Ed Sheeran’s ‘Subtract’ Heading for Second Week Atop U.K. Chart

After sprinting to the summit last week with year-best sales figures, Ed Sheeran’s – (pronounced Subtract) is unlikely to budge anytime soon.

Sheeran’s latest set leads the midweek U.K. tally for a second week, ahead of batch of new releases.

The English singer and songwriter’s sixth studio LP accumulated 76,000 first-week combined sales, easily the fastest-selling album in the U.K. this year, eclipsing the 41,000 chart units shifted by Lana Del Rey’s Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd.

Physical copies accounted for 71% of the Asylum set’s first-week total, the Official Charts Company reported, with an additional 10% from downloads.

Sheeran boasts a perfect six No. 1s, dating back to his 2011 full-length debut +, then x (from 2014), ÷ (2017), No. 6 Collaborations Project (2019) and = (2021). All of those LPs logged multiple weeks at No. 1, with 2017’s Divide the undisputed king with 20 weeks on the chart throne.

Coming in at No. 2 on the Official Chart Update is Wake Up & It’s Over (via Anvil Cat), the third EP from Brighton, England indie pop band Lovejoy. If Wake Up holds its form, it’ll give the four-piece a first top 10 appearance, bettering the No. 12 best for 2021 EP Pebble Brain.

Goldfrapp leader Alison Goldfrapp completes the podium at the midweek stage with her solo effort The Love Invention (Skint). It arrives at No. 3 on the chart blast, and could score the singer her first solo top 10. As a member of electronic act Goldfrapp with Will Gregory, the British artist has five U.K. top 10 albums.

Meanwhile, U.S. pop siblings Jonas Brothers are eyeing a No. 4 debut with The Album (Polydor), their sixth studio LP, and Daft Punk’s final album Random Access Memories (Columbia) is set to return at No. 5 thanks to a 10th anniversary reissue campaign.

British rapper Potter Payper (Real Back In Style at No. 6 via 0207); powerhouse Welsh electronic duo Overmono (Good Lies at No. 7 via XL Recordings); and U.S. singer-songwriter BC Camplight (The Last Rotation of Earth at No. 9 via Bella Union) are on track for top 10 berths.

All will be revealed this Friday (May 19) with the publication of the Official U.K. Albums Chart.