He's said he wants to the biggest pop star of the year, and it looks like Ed Sheeran may well get his wish, as he looks set to dominate the Official Albums Chart in 2017.
Just a month after release, Ed's third album ÷ is way out in front to be the biggest record of the year so far, boasting a tally of 1.4 million across physical, download and streaming equivalent sales.
The album’s runaway success is driven by physical sales with nearly 886,000 copies purchased on CD and vinyl so far, with 280,000 opting to download the album, and the remainder made up of streams.
Ed's sophomore effort x makes an appearance as third biggest album of 2017 so far; it's in second place on the streaming countdown.
MORE: The Official Top 40 biggest songs of 2017 so far
2017 has been a great year for BRIT Awards' Critics' Choice Rag'n'Bone Man so far – his debut Human is up in second with 394,000 combined from sales and streams.
Little Mix scored their first chart-topping album with Glory Days last year, and it's still doing the business for them in 2017. Combining its sales of 100,600 and 35,270 stream equivalents, it's the fourth biggest artist album of the year.
Stormzy's debut, and Number 1 album, Gang Signs & Prayer is already the fifth on our countdown, with 129,300 combined chart sales, while after just a week on release, Take That's Wonderland finishes sixth of the first quarter of 2017, claiming 112,200 sales.
Pete Tong and the Heritage Orchestra's Classic House pops up at 7 (102,000) and Drake's More Life is already at 8, with just under 100,000 across physical sales, downloads and streaming equivalent sales since its release in mid-March.
At 9, it's he cast recording of Oscar-winning La La Land (97,800), and 2015 and 2016's biggest album, 25 from Adele, also sticks its head round the door, at 10, delivering an additional 94,000 units in 2017 so far.
Here's the Official Top 40 biggest artist albums of 2017 so far…
| TITLE | ARTIST | CHART PEAK | |
| 1 | DIVIDE | ED SHEERAN | 1 |
| 2 | HUMAN | RAG'N'BONE MAN | 1 |
| 3 | X | ED SHEERAN | 1 |
| 4 | GLORY DAYS | LITTLE MIX | 1 |
| 5 | GANG SIGNS & PRAYER | STORMZY | 1 |
| 6 | WONDERLAND | TAKE THAT | 2 |
| 7 | CLASSIC HOUSE | PETE TONG/HERITAGE OR/BUCKLEY | 1 |
| 8 | MORE LIFE | DRAKE | 2 |
| 9 | LA LA LAND | MOTION PICTURE CAST RECORDING | 1 |
| 10 | 25 | ADELE | 1 |
| 11 | LADIES & GENTLEMEN - THE BEST OF | GEORGE MICHAEL | 1 |
| 12 | STARBOY | WEEKND | 5 |
| 13 | + | ED SHEERAN | 1 |
| 14 | LITTLE FICTIONS | ELBOW | 1 |
| 15 | TOGETHER | MICHAEL BALL & ALFIE BOE | 1 |
| 16 | 24K MAGIC | BRUNO MARS | 3 |
| 17 | TROLLS | MOTION PICTURE CAST RECORDING | 4 |
| 18 | BACK FROM THE EDGE | JAMES ARTHUR | 1 |
| 19 | 100 | VERA LYNN | 3 |
| 20 | I SEE YOU | XX | 1 |
| 21 | MOANA | MOTION PICTURE CAST RECORDING | 15 |
| 22 | BLUE & LONESOME | ROLLING STONES | 1 |
| 23 | LEGACY | DAVID BOWIE | 5 |
| 24 | A HEAD FULL OF DREAMS | COLDPLAY | 1 |
| 25 | VIEWS | DRAKE | 1 |
| 26 | 24 HRS | OLLY MURS | 1 |
| 27 | PIANO PORTRAITS | RICK WAKEMAN | 6 |
| 28 | THE WONDER OF YOU | ELVIS PRESLEY | 1 |
| 29 | LONG LIVE THE ANGELS | EMELI SANDE | 2 |
| 30 | THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION | WHITNEY HOUSTON | 3 |
| 31 | MY UNIVERSE | SHIRES | 3 |
| 32 | THE HEAVY ENTERTAINMENT SHOW | ROBBIE WILLIAMS | 1 |
| 33 | 50 | RICK ASTLEY | 1 |
| 34 | BLURRYFACE | TWENTY ONE PILOTS | 5 |
| 35 | I LIKE IT WHEN YOU SLEEP FOR YOU ARE SO | 1975 | 1 |
| 36 | THIS IS ACTING | SIA | 3 |
| 37 | THE FINAL | WHAM | 2 |
| 38 | THE SINGLES | PHIL COLLINS | 2 |
| 39 | CHALEUR HUMAINE | CHRISTINE & THE QUEENS | 2 |
| 40 | NUMBER ONES | MICHAEL JACKSON | 1 |
©2017 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.
Sales only
There's little deviation from the combined rundown, save for some slight changes in position and the appearance of Michael Ball and Alfie Boe's Together at 8, and Elbow's Little Fictions at 10. Ed still tops the whole show, thanks to his sales of 1.16 million.
The Top 10:
| 1 | DIVIDE | ED SHEERAN |
| 2 | HUMAN | RAG'N'BONE MAN |
| 3 | WONDERLAND | TAKE THAT |
| 4 | GLORY DAYS | LITTLE MIX |
| 5 | CLASSIC HOUSE | PETE TONG/HERITAGE OR/BUCKLEY |
| 6 | X | ED SHEERAN |
| 7 | TOGETHER | MICHAEL BALL & ALFIE BOE |
| 8 | GANG SIGNS & PRAYER | STORMZY |
| 9 | LADIES & GENTLEMEN - THE BEST OF | GEORGE MICHAEL |
| 10 | LITTLE FICTIONS | ELBOW |
©2017 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.
Streaming only
Ed Sheeran dominates, with all three of his albums occupying a Top 10 place, and Drake's More Life is already at 2 after just two weeks on release, with 65,645 streaming equivalent sales, and The Weeknd's Starboy in fifth, with 43,370.
The Top 10:
| 1 | DIVIDE | ED SHEERAN |
| 2 | MORE LIFE | DRAKE |
| 3 | X | ED SHEERAN |
| 4 | GANG SIGNS & PRAYER | STORMZY |
| 5 | STARBOY | WEEKND |
| 6 | VIEWS | DRAKE |
| 7 | GLORY DAYS | LITTLE MIX |
| 8 | + | ED SHEERAN |
| 9 | LA LA LAND | MOTION PICTURE CAST RECORDING |
| 10 | 25 | ADELE |
©2017 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.
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