Ed Sheeran has rounded off his stellar 2017 in the most perfect fashion by claiming the coveted UK Christmas number one.
Having spent the past two weeks at the top spot with his single ‘Perfect’, Ed has managed to hold on for another week in order to be awarded the festive accolade. During the past fortnight, Ed has released new versions of the song featuring Beyoncé and Andrea Bocelli, both of which helped him to acquire 85,000 combined sales this week. This was split across 45,000 downloads and six million streams.
Speaking to OfficialCharts.com, Ed said: “Thank you very much for making Perfect Christmas Number 1. This is an actual dream come true and I’m very proud and happy. Thank you so much and have a very Merry Christmas, happy holidays and a Happy New Year.”
If claiming this year’s festive top spot wasn’t enough, it was also announced today that ‘Perfect’ has now been certified double platinum in the UK, with over 1.23m combined sales and streams to date.
The @officialcharts Christmas no.1 ‘Perfect’ by @EdSheeran , from his hugely successful album 'Divide', has gone 2x Platinum in the UK ? ?? #bpiAwards pic.twitter.com/Bbg5fufHHL
— BPI (@bpi_music) December 22, 2017
In what seems to be an Ed Sheeran trend these days, the singer beat himself to take this year’s Christmas number one. The nearest rival to ‘Perfect’ was Eminem and Ed’s ‘River’, a track taken from Eminem’s latest album Revival. Wham!’s ‘Last Christmas’ and Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ finish at number three and four respectively, whilst Rita Ora’s ‘Anywhere’ rounds off the top five.
Over in the album charts, Ed’s ÷ slipped one spot to number two, after being dethroned by Eminem’s Revival. With combined sales of 132,000, Revival is this year’s second fastest-selling album, behind ÷ of course.
From releasing his record breaking album to touring the world, collaborating with music icons and so much more in between, it’s safe to say that 2017 truly belongs to Ed Sheeran.
Congratulations Ed on achieving this year’s Christmas number one!
Are you happy to see Ed Sheeran claim this year’s Christmas number one? Let us know on Twitter @CelebMix