Carnival of Soul

Unsurprisingly, Ed Sheeran is back at No. 1 on the albums chart in his home country with his latest release No.6 Collaborations Project. The set easily claims the highest position on the ranking, giving the musician yet another chart-topper in the nation where he remains a hometown hero.

No.6 Collaborations Project opens atop the list with 125,000 equivalent units, which immediately makes it one of the most successful titles of the year.

Sheeran has now released four full-lengths, and all of them have made their way to No. 1 in the U.K. His debut album + made its way to the peak position in 2011, and he followed that up with the even more successful x in 2014. 2017 saw him make history and shatter records around the world with ÷ (Divide), the third, and apparently, final, in a series that saw him naming his sets after mathematical symbols. In addition to his four leaders, a live album called Jumpers for Goalposts: Live at Wembley Stadium also broke into the highest tier, peaking at No. 4.

Like all of his albums, No.6 Collaborations Project has been a massive success when it comes to singles, and before the full set was even released, Sheeran had already collected a handful of top 10 smashes from this era. In fact, four of the songs featured on his fourth album have now made their way into the region, proving it to be a huge win for the singer-songwriter.

The promotional rollout began with “I Don’t Care,” his duet with Justin Bieber, which wasted no time in becoming another proper smash for both acts. The tune bolted straight to No. 1, where it ruled for eight weeks, becoming the longest-running chart-topper of the year in the country. Second release “Cross Me” with PnB Rock and Chance the Rapper peaked at No. 4, while third cut “Beautiful People” with Khalid lifted even higher, landing at No. 3 before shooting to the top this week. Another cut, “Take Me Back to London” with Stormzy, debuted at No. 3 this frame.

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