Ed Sheeran Holds Top Spot on U.K. Albums Chart With ‘Subtract’

Ed Sheeran is unmoved at the summit of the U.K. albums survey as – (Subtract) (via Asylum) logs a second week at No. 1.

The English singer and songwriter has a perfect six No. 1s, with all of his albums logging multiple weeks at the top. Just one week after scooping the year-best sales tally in the U.K., Subtract is set to chase down another target. It’ll draw level with the three-week reign of Sheeran’s 2011 debut set + (plus) if it holds its position when the next chart is published, Friday, May 26.

The highest new entry on the latest chart, published May 19, belongs to English rapper Potter Payper, as his debut full-length LP Real Back in Style (0207) starts at No. 2. That’s a career high for the artist (real name: Jamel Bousbaa), who previously cracked the top 10 with 2020 mixtape Training Day 3 (No. 3) and 2021’s Thanks for Waiting (No. 8).

Completing the podium is Jonas Brothers with The Album (Polydor), new at No. 3. It’s the fourth top 10 LP for the brothers Joe, Kevin and Nick Jonas, following 2007 debut Jonas Brothers (No. 8), 2009’s Lines, Vines and Trying Times (No. 9) and 2019’s record Happiness Begins (No. 2).

Also new to the top 10 on the fresh Official U.K. Albums Chart is Brighton, England indie-rock act Lovejoy with their third EP Wake Up & It’s Over (Anvil Cat). It’s new at No. 5, for the four-piece’s first-ever top 10 appearance, bettering the No. 12 peak for 2021’s Pebble Brain.

And finally, Alison Goldfrapp grabs her first solo top 10 album, as The Love Invention (Skint) starts at No. 6. As the singer for electro-pop duo Goldfrapp, alongside Will Gregory, the British artist boasts a further five U.K. Top 10 albums: 2005’s Supernature (No. 2), 2008’s Seventh Tree (No. 2), 2010’s Head First (No. 6), 2013’s Tales of Us (No. 4) and 2017’s Silver Eye (No. 6).