Rihanna does the Official Charts double!

Rihanna cements her place in the Official Charts history books this week becoming the only female artist ever to achieve the Official Singles and Albums Chart double twice in the same year with different singles and albums.  She’s also broken a flurry of additional chart records in the process.

Today, We Found Love ft Calvin Harris nails a sixth week as the Official Singles Chart Number 1, after a fiercely fought battle with the new Olly Murs single Dance With Me Tonight, and new album Talk That Talk, her sixth studio release, soars straight to the summit of the Official Albums Chart selling over 160,000 copies in week 1 to become one of the fastest sellers of the year.  In January, Rihanna landed the double with single What’s My Name ft Drake and album Loud.

The last time an act achieved this feat was in May 1972, 39 years and 6 months ago, when T Rex’s single Metal Guru and album Bolan Boogie simultaneously topped the charts, three months after single Telegram Sam and album Electric Warrior achieved the same feat. Gary Numan achieved the “double double” in 1979 but the first time was with his group Tubeway Army (single, Friends Electric; album, Replicas) and the second time as a solo artist (single, Cars; album Pleasure Principle).

Rihanna breaks yet another record, by bagging two different Number 1 albums in the same year, Rihanna becomes the first female solo artist in Official Albums Chart history to do so joining the likes of high musical achievers Michael Jackson, REM, Elton John, Blondie and Robbie Williams.

Rihanna continues to push forward on last week’s achievement of overtaking Adele to spend the greatest number of weeks of any artist at Number 1 in the Official Singles Chart in 2011.  Today’s chart brings the total to 7 weeks for this year, and a career total of 21 weeks (excluding other artists’ tracks that Rihanna has featured on as guest vocalist), that’s one week away from equalling the Spice Girls career total. 

The Beatles still hold the record in this field with a staggering 63 weeks at Number 1.

We Found Love gave the US-Barbadian singer a phenomenal sixth Number 1 in five consecutive years, a record unequalled by any other female solo artist, when it first claimed the Official Singles Chart title seven weeks ago.  The song has never been out of the Top 3 since its release.   

Though not a chart record, Rihanna today has an impressive 20 individual entries in the Official Singles Chart - 17 solo releases and three tracks featuring Rihanna as a guest vocalist.  Two of these make the Official Singles Top 10, We Found Love ft. Calvin Harris, and Drake’s Take Care at Number 9. 

Michael Jackson had 37 entries following his passing in 2009, 42 including Jackson 5 tracks.

We Found Love follows Rihanna’s previous Number 1s What’s My Name (Jan, 2011), Only Girl (In The World) (2010), Run This Town (2009), Take A Bow (2008) and Umbrella (2007).  She has also scored five Top 10 Albums including the Number Ones Good Girl Gone Bad (2008), Loud (2010) and Talk That Talk (2011). 

Commenting on these achievements, Mercury Music Group (UK) President Jason ILey said:

"Rihanna is one of the greatest artists of our time, and so it is fitting that she breaks record after record, year after year. I'm very proud to have worked with her from the start of her recording career, and to have seen her achieve exceptional success in the UK. I have no doubt that 2012 will be yet another landmark year for Rihanna and that we will see even greater things from her in the future.”

The Official Singles Chart Top 10 New Entries:

Olly Murs, 2009 X Factor finalist and current Xtra Factor presenter, valiantly fought off Rihanna’s challenge for most of the week, having topped Wednesday’s Official Chart Update.  But by Friday the gap between the two had narrowed to just 50 copies and in the final analysis Murs has to settle for Highest New Entry with Dance With Me Tonight straight in at Number 2.  Murs’ singles tally now stands at four Official Top 5 hits, including the Number 1s Please Don’t Go (2010) and Heart Skips a Beat ft Rizzle Kicks (2011).  Murs’ self-titled double platinum debut album peaked at Number 2 in November last year (held off the top spot only by the phenomenon of Take That’s original line-up reunion album Progress).  Second album In Case You Didn’t Know is released this week.

The Official Singles Chart Top 10 sees another four new entries:

Swedish DJ and producer Avicci (aka Tim Bergling) lands a personal best with his solo single Levels straight in at Number 4 having previously peaked at the same position with Collide, a collaboration with Leona Lewis earlier this year.

Former Destiny’s Child, Kelly Rowland sees single Down For Whatever ft The Wavs, from forthcoming solo album Here I Am straight in at Number 6.  Drake’s Take Care ft Rihanna climbs to Number 9 from last week’s 12 and 2010 X Factor finalist Rebecca Ferguson is straight in at Number 10 with debut single Nothing’s Real But Love.

The Official Albums Chart Top 10 New Entries:

A number of big releases jockey for position behind Rihanna this week with boyband One Direction’s debut album Up All Night the Highest New Entry, straight in at Number 2 and selling over 138,000 copies.  This feat follows their two Top 3 singles, last week’s Number 3 Gotta Be You and their debut, the Number 1 What Makes You Beautiful, which remains the fastest-selling single of the year so far.

Westlife’s Greatest Hits are straight in at Number 4 while Kate Bush is new at Number 5 with 50 Words For Snow, her second album release of the year, following May’s Director’s Cut, after a hiatus of six years.  Bush first topped the charts with her Number 1 single Wuthering Heights in 1978. 

Finally, Canadian rock band Nickelback are straight in at Number 10 with Here And Now the fifth Official Albums Chart Top 10 of their career including the Number 1, Silver Side Up (2001).

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