Ed Sheeran’s record-breaking week is showing no sign of slowing down as his third album ÷ sails past 500,000 sales and looks set to surpass 600,000.
After midweeking at 431,702 sales on Monday (March 6), the record had sold 541,088 at the close of play on Tuesday (March 7), according to the Official Charts Company, with two days sales still to go. That figure does not include Spotify data for Tuesday.
The singer’s new release has now entered the Top 3 in the list of the fastest-selling albums of all-time in the UK, leapfrogging Take That’s Progress (2010), which posted first-week sales of 518,601.
÷ has 337,408 physical sales and 154,930 permanent downloads, the latter figure outstrips the highest number of combined first-week sales for the whole of 2016 (David Bowie’s Blackstar, 146,000). The album has 48,750 sales from streams, a figure that smashes the record set by Stormzy’s Gang Signs & Prayer last week.
Sheeran still holds three of the Top 5 positions in the albums chart, with second album X at No.4 (17,565 sales) and debut + at No.5 (13,509 sales).
All 16 tracks on ÷ continue to grow in the singles chart. Shape Of You has shifted 94,828 copies and is on course for a ninth week at No.1. Sheeran occupies the entire Top 5, nine spots of the Top 10 and 16 of the Top 19 positions.
The only tracks to break his monopoly are The Chainsmokers and Coldplay’s Something Just Like This (No.6), Rag’N’Bone Man’s Human (No.12) and Katy Perry’s Chained To The Rhythm (No.16).
Sheeran’s tracks occupy the following positions in the Top 5: Galway Girl (No.2), Castle On The Hill (No.3), Perfect (No.4) and New Man (No.5).
Happier is at No.7, with Dive and Supermarket Flowers behind at Nos.8 and 9. In at 10 is How Would You Feel (Paean), What Do I Know is at No.11 and Eraser is at No.13. Barcelona occupies 14th spot, with Nancy Mulligan at No.15 and Hearts Don’t Break Around Here at No.17. Bibia Be Ye Ye is at No.18 on and Save Myself completes the Top 19.
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