Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Ed Sheeran takes the top spot

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Ed Sheeran stormed the US charts , taking the top spot on the Billboard 200 with his new album “Divide” and also topping the digital songs chart with lead single “Shape of You.”


The British singer-songwriter sold an overwhelming 451,000 units of “Divide” in its debut week, giving him the biggest US sales week for any album so far this year. His US success follows an even bigger start for “Divide” in his native Britain, where Sheeran, 26, had the fastest selling album by a solo male artist in British chart history on Friday.


When hosting The Radio 1 Breakfast Show, Sheeran revealed that “Shape of You” had originally been written with Rihanna in mind.


“Shape of You is actually a really random one because I went in to write songs for other people with a guy called Steve Mac and Johnny McDaid, and we were writing this song and I was like ‘this would really work for Rihanna,’” he explained.


Also in an action-packed Hot 100 top 10: Rihanna’s “Love on the Brain” reaches the top five, becoming her 22nd top five hit; Clean Bandit blasts from No 24 to No 9 with “Rockabye,” featuring Sean Paul and Anne-Marie; and The Chainsmokers’ “Closer” (featuring Halsey) ties the record for the most weeks totalled in the top 10 in the Hot 100’s 58-year history.


The singer also made news last week when the makers of HBO TV series “Game of Thrones” announced he would be making a guest star appearance in the upcoming seventh season of the fantasy adventure, which arrives in July.


Sales of rock band Metallica’s album “Hardwired... To Self-Destruct” jumped more than 200 percent to take the No 2 spot on the Billboard 200 with 81,000 units sold for the week. The jump followed a promotional deal linked to the band’s upcoming US tour.


Last week’s top spot, Atlanta rapper Future’s “HNDRXX” album, slipped to No 5. On the digital songs chart, which measures online singles sales, Sheeran’s “Shape of You” sold another 115,000 units for the week, nine weeks after its release. Sheeran also saw his new single “Perfect” take the No 8 spot.


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