2009 in British music charts
2009 in the British music charts was a year shaped by the rise of downloads. In total, 31 different singles reached number one, including 15 new entries. Songs often entered the chart lower and climbed to the top later, a pattern helped by digital sales.
Big moments
- Lady Gaga was the standout female of the year, scoring three number-one singles: Just Dance, Poker Face and Bad Romance. Poker Face became the UK's biggest-selling single of 2009.
- Rage Against the Machine caused a Christmas chart coup, reaching number one after a massive online campaign. The next week Joe McElderry’s The Climb took the top spot.
- Michael Jackson’s death sparked a huge re-entry of his music into the charts, with many of his albums returning to the top end of the lists.
- Pixie Lott broke through with Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh), which debuted at number one on 14 June.
- Oasis split up publicly in August after a backstage fight, with Noel Gallagher leaving the band and Beady Eye forming afterwards.
- Cheryl and JLS enjoyed big moments in the fall, with Fight For This Love becoming the fastest-selling single of the year and JLS later reaching the top of the albums chart with their debut.
- Susan Boyle topped the album chart with I Dreamed A Dream in late November, fresh from her TV success.
Key chart stories
- Lady Gaga’s run on the singles chart included three number ones in one year, a record for a female artist at the time.
- The summer and autumn saw a string of new hits from acts like The Black Eyed Peas, La Roux, David Guetta and more, alongside continuing successes from artists such as Calvin Harris and Lily Allen.
- The albums chart saw strong showings from The Essential Michael Jackson, Arctic Monkeys’ Humbug, Kings of Leon’s Only by the Night, and Florence + The Machine’s Lungs. Bob Dylan also reached high with Together Through Life.
- The year ended with a shift in the charts as Rage Against the Machine’s Christmas number one stood out, while The X Factor finalists and other acts filled the top ten in December.
Statistics and end notes
- Total album sales in 2009 were 128,946,805—the lowest since 1999. This record would be surpassed in 2013, when fewer albums sold overall.
- The year closed with a mix of digital-driven debuts, veteran comebacks, and one of the most famous online campaigns in chart history.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 16:45 (CET).