Official Charts has introduced the newest addition to its awards family. The new trophy celebrates Top 10 achievements on the UK singles and albums chart.
The Official Top 10 Award is the fourth edition launched since the scheme’s inception in 2011. The original silver No.1 Award was introduced in December 2011 for the singles chart, with the gold award for No.1 albums following in 2015.
2021 saw the arrival of the specialist No.1 award to celebrate a more diverse range of chart-topping achievements across the weekly specialist charts, from vinyl to Afrobeats.
Beginning life as a PR initiative in 2011, the No.1 Award has since transformed how UK chart achievements are showcased in the digital age.
Official Charts described the initiative as a “proven smash hit mechanism for organic fan and media engagement every week, Official Charts’ awards deliver huge cut-through for the British music industry”.
Artists’ award photos feature in national press all year round, while No.1 Award reaction clips play a huge part in the 100 million views of Official Charts video content generated annually.
Hundreds of No.1 awards have been distributed to artists, songwriters, producers, managers and unsung heroes of chart-topping campaigns.
With encouragement from the industry, from 2024 Official Charts will shine a light on a broader range of artists and records who cross the Top 10 threshold, from established acts scoring a personal best to rising stars breaking into the Top 10 for the first time.
In the 70-plus years of Official Chart history, 8,827 songs have reached the Top 10 of the singles chart and 6,511 records have entered the albums chart Top 10.
As well as spotlighting new Top 10 releases, Official Charts will also utilise the award to tell the story of some major songs and albums from chart history that were held off the top spot, yet have gone on to become classics.
Martin Talbot, chief executive of the Official Charts, said: “Since we presented the first No.1 Award in December 2011, hundreds of artists have received our iconic trophy. But following requests to create a new award to recognise a greater range of chart achievements, we’re delighted to launch the Top 10 Award.”
To mark the launch, a hand-picked selection of artists have been presented with the Top 10 Award to celebrate each of their unique chart journeys and first-time Top 10 achievements.
The biggest debut single of 2023: Jazzy – Giving Me
Irish dance vocalist Jazzy secured her first solo Top 10 single with debut single Giving Me. Peaking at No.3 in June, Giving Me went on to become the biggest new debut single of last year and one of the Top 40 biggest songs of 2023 overall
The renaissance of a classic Top 10: Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten
Natasha Bedingfield’s Unwritten turns 20 in 2024. Thanks to its recent placement in Anyone But You starring Euphoria’s Sydney Sweeney, the song has found a new generation of fans this year. Unwritten has gone viral on TikTok and returned to the singles chart.
A career-best Top 10 album in their 25th anniversary year: Skindred – Smile
Skindred celebrated their 25th year in music bagging a new personal best on the Official Albums Chart with eighth album Smile. In the closest Albums Chart race of 2023, the independent Newport metal-reggae four-piece found themselves in a neck-and-neck battle for the top spot with Cian Ducrot.
Pipped by a mere 150 copies, Skindred scored the first Top 10 album of their career debuting at No.2 (previous peak No26). The band have now become founding recipients of the Official Chart Top 10 Award just ahead of their biggest ever headline show at Wembley Arena later this week (March 15).
2024 Top 10 debut album: Crawlers – The Mess We Seem To Make
Crawlers got their first taste of Top 10 success as debut album The Mess We Seem To Make landed at No.7 at the end of February.
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