Ed Sheeran’s ‘Subtract’ already fastest-selling album of 2023

Ed Sheeran‘s album ‘Subtract’ has become the fastest-selling album of 2023, meaning it may mark a sixth consecutive Number One album for the singer-songwriter.

According to the Official Charts Company, ‘Subtract’ has already collected over 56,000 chart units, which is more than any other album that was released this year. Lana Del Rey’s ‘Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd.’ previously held the record with 41,000 chart units during its first week.

The LP, produced by The National’s Aaron Dessner (Taylor Swift, Gracie Abrams), is also set to claim the Number One spot in the Official Albums Chart. This would make it the pop singer’s sixth streak, joining 2011’s ‘+’, 2014’s ‘X’ (‘Multiply’), 2017’s ‘÷’, 2019’s ‘No. 6 Collaborations Project‘ and 2021’s ‘=’.

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The lead single from the album, ‘Eyes Closed’ was Sheeran’s 14th Number one on the Official Singles Chart. He has also released a special four-part Disney+ documentary titled The Sum Of It All, which helps bring the singer’s decade-long Mathematics era to an end.

Recently, Sheeran denied claims that he refused to perform at King Charles III’s coronation concert this past weekend (May 7).

He revealed on SiriusXM that he didn’t attend the show because he never received an invitation. “No one ever asked me (to perform),” he said, explaining where he was for the historic event, “I assume if they went online and went ‘What’s Ed doing on May 6’, they would go ‘Oh, he’s playing in Dallas’. I think that’s what’s happened.”

The singer also won his ‘Thinking Out Loud’ plagiarism case against Marvin Gaye’s estate. The accusations alleged that Sheeran and co-writer Amy Wadge copied the rhythm of the 1973 song ‘Let’s Get It On’, as well as an ascending four-chord sequence. The case also referenced “striking similarities” between the two tracks that violate the copyright. Sheeran consistently denied claims he copied Gaye’s song.