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Friday March 8 is International Women's Day, and to mark the occasion we look at the highest achieving female artists in the UK chart this decade.

Since 2010, the Top 100 singles led by female artists have notched up over 125 million combined sales – which includes physical, downloads sales and streams – and the Top 100 female artist albums account for 65.5 million combined sales.

But who's sold the most?

It should come as no surprise – unless you've not been near a radio or TV in the last decade or so – that Adele tops both our Top 40 rundowns. The London-born singer had had a hugely successful decade all over the world, and on home turf, she has a tally of 10.5 million, with her second album 21 accounting for 5.13 million of that grand total, to be the biggest album by a female artist not only this decade, but of all time. Her third album 25 is in second place, while her debut 19, from 2008, has still managed to shift 1.8 million since 2010.

MORE: British female artists with the most Number 1 singles

On the singles' Top 40, Adele reigns supreme with ballad Someone Like You thanks to 1.6 million downloads and 69.3 million streams. Three more Adele tunes make the Top 40: Hello (3), Rolling in the Deep (13), and Make You Feel My Love (30).



Adele performs When We Were Young from her 25 album.

Emeli Sande's debut Our Version of Events is third biggest album, with combined sales of 2.4 million, and the highest of four Rihanna albums in the Top 40 of the decade is in fourth place – it's Loud, with just over two million. There are four Rihanna-led songs in the singles' Top 40 too, with 2011's We Found Love the highest, on 1.42m downloads and 49.7m streams.

Sia does pretty well in the singles' Top 10, with Cheap Thrills, second overall, notching up 162 million streams and 536,000 downloads, and Chandelier in sixth.

Dua Lipa's 2017 Number 1 New Rules is the most streamed song of the decade by a female artist, with 169.9 million plays in the UK, and is the fourth biggest song overall, including its 245,000 downloads. Dua also appears again at 12 with her 2018 Number 1 One Kiss.



Dua Lipa with her Official Number 1 Award for New Rules

Jess Glynne has had seven Number 1s this decade, as both lead and featured artist, but her biggest song is These Days with Rudimental and Macklemore in 19th, while Ariana's biggest song of the decade is One Last Time in 22nd place.

The oldest song to make the singles' Top 40 is Mariah Carey's million-selling festive fave All I Want for Christmas is You, in 16th place, while Little Mix score three entries on this rundown, with Black Magic the highest.

The Official Top 40 biggest songs by female artists this decade:

TITLE ARTIST PEAK YEAR 1 SOMEONE LIKE YOU ADELE 1 2011 2 CHEAP THRILLS SIA 2 2015 3 HELLO ADELE 1 2015 4 NEW RULES DUA LIPA 1 2017 5 WE FOUND LOVE RIHANNA FT CALVIN HARRIS 1 2011 6 CHANDELIER SIA 6 2014 7 HAVANA CAMILA CABELLO FT YOUNG THUG 1 2017 8 CALL ME MAYBE CARLY RAE JEPSEN 1 2012 9 LOVE ME LIKE YOU DO ELLIE GOULDING 1 2015 10 LUSH LIFE ZARA LARSSON 3 2015 11 ROAR KATY PERRY 1 2013 12 ONE KISS CALVIN HARRIS & DUA LIPA 1 2018 13 ROLLING IN THE DEEP ADELE 2 2011 14 THIS IS ME SETTLE/GREATEST SHOWMAN ENS 3 2017 15 GHOST ELLA HENDERSON 1 2014 16 ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU MARIAH CAREY 2 1994 17 WORK RIHANNA FT DRAKE 2 2016 18 SHAKE IT OFF TAYLOR SWIFT 2 2014 19 THESE DAYS RUDIMENTAL/GLYNNE/MACKLEMORE 1 2018 20 DIAMONDS RIHANNA 1 2012 21 HOLD MY HAND JESS GLYNNE 1 2015 22 ONE LAST TIME ARIANA GRANDE 2 2014 23 ALL ABOUT THAT BASS MEGHAN TRAINOR 1 2014 24 SHOUT OUT TO MY EX LITTLE MIX 1 2016 25 LET IT GO IDINA MENZEL 11 2013 26 A THOUSAND YEARS CHRISTINA PERRI 11 2011 27 FIREWORK KATY PERRY 3 2010 28 WORK FROM HOME FIFTH HARMONY FT TY DOLLA SIGN 2 2016 29 PRICE TAG JESSIE J FT BOB 1 2010 30 MAKE YOU FEEL MY LOVE ADELE 4 2012 31 BLACK MAGIC LITTLE MIX 1 2008 32 ONLY GIRL (IN THE WORLD) RIHANNA 1 2010 33 STARSHIPS NICKI MINAJ 2 2012 34 BANG BANG JESSIE J/GRANDE/MINAJ 1 2014 35 TOUCH LITTLE MIX 4 2016 36 JAR OF HEARTS CHRISTINA PERRI 4 2010 37 JUST GIVE ME A REASON PINK FT NATE RUESS 2 2012 38 NEVER FORGET YOU MNEK & ZARA LARSSON 5 2015 39 SUMMERTIME SADNESS LANA DEL REY VS CEDRIC GERVAIS 4 2013 40 BURN ELLIE GOULDING 1 2013

