Ed Sheeran continues to make major waves with his sophomore album X, which tops the UK albums chart for the third week in a row.
The Suffolk star scored the fastest selling artist album of the year to date when X shifted over 182,000 copies in its opening week.
He also recently entered the US Billboard albums chart at number one after selling 210,000 copies, while Germany, Australia and Canada are among the string of territories where X has truly marked the spot.
But with news that the Official Charts Company (OCC) now includes audio streaming data from services such as Spotify, Deezer and Napster into its singles chart calculations, how has the UK chart fared?
The first single to top the chart under the new rules was Problem by US pop princess Ariana Grande (featuring Australian rapper Iggy Azalea) scoring a combined sales figure of 113,000 with streaming accounting for six percent of that total.
This week the top spot is occupied by Will.i.am and 17-year-old Cody Wise with It’s My Birthday.
However, a special mention should also be made for former X Factor contestant Ella Henderson, whose debut single Ghost recently flew to number one and is now breaking internationally.
In other news, Londoner Sam Smith’s debut set In the Lonely Hour recently shot on to the US Billboard albums chart at number two and is maintaining a top three presence.
The album’s success has been driven by the popularity of Smith’s single Stay with Me,currently a top five smash on the Billboard Hot 100.
Other British acts scaling the iconic US chart include Calvin Harris with Summer, currently at number seven, and Disclosure with Latch, which holds at number 11 and features another appearance by Sam Smith.
Charli XCX may not be a household name yet in her native UK, (despite her collaboration with Icona Pop on last year’s chart-topper I Love It), but the Stevenage singer songwriter is big news stateside.
She features on Iggy Azalea’s Fancy which is enjoying a seventh week at number one and is also in the top 20 in her own right with Boom Clap, lifted from the soundtrack of hit movie The Fault In Our Stars.
Finally, Dolly Partonreigned at Glastonbury and is now reaping the rewards with Blue Smoke – The Best of,climbing to number three to become her highest placing UK album ever.
Surprisingly, she has scored just two UK top 40 hit singles as an artist in her legendary career. Her classic Jolene reached number seven in 1976 while the Kenny Rogers duet Islands in the Stream peaked at the same position in 1983.
Her much loved anthem 9 to 5 only made number 47 back in 1981, though it topped the chart at home in the States.
The Suffolk star scored the fastest selling artist album of the year to date when X shifted over 182,000 copies in its opening week.
He also recently entered the US Billboard albums chart at number one after selling 210,000 copies, while Germany, Australia and Canada are among the string of territories where X has truly marked the spot.
But with news that the Official Charts Company (OCC) now includes audio streaming data from services such as Spotify, Deezer and Napster into its singles chart calculations, how has the UK chart fared?
The first single to top the chart under the new rules was Problem by US pop princess Ariana Grande (featuring Australian rapper Iggy Azalea) scoring a combined sales figure of 113,000 with streaming accounting for six percent of that total.
This week the top spot is occupied by Will.i.am and 17-year-old Cody Wise with It’s My Birthday.
However, a special mention should also be made for former X Factor contestant Ella Henderson, whose debut single Ghost recently flew to number one and is now breaking internationally.
In other news, Londoner Sam Smith’s debut set In the Lonely Hour recently shot on to the US Billboard albums chart at number two and is maintaining a top three presence.
The album’s success has been driven by the popularity of Smith’s single Stay with Me,currently a top five smash on the Billboard Hot 100.
Other British acts scaling the iconic US chart include Calvin Harris with Summer, currently at number seven, and Disclosure with Latch, which holds at number 11 and features another appearance by Sam Smith.
Charli XCX may not be a household name yet in her native UK, (despite her collaboration with Icona Pop on last year’s chart-topper I Love It), but the Stevenage singer songwriter is big news stateside.
She features on Iggy Azalea’s Fancy which is enjoying a seventh week at number one and is also in the top 20 in her own right with Boom Clap, lifted from the soundtrack of hit movie The Fault In Our Stars.
Finally, Dolly Partonreigned at Glastonbury and is now reaping the rewards with Blue Smoke – The Best of,climbing to number three to become her highest placing UK album ever.
Surprisingly, she has scored just two UK top 40 hit singles as an artist in her legendary career. Her classic Jolene reached number seven in 1976 while the Kenny Rogers duet Islands in the Stream peaked at the same position in 1983.
Her much loved anthem 9 to 5 only made number 47 back in 1981, though it topped the chart at home in the States.
