Pharrell Williams ‘Happy’ is most played song of the decade

The Despicable Me 2 hit spent four non-consecutive weeks at the top of the UK charts back in 2013 and went on to win a Grammy.

And it’s not Pharrell’s only appearance in the list compiled by music licensing company PPL.

He also makes an appearance in fourth place, featuring on Daft Punk’s hit Get Lucky, along with Nile Rodgers.

Two British stars also made the list, Adele with Rolling In The Deep making number two, and Mark Ronson with Uptown Funk, which featured Bruno Mars getting to number seven.

Adele was the only solo female to feature as a main artist rather than a featured artist in the top ten.

Showing the trend for tracks attached to big movies getting plenty of airtime, Justin Timberlake claimed fifth place with Can’t Stop The Feeling! which he wrote for the hit film Trolls as well as performing in the 2016 animation, playing a troll called Branch, and served as the executive music producer for the movie.

Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5, featuring Christina Aguilera, took the third spot.

Black Eyed Peas, OneRepublic, Kings Of Leon and CeeLo Green also made the Top 10.

PPL and Listen compiled the list from UK music usage and airplay data supplied by its licensees, including radio stations and TV channels.

Chief executive at PPL Peter Leathem said: “The top 40 most played songs are the sounds that radio producers and broadcasters have consistently played throughout the last decade and will evoke many memories for all of us.”

Top ten most played songs of the 2010s:

1. Happy – Pharrell Williams

2. Rolling In The Deep – Adele

3. Moves Like Jagger – Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera

4. Get Lucky – Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers

5. Can’t Stop The Feeling! – Justin Timberlake

6. I Gotta Feeling – Black Eyed Peas

7. Uptown Funk – Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars

8. Counting Stars – OneRepublic

9. Forget You – CeeLo Green

10. Sex On Fire – Kings Of Leon