Ed Sheeran has extended his run of No.1 albums with – (Subtract).
Released via Asylum/Atlantic, Sheeran’s sixth studio album is also his sixth consecutive No.1.
With opening sales of 76,263 units (41,122 CDs, 8,124 vinyl albums, 4,970 cassettes, 7,792 digital downloads and 14,255 sales-equivalent streams), – (Subtract) is the fastest-selling album of 2023 so far and the biggest seven-week total since Taylor Swift’s Midnights (and runner-up Arctic Monkeys’ The Car) in October 2022. Lana Del Rey previously claimed this year’s biggest weekly sale.
– (Subtract) is also the best-selling vinyl album of the week.
The album was produced and co-written with Aaron Dessner, whose own band The National charted at No.4 last week with First Two Pages Of Frankenstein.
The No.1 result means that Sheeran edges ahead of The 1975 in the list of acts to have reached the summit with all of their studio albums. He previously charted at No.1 with + (2011), x (2014), ÷ (2017), No. 6 Collaborations Project (2019) and = (2021).
If he can hold on next week, Sheeran will go up against Lewis Capaldi in the race for No.1 in a fortnight. The Scottish singer-songwriter releases sophomore album Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent.
Subscribers can read our charts analysis for Ed Sheeran’s full sales history - including each album’s week one performance.
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