Ed Sheeran tops UK Albums Chart

Ed Sheeran has returned to number one in the UK Albums Chart with his debut album +, knocking Adele off the top spot.
The album has been in the charts for 20 weeks and at its time of release it became the fastest-selling digital debut album in chart history, going on to become one of the biggest-selling albums of 2011.
However, Ed’s victory comes in a week where had Adele stayed at number one, her album 21 would have been celebrating its first anniversary in the top spot.
Instead, she has dropped to number three, with Coldplay’s Mylo Xyloto rising to the number two spot.
There were just 1,200 copies separating all three chart positions, however, so Adele was not far from the top spot.
Ed Sheeran is expected to have a good 2012, with a nomination as best male solo artist, breakthrough act and British album at the Brit Awards.
This week’s top five is made up of albums that were released in 2011, suggesting either that last year saw some good album releases or that January has been a disappointing month for new albums.
Bruno Mars’ Doo-Wops & Hooligans and Stereo Typical by Rissle Kicks make up the top five.
Chris Isaak’s Beyond the Sun, an album that includes covers by Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and others, was the highest-placed new entry at number six.
British singer Seal saw sales of his album Soul 2, climb 51 places to number 17.
Next weekend (February 5th) could see a change in tides in the Official Albums Chart with the hotly-anticipated release of Born to Die by Lana Del Rey.
The US singer, who became famous after her song Video Games was a YouTube sensation, has been making headlines for weeks now and her debut album is finally available to buy.
Lana, whose real name is Elizabeth Grant, has been described as a ‘gangsta Nancy Sinatra’ and her debut is expected to soar to the top of the charts.