Ed Sheeran's all-conquering album x [pronounced 'multiply'] has notched up an eighth week at the top of the UK charts, matching James Blunt's record for the longest reign ever for a male solo artist; as set by Back To Bedlam back in 2005.
At the rate it's going, x could be 2014's answer to Adele's absurdly mega-selling 2011 opus 21, which is incidentally rumoured to be followed-up later this year. Behind the red-headed trail-blazer, Sam Smith rallies a place to No2 with In The Lonely Hour, while the almighty Dolly Parton swaps places and moves to No3.
New releases come courtesy of The Gaslight Anthem, whose Get Hurt arrives at No4; and Richard & Adam, whose supermarket-friendly third album At The Movies bows at No5. The former Britain's Got Talent finalists, who famously had their set interrupted by a Simon Cowell-targetting egg-thrower, still seem to be as strong as ever, over a year after their exit from the ITV show.
Ed Sheeran is invincible (Photo: PR)
OneRepublic's Native soars into the Top 10 at No9 thanks to a Deluxe Edition re-release, while The Saturdays' retrospective compilation, Finest Selection - named after a lyric in the legendary 'Up' - bows at No10. The girls have only ever cracked the album chart Top 5 on one occasion (with mini-LP Headlines! four years ago); otherwise they've hit No9 twice (Chasing Lights & Wordshaker), No10 twice (Living For The Weekend & Finest Selection) and once missed the Top 20 altogether (On Your Radar). They apparently have another studio set out in just a few months' time; presumably aimed at capitalising on Frankie Bridge's turn on Strictly Come Dancing.
The Sats' singles collection (Photo: Packshot)
On the singles chart, Norwegian duo Nico & Vinz score a second week in front with 'Am I Wrong', while Magic! and OneRepublic complete a thoroughly static Top 3. Kiesza's 'Giant In My Heart' is the highest new entry at No4, while Ella Henderson completes 10 weeks in the Top 10 with 'Ghost' at No5; still performing incredibly well with both sales and streams.
Another new arrival this week comes from Rizzle Kicks, whose 'Tell Her' bows at No14 to kick off their third album campaign. Their second record Roaring 20s performed well but failed to come anywhere near the success of platinum-selling debut Stereo Typical, so hopefully they can get back on track with their new stuff. Further down, Iggy Azalea and Rita Ora's 'Black Widow' soars from No183 to No32 and The Saturdays enter at No38 with 'What Are You Waiting For', now their lowest-charting single so far - presumably struggling to score many sales on the same week that the album hit shelves.
Kingsland Road's roomy artwork (Photo: Packshot)
Special mention this week goes to two talent show finalists who have released material with independent labels and made minor but commendable dents on the listings: Kingsland Road's 'Dirty Dancer' impacts the singles chart at No85, while Loveable Rogues' album This & That makes a quiet Top 40 arrival at No37. Congrats to them both - it's difficult without the backing of a label like Simon Cowell's to find success after coming off a telly contest, but they've done incredibly well to reach this point and prove their commitment to making and releasing music.