©2019 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

And here are the biggest albums by female artists this decade:

TITLE ARTIST PEAK YEAR 1 21 ADELE 1 2011 2 25 ADELE 1 2015 3 OUR VERSION OF EVENTS EMELI SANDE 1 2016 4 LOUD RIHANNA 1 2011 5 19 ADELE 1 2008 6 THE FAME LADY GAGA 1 2009 7 TEENAGE DREAM KATY PERRY 1 2010 8 WHO YOU ARE JESSIE J 2 2011 9 LUNGS FLORENCE & THE MACHINE 1 2009 10 1989 TAYLOR SWIFT 1 2014 11 HALCYON ELLIE GOULDING 1 2013 12 I CRY WHEN I LAUGH JESS GLYNNE 1 2015 13 BORN TO DIE LANA DEL REY 1 2012 14 TALK THAT TALK RIHANNA 1 2011 15 GREATEST HITS - SO FAR PINK 5 2010 16 GLORY DAYS LITTLE MIX 1 2017 17 BORN THIS WAY LADY GAGA 1 2011 18 THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION WHITNEY HOUSTON 3 2007 19 BACK TO BLACK AMY WINEHOUSE 1 2006 20 THE TRUTH ABOUT LOVE PINK 2 2012 21 THE ELEMENT OF FREEDOM ALICIA KEYS 1 2009 22 LIONESS - HIDDEN TREASURES AMY WINEHOUSE 1 2011 23 CEREMONIALS FLORENCE & THE MACHINE 1 2011 24 LIGHTS ELLIE GOULDING 1 2010 25 GET WEIRD LITTLE MIX 2 2015 26 A PERFECT CONTRADICTION PALOMA FAITH 2 2014 27 UNAPOLOGETIC RIHANNA 1 2012 28 4 BEYONCE 1 2011 29 FALL TO GRACE PALOMA FAITH 2 2012 30 RED TAYLOR SWIFT 1 2012 31 HEAVEN REBECCA FERGUSON 3 2011 32 TURN IT UP PIXIE LOTT 6 2009 33 DO YOU WANT THE TRUTH OR SOMETHING PALOMA FAITH 9 2009 34 BEYONCE BEYONCE 2 2013 35 THE GIFT SUSAN BOYLE 1 2010 36 MY LOVE - THE ESSENTIAL COLLECTION CELINE DION 5 2008 37 I AM SASHA FIERCE BEYONCE 2 2009 38 RATED R RIHANNA 9 2009 39 DELETED SCENES FROM THE CUTTING ROOM CARO EMERALD 4 2010 40 MESSY LITTLE RAINDROPS CHERYL COLE 1 2010

©2019 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.