U.K. CHARTS: ADELE SETS NEW STREAMING RECORD 

Adele’s “Easy on Me” (Columbia) has set a new record for streams as it hits #1 on the U.K.’s Official Singles Chart, while Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres scores the top spot on albums.

With 24m streams this week, "Easy on Me" breaks a record set by Ariana Grande’s “7 rings” (Island), which racked up 16.9m in 2019 upon release. “Easy” has the biggest week of digital-download sales in 2021 so far with 23.5k. With 217.3k in total chart sales, it's registered the highest week 1 sales figure since Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” (Atlantic) hit the top on 226.8k in January 2017.

All the Adele excitement has sent two of her previous hits back into the Top 40: “When We Were Young” (XL) lands at #25 and “Someone Like You” bows at #34. On albums, her 25 jumps three places to #3, 21 is up eight to #6 and 19 rises 39 places to #15.

Elsewhere on singles, Coldplay’s BTS collaboration, “My Universe” (Parlophone), is up 10 places to #5, while their “Let Somebody Go” with Selena Gomez enters at #24 and “Higher Power” rebounds to #26.

On the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart, Music of the Spheres claims the title of fastest-selling album of 2021 with 101k in sales, becoming Coldplay’s ninth consecutive #1 album. The set is the first to pass 100k in a week since Sheeran’s No. 6 Collaborations Project scored 125k in July 2019. Of Coldplay’s total sales, 85% were physical and downloads, including 12.4k on vinyl.

The Super Deluxe Edition of The Beatles’ final album, Let It Be (UMG), returns to the Top 10 for the first time in 50 years at #2, and Daniel O’Donnell’s celebratory 60 (Demon) debuts at #4. That's followed by the debut from South London newcomer Joy Crookes, Skin (Insanity), at #5. Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes earn their third Top 10 album with Sticky (AWAL), at #8.