2016 in music review: Part 2

What a year it's been! We continue our look through the big music stories of 2016.
Catch up on part 1 here.

2016 was the year of the comeback

In among the sad losses of some of rock's hugest stars, 2016 was a great year to make a comeback, with a few popstars you may not have expected to see bothering the charts kickstarting their careers again. Rick Astley made a triumphant return to the top of the Official Albums Chart with 50, after a gap of almost three decades. 

Craig David cemented a long overdue return to the public’s affections with Following My Intuition, his first chart-topping album since his mega-selling debut Born To Do It in 2000. 

But we weren’t done with the shock comebacks – X Factor’s prodigal son James Arthur stepped into the limelight with a Number 1 single AND album. Say You Won't Let Go topped the charts for three weeks.

Oh, and let's not forget All Saints, who returned to the Official Albums Chart Top 5 for the first time since the early Noughties with comeback album Red Flag and a successful tour.

Drake was the song of the summer

There was no getting away from Drizzy this summer. So stoked was the Canadian rapper to find himself at Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart for the first time as a lead artist that he refused to budge. He saw off some big names including Sia and Rihanna to hang on to the top spot for a very nearly record-breaking 15 weeks. Imagine if he'd actually released a music video for it as well? 

MORE: The songs that have spent the longest at Number 1

Prince's passing

We were crying purple tears in April at the loss of another legend, the flamboyant genius Prince. Despite relatively limited availability – Prince was not a huge fan of the digital format and was only available on Tidal – Prince classics raced back up the charts. The stars came out in force to pay tribute once again, with Stevie Wonder and Madonna leading the way in an emotional performance at the Billboard Music Awards.

MORE: See all of Prince's UK hit singles and albums in his archive

Skepta wins the Mercury Prize

The recognition of grime as a force to be reckoned with on the UK music scene gained further momentum in 2016, when Skepta scooped the Mercury Prize for fourth album Konnichiwa. The gong had been widely tipped to go to late great legend David Bowie, for his final album Blackstar, but it was a different Londoner who got to lift the trophy, after the judges decided that between two of the, Bowie would want the prize to go to Skepta. The grime star paid tribute to his mum and dad, who joined him on stage to accept his prize.

Other music stars we lost in 2016

While Prince and Bowie made major headlines across the world, among the other stars of the music world to leave us were Greg Lake, Leonard Cohen, Pete Burns, Rod Temperton, Keith Emerson, George Martin, Maurice White, Paul Kantner, Colin Vearncombe, Glenn Frey and Colonel Abrams. We look back at stars who have made an impact on the charts after passing away.

The X Factor

I say Honey, you say… possibly one of the most controversial and divisive X Factor contestants of all time – and there have been a few contenders for that title. The “rapper” from northwest London raised eyebrows and heckles, but there was no getting away from the fact Honey G was the most talked-about act of this year’s contest.

Winning the whole thing, though, was Matt Terry – his Ed Sheeran-penned winner’s song When Christmas Comes Around made him the first X Factor winner to release a festive track for his debut. Honey G, meanwhile, released The Honey G Show on December 23...

INTERVIEW: Matt Terry talks about winning The X Factor

Christmas Number 1

2016’s race to Official Christmas Number 1 had some serious twists and turns. Along with charity singles like the government-backed Friends of Jo Cox cover of You Can't Always Get What You Want, and novelty turns like Dartford Tolls and SHINNy's Christmas Number 1, there were some surprise contenders – and One Direction had quite a part to play.

Former 1Der Zayn dropped a new duet with Taylor Swift, I Don't Wanna Live Forever, from the second 50 Shades of Grey movie, while just days later, his ex bandmate Louis Tomlinson teamed up with Steve Aoki on Just Hold On. X Factor winner Matt Terry hoped to capitalise on the festive feel with When Christmas Comes Around and Rangers fans tried to send Dave Clark Five's Glad All Over to the top in support of their striker Joe Garner.

But it was Clean Bandit that managed to claim the 2016 festive crown with Rockabye, following in the footsteps of previous non-Christmassy Christmas Number 1s, including Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You, Human League's Don't You Want Me and, umm, Bob The Builder's *classic* Can We Fix It? (see every UK Christmas Number 1 here) Watch how they reacted to the news below: 

George Michael's passing

2016 saw the passing of many of music's brightest stars, and another came on Christmas Day, when it was announced that George Michael had died aged just 53. There were tributes from music royalty including Madonna, his Wham bandmate Andrew Ridgeley and Elton John, who said he had "lost a beloved friend"; while his  stories of his previously untold generosity emerged along with praise for his work as a prominent gay rights campaigner. 

Look back at every Official Albums Chart Number 1 of 2016: