The 20 Best U.K. & Ireland Songs of 2025: Staff Picks

In the U.K. and Ireland, this year’s most striking and memorable songs reflected a restless, creative pulse: pop shifting into new shapes, rap sharpening its edges, and dance music once again becoming a shared language. Stars such as Olivia Dean and Lola Young lit up airwaves and festival stages across the world, while CMAT, Dave and Sam Fender all stuck gold on their respective third albums, each of which contained their most illuminating material yet.

2024 was challenging for U.K and Ireland artists at home and abroad, with a distinct lack of marquee releases from our biggest acts, plus only a handful of No. 1 singles for homegrown talent (Charli xcx, Chase & Status, Hozier). The past 12 months, however, have seen something of a sea change, with the long-term development of British and Irish talent by labels finally paying its dues: Young and Dean, for example, are a prime example of why faith and patience can embolden artists to reach their full potential. Some of the year’s biggest hits were also some of the most challenging and rewarding, while some of the more conventional pop numbers that broke on a global scale felt fresher than they have in a long time.

As such, 2025 left behind a collection of songs that feel impossible to separate from the moment they arrived: the ones we heard everywhere upon release, meant everything, and still sound fresh on repeat. Here are the highlights that will define how we remember the year, from fearless new voices to scene-leading supernovas, in alphabetical order by artist.