TikTok reveals most popular artists and tracks of 2023

Lewis Capaldi, Sam Smith and Central Cee are among the most popular artists in the UK

In a new report, TikTok has revealed which are the most popular artists and songs of the year.

Hot on the heels of this year’s instalment of Spotify Wrapped, TikTok has revealed which are the best-performing artists of 2023 on the platform.

Shared today (December 6) as part of a new report, the social media platform has revealed which artists are the most popular in the UK, and which songs dominated the music scene throughout 2023.

According to the results, 13 of 16 Number One tracks on the UK Official Singles Chart since January had a viral moment on TikTok, and 13 of 18 Billboard Hot 100 Number Ones were driven by significant trends on the platform.

Lewis Capaldi was one of the top-performing artists of the year and took the top spot as the most viewed artist on the platform throughout the year. He was also followed by other famous faces in pop including Sam Smith, Anne Marie, Ed Sheeran and more.

As for the top songs of the year, it was drill anthem ‘Sprinter’ by Central Cee and Dave that claimed the peak position, racking up over 665,000 videos since its release in June. Other contenders for the most popular song on TikTok for 2023 include ‘Collide’ by Justine Skye and Tyga, ‘Cupid – Twin Ver.’ by FIFTY FIFTY and ‘Green Green Grass’ by George Ezra.

Find the full list of results below.

Most Viewed Artists 2023

1. Lewis Capaldi 
2. Sam Smith 
3. Central Cee
4. Anne Marie 
5. Ed Sheeran 
6. Prinz 
7. KSI
8. The Rolling Stones 
9. Pink Pantheress
10. Calvin Harris

UK’s Most popular songs

1. ‘Sprinter’ – Dave & Central Cee (655.3k videos)
2. ‘Collide (more sped up)’ – Justine Skye ft. Tyga (3.3M videos)
3. ‘Cupid – Twin Ver. – Sped Up Version’ – FIFTY FIFTY (6.2M videos
4. ‘Green Green Grass (Sped-Up)’ – George Ezra (1.5M videos)
5. ‘Makeba’ – Jain (1.7M videos)
6. ‘Pretty (Sped Up)’ – MEYY (1.9M videos)
7. ‘Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2’ – Pink Pantheress and Ice Spice (1.8M videos)
8. ‘Strangers’ – Kenya Grace (1.1M videos)
9. ‘Paint The Town Red’ – Doja Cat (2.8M videos)
10. ‘Escapism. – Super Sped Up’ – RAYE & 070 Shake (639.9k videos)

UK & Ireland Breakthrough Artists

1. Mae Stephens
2. CHINCHILLA
3. Jazzy
4. Caity Baser
5. Cian Ducrot
6. Lola Young
7. AntsLive
8. Prinz
9. Anna Lapwood

Most Viewed Artists Globally

1. Kim Loaiza
2. Selena Gomez
3. BLACKPINK
4. BTS
5. FEID
6. ENHYPHEN
7. Karol G
8. LE SSERAFIM
9. NewJeans
10. Shakira

“Year on TikTok 2023 is a way for us to honour some of the standout moments that have happened on TikTok throughout the year. It’s a window into stories that have inspired, entertained and educated over 1 billion people around the world,” said Adam Presser, Head of Operations on TikTok. “Thank you for another year of bringing joy to our community and sharing your creativity with us.”

Elsewhere in the 2023 report from TikTok, it was shown that half of the Top 10 most viewed global artists were K-pop groups including BTS, BLACKPINK & NewJeans.

The report on how TikTok has had an impact on the music industry comes following a new feature being introduced – allowing users to directly save sounds from the app to their streaming platform of choice.

Users in the US and UK can now test out the feature, where TikTok have teamed up with Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music. Spotify have said they will bring the feature to more markets in the future.

In other recent news, Met Police requests to remove UK drill from TikTok have risen 366 per cent since 2020.

The Met have said despite this statistic, investigators do not target any specific genre in their work: “The Met works closely with social media platforms to identify content we believe could provoke or cause violence,” said a spokesperson for the Met. “Following our referral, the social media platforms make their own decision regarding removal of content.”