Harry Styles has been awarded the IFPI Global Single Award for his song 'As It Was'

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IFPI, the organization representing the global recorded music industry, has announced that “As It Was” by Harry Styles is the winner of IFPI’s Global Single Award for 2022.

The IFPI Global Single Award recognizes the artist with the highest-selling single of the year across all digital formats, including paid subscription streaming, ad-supported platforms, and single-track downloads.

“As It Was” is Harry Styles’ first IFPI Global Single Award and marks the tenth anniversary of his previous IFPI Award wins with One Direction, who topped the first-ever IFPI Global Recording Artist Chart and the IFPI Global Album Chart in 2013. Harry led a strong performance from UK artists in the latest annual chart, joined by fellow British acts Glass Animals, whose sleeper-hit single “Heat Waves” features at #2, Elton John and Dua Lipa whose collaboration “Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)” is at #4, and further tracks from Ed Sheeran (“Shivers” #7, “Bad Habits” #10), Adele (“Easy On Me” #13), and Dua Lipa’s “Levitating” (ft. DaBaby) at #12.

For the first time, the Top 20 features four songs performed predominantly in Spanish, with global star Bad Bunny appearing twice, at #9 with his collaboration with Chencho Corleone, “Me Porto Bonito,” and at #11 with his solo hit “Tití Me Preguntó.” Fellow Puerto Rican artist Farruko made his debut appearing in the IFPI Global Singles Chart with his single “Pepas” landing at #18, while Colombian star Karol G also debuted with her single “PROVENZA” at #20.

The latest IFPI Global Singles Chart also highlights the reimagination and rediscovery of classic songs on the global stage. Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” charted at #16 following its appearance on Netflix’s breakout show Stranger Things in 2022, while Elton John and Dua Lipa’s reimagined version of a medley of Elton John’s hits, “Cold Heart (PNAU Remix),” charted at #4.

Frances Moore, Chief Executive of IFPI, said: “Congratulations to Harry Styles and his team on winning IFPI’s Global Single of the Year Award. Harry first received an IFPI Award as part of One Direction when we first launched the IFPI Global Recording Artist Chart 10 years ago, so it’s an honor to present him with an award this year for his stellar single ‘As It Was,’ which has soundtracked the year for so many music fans around the world.

“It’s wonderful to see such a diverse mixture of songs in the Global Singles Chart this year – some familiar tracks from the previous year that continued to grow in 2022, among plenty of new tracks and some reimagined older tracks – all going to show that record companies are working hard to find new ways to ensure music fans around the world have access to such a wide range of music year on year.”