It has been a transitional year for musicpublished at 11:53 GMT
11:53 GMT
Mark Savage
Music correspondent
There was no big break-out star in the mold of Chappell
Roan, and nothing like Charli XCX’s Brat to define the summer while pushing the
envelope of pop music.
For a lot of the year, the charts remained stubbornly static
– with huge songs like Alex Warren’s Ordinary and Taylor Swift’s Fate of
Ophelia taking up all the oxygen.
Some of the big stars who threatened to dominate the year had
their albums delayed (Doechii) or their tours cut short by ill health (Lola
Young), while still racking up huge numbers on streaming.
In the meantime, Irish star CMAT saw her stocks rise, thanks
to a barnstorming third album, and some of the most effortlessly charismatic
festival appearances of the summer.
And guitar music staged a belated comeback, with artists
like Sombr, Royel Otis and Sleep Token reinventing rock for the TikTok era.
Olivia Dean was the UK’s big breakout star, scoring four
concurrent singles in the Top 20; while global girl group Katseye took the
K-pop template and applied it to Western pop – positioning themselves as a
force to be reckoned with in 2026.
So, have your favourite songs made Radio 1’s countdown?
Let’s find out.