U.K. CHARTS: ED CLAIMS CHRISTMAS #1

Ed Sheeran has claimed the U.K. Christmas #1 single with his re-released “Perfect” (Atlantic) raking up 85k combined sales, and 1.23m to date, bringing to 17 his number of weeks at the top of the Official Singles Chart in 2017. Over on albums, Eminem is #1 with Revival (Interscope) scoring 132k combined sales in its opening week.

“Perfect,” which originally charted at #4 in March, has been bolstered by two new versions, one featuring Beyonce and the other with Andrea Bocelli, in a bid from Atlantic to end what has been a hugely successful year at #1. The strategy worked, with closest competitor Eminem comfortably finishing at #2 with “River” f/Ed Sheeran (Interscope). It's the second year in a row that Ben Cook's WMG imprint has claimed the Christmas #1.

On the Official Albums Chart, Eminem’s Revival is 2017’s second fastest-selling album and his eighth consecutive U.K. #1. Ed Sheeran is #2 with ÷ selling 121k combined over the last seven days.