16 incredible Official Chart Facts of 2021

1. In January, Olivia Rodrigo's Drivers License claimed the UK’s highest number of streams ever in a single day for a non-Christmas song. The track racked up 2.407m streams in 24 hours on Tuesday, January 12. Ed Sheeran's Shape of You previously held the 24-hour record in 2017, with 2.274m streams.

2. In February, British soul artist Celeste became the first female artist in five years to score a Number 1 with their debut album when Not Your Muse soared to the top spot.

3. In March, after nine weeks at Number 1, Olivia Rodrigo's Drivers License became the longest-running Number 1 debut single in the UK for 15 years, since Gnarls Barkley's Crazy in 2006. 

4. In April, The Killers' Mr Brightside logged its 260th week - exactly five years - on the Official Singles Chart Top 100.

5. Also in April, Taylor Swift's Fearless (Taylor's Version) - the first of her re-recorded album releases - became her third Number 1 record in less than a year - the fastest accumulation of three chart-topping albums ever.

6. Tom Jones reaffirmed his status as a chart icon when his album Surrounded By Time entered at Number 1 in April. At 80 years and 10 months old, he now holds the record as the oldest male artist to claim a chart-topping album in the UK.

7. In May, Tion Wayne and Russ Millions scored the UK's first Number 1 Drill single with Body. The track was boosted to the top spot thanks to remix featuring featuring Bugzy Malone, Fivio Foreign, Darkoo, Buni, ArrDee, and E1 & ZT.

9. More from Olivia Rodrigo: in May the US star became the youngest artist to land the Official Chart Double - topping the albums chart with SOUR and singles chart with Good 4 U - at 18 years and 3 months old.

9. Speaking of Good 4 U, after four weeks at Number 1, the song became the longest-running Number 1 rock-influenced single in 18 years - since Evanesence's Bring Me To Life in 2003. 

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10. After winning the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest, Måneskin took over the singles Top 40, and in June landed two entries in the Top 10 with I Wanna Be Your Slave and Beggin' - the first Italian act to achieve the feat in UK chart history.

11. In July, Dave's second album We're All Alone In This Together charged to the top spot with 74,000 chart sales - the biggest opening week for a rap/hip-hop album in over a decade, since Tinie Tempah's Disc-Overy in October 2010.

12. In September, Ed Sheeran added another record to his ever-growing list of chart accolades as he became the first British male solo artist to claim a full year at Number 1 across his catalogue on the Official Singles Chart.

13. October brought the return of Adele and the lead single from her 30 album, Easy On Me. The track shot to Number 1 with the biggest opening week of chart sales - 149,865.

14. In November, ABBA scored the fastest-selling vinyl album of the century with their Number 1 comeback record Voyage. 29,900 of their 204,000 opening week sales were on wax.

15. Later that month, Adele's 30 arrived and posted the biggest opening week chart sales of the year - 261,000. It's the biggest opener since Ed Sheeran's Divide in 2017.

16. Finally, in December, LadBaby set a new record, becoming the first act to score four consecutive Christmas Number 1s, overtaking Spice Girls and Beatles'.