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"÷", pronounced "divide", sold
672,000 in its first week, making it the third highest seller of
all time behind Adele's "25" and Oasis's "Be Here Now".
The third studio album by Sheeran, 26, has already achieved
"double platinum" status, the Official Charts Company said, and
sold more copies than the rest of the top 500 records combined.
Lead single "Shape Of You", initially released in January, was
the top selling single, achieving 141,000 combined chart sales.
The entire top 5 is composed of other songs by Sheeran, and all
16 songs from the album appear in the top 20.
"Wow! What a phenomenal week. I'm buzzing," Sheeran said.
The Official Charts Company said that the feat was something
that no artist had come close to achieving before.
The album achieved success across all formats. It broke the
record for highest first-week streaming sales, set by grime
rapper Stormzy just last week, and even achieved the biggest
one-week vinyl sales in over 20 years.
(Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Toby Davis)
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