love (ft. Calvin Harris) (2011); Diamonds (2012), The Monster (collaboration with Eminem) (2013) and Wild Thoughts (collaboration with DJ Khaled) (2017)
First U.K. Number-One: Umbrella (ft. Jay-Z) (2007)
Most Recent U.K. Number-One: Wild Thoughts (collaboration with DJ Khaled) (2017)
Defining U.K. Chart-Topper: Diamonds (2012)
Jess Glynne
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4ScCswdRlyA23odg9thgIO?si=nDyzx1zYQym4GXf1xFHkQQ
How Many U.K. Number-One Hits? 7
Count It Up: Rather Be (collaboration with Clean Bandit) (2014), My Love (collaboration with Route 94) (2014); Hold My Hand (2015); Not Letting Go (collaboration with Tine Tempah) (2015), Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself (2015), These Days (collaboration with Rudimental, Macklemore and Dan Caplen) (2018) and I’ll Be There (2018)
First U.K. Number-One: Rather Be (collaboration with Clean Bandit) (2014)
Most Recent U.K. Number-One: I’ll Be There (2018)
Defining U.K. Chart-Topper: Don’t Be So Hard on Yourself (2015)
Kylie Minogue
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4RVnAU35WRWra6OZ3CbbMA?si=jLq3Whm2T5GhK4GJtoIaGg
How Many U.K. Number-One Hits? 7
Count It Up: I Should Be So Lucky (1987), Especially for You (collaboration with Jason Donovan) (1988); Hand on Your Heart (1989), Tears on My Pillow (1990); Spinning Around (2000), Can’t Get You Out of My Head (2001) and Slow (2003)
First U.K. Number-One: I Should Be So Lucky (1987)
Most Recent U.K. Number-One: Everybody Hurts (as part of the Helping Haiti project) (2010)
Defining U.K. Chart-Topper: Can’t Get You Out of My Head (2001)
Britney Spears
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/artist/26dSoYclwsYLMAKD3tpOr4?si=D5Ezxh5HQY2sGmHuBSHSxA
How Many U.K. Number-One Hits? 6
Count It Up: ...Baby One More Time (1998), Born to Make You Happy (1999); Oops!… I Did It Again (2000), Toxic (2004); Everytime (2004) and Scream & Shout (collaboration with will.i.am) (2012)
First U.K. Number-One: ...Baby One More Time (1998)
Most Recent U.K. Number-One: Scream & Shout (collaboration with will.i.am) (2012)
Defining U.K. Chart-Topper: Toxic (2004)
Sugarbabes
IMAGE CREDIT: Spotify
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7rZNSLWMjTbwdLNskFbzFf?si=KswXhdUwTmyfmgMFX4BXrQ
How Many U.K. Number-One Hits? 6
Count It Up: Freak Like Me (2002), Round Round (2002); Hole in the Head (2003), Push the Button (2005); Walk This Way (collaboration with Girls Aloud) (2007) and About You Now (2007)
First U.K. Number-One: Freak Like Me (2002)
Most Recent U.K. Number-One: About You Now (2007)
Defining U.K. Chart-Topper: Push the Button (2005)
All Saints
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5TDVKqW9uhqGjwwwKGuma4?si=G8DfVF4ZR2q60UxnR2HHGg
How Many U.K. Number-One Hits? 5
Count It Up: Never Ever (1997), Under the Bridge/Lady Marmalade (1998); Bootie Call (1998), Pure Shores (200)0) and Black Coffee (2000)
First U.K. Number-One: Never Ever (1997)
Most Recent U.K. Number-One: Black Coffee (2000)
Defining U.K. Chart-Topper: Pure Shores (2000)
Beyoncé
PHOTO CREDIT: Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for TIDAL
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6vWDO969PvNqNYHIOW5v0m?si=Yiiuk3lsTb6k0NwKtY9Msg
How Many U.K. Number-One Hits? 5
Count It Up: Crazy in Love (ft. Jay-Z) (2002), Déjà Vu (ft. Jay-Z) (2006); Beautiful Liar (collaboration with Shakira) (2007), If I Were a Boy (2007) and Telephone (collaboration with Lady Gaga) (2010)
First U.K. Number-One: Crazy in Love (ft. Jay-Z) (2002)
Most Recent U.K. Number-One: Telephone (collaboration with Lady Gaga) (2010)
Defining U.K. Chart-Topper: Crazy in Love (ft. Jay-Z) (2002)
Cheryl
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3NyNPJaemMYsL14DK2tO01?si=yb0gbXCUTFmuTTYGzcMe7A
How Many U.K. Number-One Hits? 5
Count It Up: Fight for This Love (as Cheryl Cole) (2009), Promise This (2010) (as Cheryl Cole); Call My Name (2012) (as Cheryl Cole), Crazy Stupid Love (ft. Tine Tempah) (as Cheryl Cole) (2014) and I Don’t Care (2014) (as Cheryl Cole)
First U.K. Number-One: Fight for This Love (as Cheryl Cole) (2009)
Most Recent U.K. Number-One: I Don’t Care (2014)
Defining U.K. Chart-Topper: Fight for This Love (as Cheryl Cole) (2009)
Katy Perry
PHOTO CREDIT: Covergirl
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6jJ0s89eD6GaHleKKya26X?si=ualTrch0SBW-7THcjDQM3w
How Many U.K. Number-One Hits? 5
Count It Up: I Kissed a Girl (2008), California Gurls (with Snoop Dogg) (2010); Part of Me (2012), Roar (2013) and Feels (collaboration with Calvin Harris, Pharrell Williams and Big Sean) (2017)
First U.K. Number-One: I Kissed a Girl (2008)
Most Recent U.K. Number-One: Feels (collaboration with Calvin Harris, Pharrell Williams and Big Sean) (2017)
Defining U.K. Chart-Topper: I Kissed a Girl (2008)