Adele (No. 6) and Little Mix (No. 9) are the only homegrown artists to crack the list, while Rihanna (No. 4), Kylie Minogue (No. 8) and the late Whitney Houston (No. 10) also appear.
PPL’s most-played list is based on exclusive music usage and airplay data from U.K. radio stations and television channels. The association’s library contains data for over 15 million recordings, and it receives usage data from licensees describing the music used across billions of seconds of airplay.
Pink was already a star in the U.K. before she broke through in the mainstream of her homeland.
In her career so far, she’s racked up 36 Top 40 hits in the U.K., including three No. 1s, for 2001’s “Lady Marmalade,” a collaboration with Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim and Mya; 2002’s “Just Like a Pill” and 2008’s “So What”.
She also has 10 Top 10 album titles in the U.K., according to the OCC, including three leaders: 2008’s Funhouse, 2017’s Beautiful Trauma, and 2019’s Hurts 2B Human.
Her studio albums have accumulated 13 platinum awards in the territory and, at the 2019 BRIT Awards, she was awarded the Outstanding Contribution to Music.
Check out the PPL’s 10 most-played female artists of the 21st Century in the U.K.
1. Pink
2. Madonna
3. Katy Perry
4. Rihanna
5. Lady Gaga
6. Adele
7. Beyonce
8. Kylie Minogue
9. Little Mix
10. Whitney Houston
