The acts with the most Number 2 hits on the UK's Official Singles Chart

Hitting Number 1 on the Official Chart isn't easy. In the countdown's 66-year history, over 1,000 songs have been left out in the cold in the runner-up slot - and some acts have a nasty habit of missing out a lot...

Madonna (12)

Not only does Madonna have more UK Number 1 singles than any other female (13), she also has more Number 2s than any act in history (excluding reissues). 12 of the Queen of Pop's tracks have a case of 'almost-but-not-quite', starting with 1985's Crazy For You, ending with her 2003 feature on Britney Spears' Me Against The Music.

CRAZY FOR YOU	1985
HOLIDAY	1985
BORDERLINE	1986
LIVE TO TELL	1986
HANKY PANKY	1990
JUSTIFY MY LOVE	1990
CRAZY FOR YOU (REMIX)	1991
RAY OF LIGHT	1998
BEAUTIFUL STRANGER	1999
AMERICAN LIFE	2003
HOLLYWOOD	2003
ME AGAINST THE MUSIC (WITH BRITNEY SPEARS)	2003

MORE: 60 incredible chart facts and feats about Madonna

Cliff Richard (11)

Including his solo singles and his work credited with The Shadows and The Drifters, Cliff has notched up a staggering 11 near-miss singles, the most for among male artists, and British acts. Ironically, Move It is Cliff's first and last Number 2; the song was Cliff & The Drifters' debut single back in 1958, and was then re-recorded as part of a double a-side in 2006, packaged with 21st Century Christmas.

MOVE IT [CLIFF RICHARD & THE DRIFTERS]	1958
VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS [CLIFF RICHARD & THE SHADOWS]	1960
FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU [CLIFF RICHARD & THE SHADOWS]	1960
I'M LOOKING OUT THE WINDOW/DO YOU WANT TO DANCE	1962
IT'LL BE ME	1962
IT'S ALL IN THE GAME	1963
DON'T TALK TO HIM	1963
WIND ME UP (LET ME GO)	1965
DADDY'S HOME	1981
THE BEST OF ME	1989
21ST CENTURY CHRISTMAS/MOVE IT	2006

Kylie Minogue (11)

In an alternate universe, Kylie Minogue actually has 18 UK Number 1 singles, one more than The Beatles. However in this dark, dark timeline, Kylie has 7 chart toppers and a whopping 11 songs that stopped short of the mountain top.

GOT TO BE CERTAIN	1988
THE LOCO-MOTION	1988
JE NE SAIS PAS POURQUOI	1988
WOULDN'T CHANGE A THING	1989
BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW	1990
GIVE ME JUST A LITTLE MORE TIME	1992
CONFIDE IN ME	1994
ON A NIGHT LIKE THIS	2000
KIDS [WITH ROBBIE WILLIAMS]	2000
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT	2002
I BELIEVE IN YOU	2004

MORE: 50 golden chart facts about Kylie Minogue

Elvis Presley (9)*

(Rex/Shutterstock)

Elvis being, you know, the King, he'll feature in every trivia list we will ever produce, and he rears his very talented head in this rundown too, with nine Number 2s to his name.

HEARTBREAK HOTEL	1956
HOUND DOG	1956
PARTY	1957
DON'T	1958
HARD HEADED WOMAN	1958
KING CREOLE	1958
A MESS OF BLUES	1960
IN THE GHETTO	1969
SUSPICIOUS MINDS	1969

*Including Elvis' series of singles reissues from the 2000s, Elvis has 17 Number 2 hits, as nine of his previous Number 1s re-entered the chart at Number 2.

MORE: The acts with the most UK Number 1 singles

Rihanna (9)

Barbadian bad gal Rihanna has been killing it on the Official Singles Chart for over a decade, racking up nine chart toppers. She also has the same number of second place hits, her first being her debut smash Pon De Replay, with her most recent being Calvin Harris hook-up This Is What You Came For. Rihanna can even claim to have the best-selling song of 2010 with Love The Way You Lie, despite it going no higher than Number 2. Not so bad after all, right?

PON DE REPLAY	2005
SOS	2006
UNFAITHFUL	2006
LIVE YOUR LIFE [WITH T.I]	2008
RUSSIAN ROULETTE	2009
RUDE BOY	2010
LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE [WITH EMINEM]	2010
WORK [FT. DRAKE]	2016
THIS IS WHAT YOU CAME FOR [WITH CALVIN HARRIS]	2016

MORE: The best-selling singles of all time on the Official UK Chart

Michael Jackson (8)

Michael Jackson actually has more Number 2s than Number 1s on the UK's Official Chart, with eight. He also has eight Number 3s, but we'll get to that another time. MJ's most recent song to sit in the shadow of the top spot is 2018's Don't Matter To Me with Drake.

SAY SAY SAY [WITH PAUL MCCARTNEY]	1983
LEAVE ME ALONE	1989
HEAL THE WORLD	1992
GIVE IN TO ME	1993
WHY [WITH 3T]	1996
YOU ROCK MY WORLD	2001
MAN IN THE MIRROR*	2009
DON'T MATTER TO ME [WITH DRAKE]	2018

*Man In The Mirror originally peaked at Number 21 in 1988 before reaching Number 2 following Michael's death in 2009. 

MORE: Michael Jackson's Top 60 songs on the Official Chart

Justin Timberlake (7)

Many of Justin Timberlake's songs feel like they'd have Number 1 written all over them, but seven of them have narrowly missed out on chart topping glory. JT's first three singles Like I Love You, Cry Me A River and Rock Your Body all peaked at Number 2, as did his feel-good 2016 hit Can't Stop The Feeling, which was stuck behind Drake's One Dance for four weeks.

LIKE I LOVE YOU	2002
CRY ME A RIVER	2003
ROCK YOUR BODY	2003
SIGNS [WITH SNOOP DOGG AND CHARLIE WILSON]	2005
MY LOVE [FT. T.I.]	2006
AYO TECHNOLOGY [WITH 50 CENT AND TIMBALAND]	2007
CAN’T STOP THE FEELING	2016

MORE: Revenge hits - songs that bite back at famous people

Calvin Harris (7)

Calvin Harris knows a thing or two about hits. In addition to his 10 massive chart topping hits, Calvin has seven Number 2s under his belt. The first was 2011's Bounce with Kelis while the latest is 2019's Giant with Rag'n'Bone Man.

BOUNCE [	2011
FEELS SO CLOSE	2011
LET'S GO	2012
WE'LL BE COMING BACK	2012
HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE	2015
THIS IS WHAT YOU'VE CAME FOR	2016
GIANT	2019

6 Number 2s:

Queen, Boyzone, Oasis, Robbie Williams, Justin Bieber.

5 Number 2s:

The Beatles, Tom Jones, The Sweet, U2, George Michael, Sash!, Steps, S Club, Girls Aloud.