Were you to look at the U.K.’s Official Singles Chart throughout 2024, it may have made for grim reading. Across the course of the year, the only British artists to hit No. 1 were Charli XCX (with an assist from Billie Eilish on “Guess”) and Chase & Status, a collaboration with rap titan Stormzy. Ireland’s Hozier managed it for a pair of weeks with his single “Too Sweet,” but aside from that, the rest was heavily imported almost exclusively from the US: Sabrina Carpenter, Taylor Swift, Gracie Abrams, Benson Boone, Noah Kahan and more all dominated throughout. The level of imported music in the U.K. is fast becoming the rule, not the exception.
Dig a little deeper, however, there were songs of serious quality released by U.K. and Irish artists throughout the whole year. Songs that pushed some of our finest creators into new spaces both critically and commercially, or perhaps said something of substance on the human condition, baring all about love, friendship and loss. Whether they topped the charts or not felt somewhat irrelevant; they were felt deeply and loved madly. Perhaps that was in sweaty clubs and bars, rowdy festival fields, on the commute, or even during a period of solo reflection – the best songs often have a way of suiting all of those moods and moments.
Following our staff picks for the best U.K. & Ireland albums of 2024, we now present the songs that told the story of the scene’s year, from superstar headliners to emerging heroes, in alphabetical order by artist.
