2013 In Review: Avicii scores fastest selling single of the year

The Swedish DJ and producer had one of 2013’s biggest hits with Wake Me Up. Plus: we reveal the Official Top 10 Fastest Selling Number 1 Singles Of 2013!

2013 was certainly the year that Avicii made it big. The Swedish DJ – known to his nearest and dearest as Tim Bergling – scored two Nunber 1 hits, kicking things off with I Could Be The One (vs Nicky Romero) in February. Fast forward to summer, however, and things start going interplanetary with Wake Me Up, featuring an uncredited Aloe Blacc on vocals.

While Wake Me Up was the theme tune to many a summer holiday, few could have predicted the impact the folky dance track could have had on the Official Singles Chart. As some cover versions began to make a small impact on the Official Charts, it was time for the real deal to step forward and claim the glory all by itself, which it certainly did.

Watch the video for Wake Me Up before we have a delve into its chart story:

On its first day alone, Wake Me Up sold a whopping 88,000 copies, putting the previous record holder, Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke FT TI and Pharrell Williams, somewhat in the shade.

By the end of its first week, Wake Me Up was an unstoppable force, trouncing its rivals to take the Number 1 spot on the Official Singles Chart with an impressive sales tally of nearly 267,000 copies.

A couple of weeks later, Avicii was still selling like, um, oven-fresh baked goods. Wake Me Up smashed its way through the half-million copies sales barrier during its third week at Number 1.

“I never thought being on the Official Chart was an option,” said Tim at the time. “Dance music has its own things; we have our own charts and lists. So just being Number 1 is insane!”

And the red-letter days just kept on coming. In October, Wake Me Up became the 140th member of the million-sellers’ club after just three months on sale. It’s shifted over 1.1 million copies and, on the last count, was third best selling single of 2013.

So Avicii may have grabbed the fastest-selling Number 1 single of 2013, but who was right behind him? See our Top 10 of Number 1s with biggest first week sales.

Official Top 10 Fastest Selling Number 1 Singles Of 2013

1	WAKE ME UP	AVICII	267,000
2	BLURRED LINES	ROBIN THICKE/TI/PHARRELL	191,000
3	ROAR	KATY PERRY	180,000
4	TALK DIRTY	JASON DERULO FT 2 CHAINZ	160,000
5	SKYSCRAPER	SAM BAILEY	149,000
6	LA LA LA	NAUGHTY BOY FT SAM SMITH	145,000
7	WE CAN'T STOP	MILEY CYRUS	128,000
8	I LOVE IT	ICONA POP FT CHARLI XCX	125,000
9	LOVE ME AGAIN	JOHN NEWMAN	125,000
10	BURN	ELLIE GOULDING	117,000