A recent study revealed the UK’s male musicians working hardest for their money in 2023, from Ed Sheeran to Elton John.
Researchers have analysed the work ethic of the UK’s top male musicians, delving into tour schedules, song streams, and estimated earnings to reveal the UK’s hardest-working male music stars.
At the top of the list for the male stars putting in the most work is one of the nation’s favourite singer-songwriters, Ed Sheeran. Earning an overall score of 9.67/10, Sheeran first appeared on the music scene in 2011, achieving seven UK number-one albums and 14 UK no.1 singles. Ed has received over 15 awards for his music, including 4 Grammy Awards and 5 Brit Awards! Ed has performed almost 1,200 shows in over 50 countries throughout his career and amassed over 73.6 billion streams across all audio platforms.
|
Rank
|
Artist
|
Overall Score
|
No. of Shows
|
Total No. of Show Locations (Countries)
|
No. of UK Shows
|
No. of International Shows
|
Most Streamed Song
|
No. of Streams for Most Streamed Song
|
Estimated Earnings from Most Streamed Song (£)
|
|
1
|
Ed Sheeran
|
9.67
|
1,177
|
54
|
291
|
886
|
Shape Of You
|
3,709,556,793
|
£12,910,576.02
|
|
2
|
Elton John
|
9.55
|
4,180
|
80
|
664
|
3,516
|
Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going To Be A Long, Long Time)
|
985,990,941
|
£3,431,598.89
|
|
3
|
Tom Odell
|
8.65
|
626
|
55
|
209
|
417
|
Another Love
|
2,077,228,657
|
£7,229,493.97
|
|
4
|
Robbie Williams
|
8.45
|
789
|
54
|
263
|
526
|
Angels
|
475,870,874
|
£1,656,199.77
|
|
5
|
James Bay
|
8.25
|
640
|
35
|
218
|
422
|
Let It Go
|
1,132,681,641
|
£3,942,134.66
|
|
6
|
Skrillex
|
8.08
|
888
|
59
|
72
|
816
|
Where Are U Now
|
1,062,127,578
|
£3,696,581.45
|
|
7
|
Calvin Harris
|
7.88
|
530
|
47
|
122
|
408
|
One Kiss
|
2,009,429,230
|
£6,993,527.88
|
|
8
|
Paul McCartney
|
7.59
|
999
|
39
|
126
|
873
|
Wonderful Christmastime
|
433,951,818
|
£1,510,306.55
|
|
9
|
George Ezra
|
7.43
|
542
|
29
|
228
|
314
|
Budapest
|
1,022,857,395
|
£3,559,907.26
|
|
9
|
Lewis Capaldi
|
7.43
|
455
|
30
|
180
|
275
|
Someone You Loved
|
3,093,980,108
|
£10,768,150.37
|
Coming in second is the music legend Elton John, receiving an overall score of 9.55/10. Beginning his career in the late ’60s, Elton has released an incredible 31 albums, achieved 162 weeks in the top 10 in the UK singles chart and even had a biopic made about his life and career.
He has received a whole host of honours & accolades too, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a knighthood for his services to music and charity, and 5 Brit Awards. Elton has performed over 600 shows in the UK and over 3,500 international shows. These figures mean that Elton is the UK male artist with the most shows performed by far.
In third place is in the findings by Spin Genie UK Tom Odell, earning an overall score of 8.65/10. His career began in 2012, and Tom has since released 5 studio albums, winning multiple awards, including the Critic’s Choice Award at the Brits for his EP Songs From Another Love in 2013 and Songwriter of the Year at the Ivor Novello Awards in 2014.
Throughout his career, Tom has performed almost 630 shows in 55 countries and generated over 6.2 billion streams across all audio platforms.
