OCC
Ed Sheeran’s ‘Equals’ Snags U.K. Chart Crown
Ed Sheeran has done it again. The British singer and songwriter holds top spot on the Official U.K. Albums Chart with = (equals via Asylum), for its third non-consecutive crown. Sheeran’s latest album was the No. 2 best-seller in the U.K. in 2021, behind only Adele’s 30 (Columbia), according to data published by the Official Charts Company. A raft of greatest hits collection are on the rise this week, including Little Mix’s Between Us (up 5-4 via RCA), Elton John’s Diamonds (up 9-7 via Mercury/UMC), The Weeknd’s The Highlights (up 18-9 via Republic Records/XO), Fleetwood Mac’s 50 Years – Don’t Stop (up 15-10 via Rhino), ABBA Gold (12-11 via Polydor), Eminem’s Curtain Call – The Hits (27-17 via Interscope), George Michael’s Twenty Five (32-19 via Aegean), The Beatles’ 1 (30-23 via App...
Ed Sheeran’s ‘Equals’ Chasing U.K. Chart Crown
Ed Sheeran is on track for a third non-consecutive week at No. 1 in the U.K. with = (equals). Sheeran has an enviable chart record in his homeland, where all five of his studio albums have hit No. 1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart. Equals (via Asylum) would have logged more weeks at the summit were it not for Adele’s 30 (Columbia), which dropped last November and ruled the Official Charts Company’s year-end chart, with Sheeran’s latest album coming in at No. 2. Based on midweek data, Sheeran’s 2017’s LP Divide is set to reenter the U.K. Top 10, at No. 7, the OCC reports, with equals at No. 1. Another veteran act on the rise is ABBA, whose chart-leading comeback album Voyage (Polar) climbs one place to No. 3 on the Official Chart Update, while their career retrospective Gold — the only al...
Ed Sheeran’s ‘Bad Habits’ Reigns Over U.K.’s Year-End Singles Chart
It’s official: Ed Sheeran’s “Bad Habits” was the U.K.’s biggest song of 2021. The first single lifted from Sheeran’s latest chart-leading set = (equals), “Bad Habits” led the Official U.K. Singles Chart for 11 weeks during the year, amassing more than 1.7 million combined sales along the way, the OCC reports. Of that sum, “Bad Habits” was streamed 204 million times and amassed 142,000 sales. Sheeran rules the year-end U.K. singles chart, ahead of two Olivia Rodrigo songs, “Good 4 U” (167 million streams) and “Drivers License” (nearly 156 million streams), respectively. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The California teen ties with Sheeran for the most entries on the year-end survey, with three each. Other acts landing multiple entries in the 202...
Adele’s ’30’ Is the U.K.’s Biggest Album For 2021
A new Adele album is typically greeted with excitement and bumper sales. That was certainly the case in her homeland, where 30 (Columbia) logged multiple weeks at No. 1 and ended 2021 as the market’s biggest album. Following its Nov. 19 release, Adele’s fourth LP became the fastest-selling title of the year in the U.K., notching 261,000 week-one chart sales. Since then, the album shifted upwards of 600,000 combined sales and led the weekly chart for five cycles, equaling Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour (Interscope) for the year’s longest-reign. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news 30 was a popular stocking filler. The album shifted 502,000 units in “pure” sales, including 448,000 physical units, according to the OCC in its 2021 market analysis. The year’s No....
Ed Sheeran’s ‘Equals’ Returns to No. 1 on U.K. Albums Chart
Ed Sheeran regains top spot on the Official U.K. Albums Chart with = (Equals), in what turned out to be a nail-biting race. Fewer than 500 chart sales separate Sheeran’s latest Asylum set from Adele’s 30 (Columbia), the No. 2 album on the latest survey, published Dec. 31. Meanwhile, Michael Buble’s festive classic Christmas (Reprise) lifts 4-3, its highest peak of the year, while Little Mix’s career retrospective Between Us (RCA) is up 9-5. The Christmas spirit is coursing through the final albums chart of 2021, including Frank Sinatra’s Ultimate Christmas (UMC), the biggest climber on the current frame up 64 places to No. 33, a new best. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Also, Mariah Carey reenters the Top 40 with Merry Christmas (Sony Music CG)...
Gayle Charging to U.K. No. 1 With ‘Abcdefu’
As Christmas tunes tumble out of the U.K. chart, Gayle takes pole position for the first time with “abcdefu.” The Dallas-born, Nashville-based teen leads the chart blast with her viral hit, which lifts 14-1 in its seventh week on the survey. If it holds its position, the break-up song will give Gayle her first U.K. leader. The breakthrough singer-songwriter topped Billboard‘s Emerging Artists chart (dated Dec. 4) with her global hit, which she wrote with Sara Davis and Dave Pittenger and which Ocean Park Standoff drummer Pete Nappi produced. “Abcdefu” was initially powered by TikTok, having been featured in over half a million videos on the short-video streaming platform. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Several singles vault up the U.K. ch...
