Miley Cyrus, Ice Spice and 070 Shake: Queer artists ruled the UK charts in 2023

The Official Charts Company has unveiled its top tracks of 2023, and queer artists dominate three of the top 10 entries.

With her chart-topping, disco and funk-tinged breakup anthem ‘Flowers’, Miley Cyrus lands the biggest song of the year with almost 200 million streams.

Her third UK number-one, ‘Flowers’ memorably broke a plethora of streaming records – it became the fastest song in Spotify’s history to surpass one billion streams – and has been nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the upcoming Grammy Awards.

‘Escapism’, RAYE’s collaboration with queer rapper 070 Shake, is in third place. The electropop and hip-hop banger reached number-one in the UK in January 2023, becoming both artists’ first single to achieve this feat.

Although the success wasn’t replicated in the US, peaking at 22, it’s the highest-charting single for both RAYE and 070 Shake in the country.

Although it stalled at number two, PinkPantheress and Ice Spice boast the eighth biggest song of 2023 in the UK with ‘Boy’s a Liar Pt 2’.

Check out the UK’s 10 most successful singles of 2023 below.

1. Miley Cyrus – ‘Flowers’
2. Dave & Central Cee – ‘Sprinter’
3. Raye ft 070 Shake – ‘Escapism’
4. Taylor Swift – ‘Anti-Hero’
5. Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding – ‘Miracle’
6. Rema ft Selena Gomez – ‘Calm Down’
7. SZA – ‘Kill Bill’
8. PinkPantheress ft Ice Spice – ‘Boy’s A Liar Pt. 2’
9. Harry Styles – ‘As It Was’
10. Libianca – ‘People’

Sadly, only one artist appeared in the top 10 albums chart – Elton John, with his 2017 greatest hits collection ‘Diamonds’. However, LGBTQIA+ favourite Taylor Swift dominated with two entries: her 10th studio album Midnights and the re-recording of her seminal 2014 album, 1989.

1. The Weeknd – The Highlights (2021)
2. Taylor Swift – Midnights (2022)
3. Taylor Swift – 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (2023)
4. Elton John – Diamonds (2017)
5. Harry Styles – Harry’s House (2022)
6. Fleetwood Mac – 50 Years: Don’t Stop (2018)
7. Eminem – Curtain Call: The Hits (2005)
8. SZA – SOS (2022)
9. Arctic Monkeys – AM (2013)
10. Abba – Gold: Greatest Hits (1992)

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