Ed Sheeran, Glass Animals and Jolyon Petch dominated the airwaves in 2021
AirCheck™ data released today (20 December, 2021) reveals ‘Bad Habits’ by Ed Sheeran as the most played song on Australian radio in 2021.
The smash hit debuted at No. 3 on the weekly National Radio Airplay Chart on 1 July. The following week, ‘Bad Habits’ reached No. 1 and remained steadfast at the summit for an additional five weeks, garnering an average weekly chart position of 4 after 26 weeks on the air.
Peter Tuskan, AirCheck Operations & Client Services Executive, said “This is an outstanding achievement for a song that was released halfway through the year.
“Ed’s unique ability to appeal to a broad range of demographics prompted MDs from across the country to add the song early, and more importantly, keep it on high rotation for many months to come.”
UK star Dua Lipa had the most chart entries of any artist with seven, including two Top 40 hits in the form of ‘We’re Good’ (No. 12) and ‘Cold Heart (Remix)’ (No. 16). Justin Bieber was close behind with six entries, four of those making the Top 40 (‘Stay’, ‘Peaches’, ‘Anyone’, ‘Hold On’).
NZ-born, Melbourne-based producer Jolyon Petch’s ‘Dreams’ was the most played song by a local act in 2021. The chart-topping banger was an instant success story at commercial radio, holding off hits from the likes of Sheeran, Bieber and The Kid Laroi to spend six consecutive weeks at No. 1.
Sony Music Entertainment Australia held the highest share of the Top 100 with 39.97%. The major had four artists in the Top 10, including Aussies Tones & I and The Kid Laroi. Behind Sony was Universal Music Australia with 34.51%, while Warner Music Australia closed off the year at 17.47%
Sony Music Entertainment – 39.97%
Universal Music Australia – 34.51%
Warner Music Australia – 17.47%
Independents – 6.76%
EMI Music Australia – 1.29%
Of the Top 100 songs, ‘Africa’ by Toto is the oldest original song to feature on the list (No. 99), while Adele’s lead single ‘Easy On Me’ is the newest (No. 54). 52 songs on the chart were released in 2021.
Overall, the Top 100 songs shared a total of 987,860 spins throughout the year, with the Top 10 accounting for more than 20% of all recorded spins.
