Beyonce’s surprise album 1 year on: 10 amazing #ChartFacts

Almost a year ago (11 months and 12 days ago to be precise), Beyonce caught the music world unawares with the surprise release of her fifth studio album Beyonce.

And the release - which came after months of rumours, touring, Pepsi commercials and a show-stopping Super Bowl performance – did not disappoint. Not only did the record receive rave reviews (it made several influential end-of-year album lists), each track was accompanied by its own music video, giving you plenty of Beyonce for your buck.

With a special Platinum Edition of the collection including new tracks and remixes featuring Pharrell Williams and Nicki Minaj out this this week, Official Charts look back at the the incredible success of Beyonce one year on.

• Despite being released on a Friday, Beyonce debuted at Number 5 on the Official Albums Chart that Sunday.

• In just 48 hours, it sold 68,000 copies in the UK.

• On December 16 2013, Apple announced that Beyoncé was the fastest selling album in the history of the iTunes Store, selling almost 830,000 digital copies in its first three days of availability. 

• Five weeks after its release, the album peaked on the chart at Number 2. The record has so far spent 13 weeks in the Top 10 and 21 weeks in the Top 40.

• To date, the record has sold 418,000 copies in the UK, making it the 14th best-selling album of 2014 so far.

• Beyonce was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry on February 7th, denoting UK shipments of 300,000 copies.

• As of November 2014, Beyonce has sold 5 million copies worldwide.

• Drunk In Love is the biggest UK single from the LP. It peaked at Number 9 on the Official Singles Chart in January and to date has sold 458,000 copies in the UK.

• The Top 5 best-selling songs from the album are:

• This year, Beyonce has played 46 concerts - including her On The Run tour with Jay Z - and has performed to over 1.2 million people.

Beyonce - Platinum Edition is out now.