Sam Fender’s Seventeen Going Under wins Radio 1’s Hottest Record of the Year 2021 16 Dec 2021
Sam Fender’s Seventeen Going Under has won the coveted title of BBC Radio 1’s Hottest Record of the Year 2021, announced tonight in a special edition of Radio 1’s Future Sounds.
Seventeen Going Under, the title track from Sam Fender’s second album, debuted on Radio 1 as Hottest Record in July of this year. The single has since clocked up 21 weeks in the Official UK Singles Chart to date, including three weeks in the Top Ten, while the album debuted at Number 1 following its highly-anticipated October release.
With Radio 1’s Hottest Record of the Year now in its fifth year, Sam Fender is the first artist to win the title twice after claiming the top spot for the first time in 2019 with Hypersonic Missiles.
Sam Fender says: “I was doing therapy at the time that I wrote this song, and music has always been therapy before I did therapy. I’m a true believer that a song belongs to the fans once it’s out there, and if it provides the same level of catharsis that it did for me while writing it, then that’s the best thing I could ever hope for.”
Clara Amfo says: “I think Sam’s win is really well deserved. There have been so many definitive songs of the year, but with this one in particular I’ve seen first-hand how people have made it their survival anthem. It’s a song that’s really helped a lot of people, so salute to Sam.”
Listeners were able to vote for their favourite tracks via the Radio 1 website and via social media.
The top five Hottest Records of the Year 2021 are:
- Sam Fender - Seventeen Going Under
- Joy Crookes - When You Were Mine
- Wolf Alice - How Can I Make It OK?
- Adele - Easy On Me
- Griff - Black Hole
Other tracks longlisted for Hottest Record of the Year were (in alphabetical order):
- Anz ft. George Riley - You Could Be
- Billie Eilish - Your Power
- Central Cee - Obsessed With You
- Charli XCX - Good Ones
- Doja Cat ft. The Weeknd - You Right
- Ewan McVicar - Tell Me Something Good
- Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes ft. Joe Talbot - My Town
- Fred again.. feat. The Blessed Madonna - Marea (We've Lost Dancing)
- Kojey Radical ft. Lex Amor - War Outside
- Little Simz - Introvert
- Pa Salieu ft. Aitch - Bad
- Paul Woolford & Amber Mark - HEAT
- PinkPantheress - I Must Apologise
- Sigrid - Mirror
- Tion Wayne x ArrDee - Wid It
The Hottest Record in the World is unveiled every night on Radio 1 at 6pm in a slot known for breaking some of the most exciting new music on the planet. Bring Me the Horizon and YUNGBLUD’s Obey was named as Annie Mac’s Hottest Record of the Year in 2020, beating the likes of Billie Eilish and Royal Blood to the top spot.
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THE HEADLINES
BPI's new Yearbook reveals Country music's surging popularity (see News)
How Live Nation calls the tune for the live music industry (see Features)
How economic volatility will impact US labels’ fandom monetisation push (see Comment)
Spotify is said to be raising its subscription prices across Europe and Latin America (see Digital)
Culture Secretary to review the Music Export Growth Scheme (see News)
The music industry wants solutions. But do listeners see problems? (see Comment)
The next generation of independent music tastemakers (see Features)
BPI survey confirms music consumers believe human creativity is fundamental to music (see Reports)
Eight UK cities join forces for 'Music Fans Voice' survey (see Reports)
Did the Spotify 1,000 stream rule cost artists $47m?
Meet the editors crafting some of Spotify’s top playlists (see Features)
Two Guardian music writers spent a week assessing the limits of living with and without Spotify (see Features)
Ruth Barlow of AIM and Beggars Group on UMG, Downtown and why she believes ‘regulators must act’ (see Comment)