Brit Awards 2025: Which nominees are the UK’s hardest-working musicians?

By analysing tour schedules, song streams and estimated earnings, the entertainment experts at Spin Genie UK have revealed the UK’s hardest-working music stars in 2025.

The UK’s hardest-working female musicians:

Taking the joint top spot as the UK’s hardest-working female musician is Charli XCX, earning an overall score of 9.09. Her latest album, Brat, was a cultural moment of the summer, and her hugely successful touring career has featured 152 shows across 40 countries, with 112 of those in the UK. She leads this year’s Brit Awards with seven nominations across five categories, including Best Album, Best Dance Act, Best Song, Best Artist and Best Pop Star.

Pop princess Dua Lipa is tied for first place as the UK’s hardest-working female musician, who also earned an impressive overall score of 9.80. Since her debut in 2013, she has released three albums, with her latest record, Radical Optimism, reaching number one in the UK. Selling 46,300 units, it marked the best opening for a female musician since Adele.

Throughout her career, Dua has performed 577 shows across 50 countries, both in the UK and worldwide and has been nominated for Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Act.

Rounding out the top three is Raye, earning an overall score of 9.51. Her recent show-stopping performance at this year’s Grammys was a huge success, as the 27-year-old performed songs from her popular studio album, My 21st Century Blues.

Nominated for R&B Act at this year’s Brit Awards, her most-streamed song on Spotify is Escapism, estimated to have earned her an estimated £3.1 million with the song streaming over 900,000 times.

UK’s hardest-working male musicians:

Ranking at number one is Michael Kiwanuka, with an overall score of 9.80. He has been nominated for Artist Of The Year and Best R&B Act at this year’s Brit Awards for his latest album, Small Changes.

Michael has released five albums in total, with his song Cold Little Heart – Radio Edit appearing on his second album. The track has earned him an estimated £1 million, with over 325 million streams.

Closely followed by rap superstar Stormzy with an overall score of 7.00. Nominated for Song Of The Year and Best Hip-hop/Grime/Rap act Of The Year, with his song Backbone, a collaboration with Chase & Status, debuting at number one in the charts.

Throughout his career, Stormzy has performed over 268 shows across 31 countries, with one of his most iconic performances being his headline set at Glastonbury in 2019.

In joint second place is indie superstar Sam Fender, with an overall score of 6.57. Nominated for Best Alternative/Rock Act Of The Year and Best Artist at this year’s Brit Awards, Fender has had a fantastic year with a UK tour and a new highly anticipated album on the way.

Fender has released two studio albums, with his latest record coming soon in 2025. His most-streamed song, Seventeen Going Under, has earned him an estimated £800,000 and recorded over 200 million streams.

Further Insights:

The Cure ranked as the hardest-working group with an overall score of 9.33/10