List of UK top-ten singles in 2012

The UK Singles Chart is one of many music charts compiled by the Official Charts Company that calculates the best-selling singles of the week in the United Kingdom. Since 2004 the chart has been based on the sales of both physical singles and digital downloads, with airplay figures excluded from the official chart. This list shows singles that peaked in the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart during 2012, as well as singles which peaked in 2011 and 2013 but were in the top 10 in 2012. The entry date is when the song appeared in the top 10 for the first time (week ending, as published by the Official Charts Company, which is six days after the chart is announced).

One-hundred and forty-four singles were in the top ten in 2012. Eleven singles from 2011 remained in the top 10 for several weeks at the beginning of the year, while "Scream & Shout" by will.i.am & Britney Spears and "I Knew You Were Trouble" by Taylor Swift were released in 2012 but did not reach their peak until 2013. "Good Feeling" by Flo Rida and "Paradise" by Coldplay were the singles from 2011 to reach their peak in 2012. Forty-six artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 2012.

The first number-one single of the year was "Paradise" by Coldplay. Overall, thirty-six different singles peaked at number-one in 2012, with Rita Ora (3) having the most singles hit that position.

Multiple entries
One-hundred and forty-four singles charted in the top 10 in 2012, with one-hundred and thirty-three singles reaching their peak this year.

Forty-six artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 2012. American rapper Flo Rida and Barbadian singer Rihanna shared the highest number of top ten singles in 2012 with five. Flo Rida recorded one solo single which reached the top spot – "Good Feeling" - and also featured on Olly Murs number-one single "Troublemaker". His other top ten entries were "Wild Ones" featuring Sia (number 4), "Whistle" (2) and "I Cry" (3). Rihanna had number-ones with "We Found Love" featuring Calvin Harris (released in 2011) and "Diamonds", and also charted in 2012 with "Where Have You Been" (6), "Stay" featuring Mikky Ekko (4) and a guest appearance on Coldplay's "Princess of China", which reached number four. Scottish DJ Calvin Harris, singers Emeli Sande and Rita Ora, will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas and French DJ David Guetta all had four top ten singles in 2012.

Chart debuts
Thirty-nine artists achieved their first top 10 single in 2012, either as a lead or featured artist. Of these, four went on to record another hit single that year: Carly Rae Jepsen, Fun, Paloma Faith and Stooshe. Two artists scored two more top 10 singles: Conor Maynard and Lawson. Rita Ora had three other entries in her breakthrough year.

The following table (collapsed) does not include acts who had previously charted as part of a group and secured their first top 10 solo single.

Songs from films
Original songs from various films entered the top 10 throughout the year. These included "Skyfall" (from Skyfall), "Ill Manors" (from Ill Manors) and "Wide Awake" (Katy Perry: Part of Me).

Charity singles
A number of singles recorded for charity reached the top 10 in the charts in 2012. The Sport Relief single was "Proud", recorded by former X Factor finalists JLS, peaking at number six on 31 March 2012.

Girls Aloud recorded the Children in Need single for 2012, entitled "Something New". It was the 21st top ten single of their career out of their twenty-two singles, a run only broken by previous release "Untouchable" (which reached number 11), peaking at number two on 1 December 2012.

A group of artists under the banner Justice Collective produced a cover of "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" (originally by The Hollies) to raise money for charities connected to the Hillsborough Disaster. It became the Christmas number one for that year, replacing James Arthur at the top spot on 29 December 2012.

Best-selling singles
Gotye featuring Kimbra had the best-selling single of the year with "Somebody That I Used to Know". The song spent eighteen weeks in the top 10 (including five weeks at number one), sold over 1.318 million copies and was certified 2× platinum by the BPI (July 2013). "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen came in second place, selling more than 1.142 million copies and losing out by around 176,000 sales. Fun featuring Janelle Monáe's "We Are Young, "Titanium" from David Guetta featuring Sia and "Impossible" by James Arthur made up the top five. Singles by Psy, Nicki Minaj, Jessie J, Maroon 5 featuring Wiz Khalifa and Flo Rida featuring Sia were also in the top ten best-selling singles of the year.

Top-ten singles

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Entries by artist
The following table shows artists who achieved two or more top 10 entries in 2012, including singles that reached their peak in 2011 or 2013. The figures include both main artists and featured artists, while appearances on ensemble charity records are also counted for each artist. The total number of weeks an artist spent in the top ten in 2012 is also shown.