32 incredible chart facts of 2016

Another year over, and 2016 has been a great year for pop. Here are some of the super-charty stats you might have missed over the last 12 months:

1. Justin Bieber became the first artist ever to occupy the entire Top 3 in the Official Singles Chart in early January, with Love Yourself, Sorry and What Do You Mean dominating the highest three positions.

2. Just days after his sad passing in January, David Bowie's Blackstar became the fastest selling album of the year, racking up combined sales of almost 150,000 in its first week.

3. Still with the legend that was David Bowie, five of his most iconic singles made a return to the Top 40 in the week after his death. Heroes finished highest, and scored a new chart peak into the bargain – on original release it reached Number 24, but on its 2016 outing, peaked at 12.

4. Early 2016 was all about Bowie – shortly after he died, David Bowie logged 12 entries in the Official Albums Chart Top 40 in one week, equaling a record by another iconic star, Elvis Presley. Three of David's were in the Top 5.

5. Speaking of Elvis, his latest album The Wonder of You hit Number 1, extending his record-setting span for most time passed since his first and latest chart topper. The King has still got it!

6. Newcomers to the British chart, Lukas Graham were already racking up records with their Number 1 single 7 Years. The track's five-week stint at the top means it was the longest reign at Number 1 by a Danish act ever.

7. Lukas Graham was also involved in the closest race to Number 1 of the year. Back in March, a mere 261 combined chart sales separated them from Mike Posner's I Took A Pill In Ibiza – but it was Mike who finished out in front to secure the Number 1.

8. The music world lost another icon in April, when Prince died. The star landed three albums in the Top 5 after his death, matching David Bowie's feat from January. Only Michael Jackson can claim more – he occupied four Top 5 places following his death in 2009.

9. 2016 was the year we were all sipping on some Lemonade, thanks to Beyoncé. Her semi-surprise album/TV special saw six of its tracks go Top 40 the same week – with a total of 12 in the Top 100. 

10. 2016 saw a lot happening for Drake. He scored his first Number 1 as a lead artist with One Dance, feat. Wizkid and Kyla. In its third week at the top, it set a new one-week streaming record with 7.86 million plays, beating the previous record-holder, Adele's Hello, by over 500,000.

11. While we're on Drake, you may remember he managed to score 15 straight weeks at Number 1 with One Dance, equalling Wet Wet Wet's stint with Love Is All Around from 1994, and just missing out on leveling with the record for most consecutive weeks at the top. That's still held by Bryan Adams, who spent 16 weeks at Number 1 in 1991. Drake can claim the longest running Number 1 of the digital era, however – overtaking Rihanna's Umbrella.

MORE: The songs that spent the longest at Number 1

12. Drake also scored the only double of the year, topping the Official Singles Chart with One Dance and the Official Albums Chart with Views, which he did twice.

13. Adele's 25, a big record breaker in 2015, continued to excel, reaching the three-million sales milestone quicker than any other album. Adele passed the huge milestone the week she headlined Glastonbury and returned to Number 1 for a fourth stint, meaning it had taken her a mere seven months to do. Wow.

14. There were 11 Number 1 singles in 2016. Justin Bieber's Love Yourself kicked things off.

MORE: Every Official Singles Chart Number 1 ever

15. And there were 37 Number 1 albums. Adele's 25 started the year off.

16. ELO made a triumphant return to the Official Albums Chart following their rousing set at Glastonbury. Hits retrospective All Over The World both passed a million sales and gave them their first chart-topping album in 35 years!

17. Canada had a good year – four Number 1s on the Official Singles featured Canadian artists. There was Justin Bieber's Love Yourself, Shawn Mendes' Stitches, Drake's One Dance and Cold Water from Major Lazer, which featured Justin Bieber (again). Cold Water also featured MØ, from Denmark, one of two Danish acts to top the chart in 2016, with the other being Lukas Graham – that's the first time it's ever happened.

18. Only one Number 1 single didn't make it past one week at the top – Zayn's Pillowtalk.

19. Pillowtalk was, however, the first single of the year to go straight in at Number 1. The others were Major Lazer's Cold Water and Little Mix's Shout Out To My Ex.

20. The longest consecutive stint at Number 1 on the Official Albums Chart is shared by David Bowie's Blackstar and Adele's 25 – both managed a three-week run.

21. Overall, Adele has spent the longest at Number 1 in 2016 – 25 has scored 8 chart-topping weeks in total, across four separate occasions.

22. Adele's 25 also helped the star achieve a new chart feat. In January Adele overtook Madonna's record for spending the most weeks at Number 1 on the Official Albums Chart, which was 30 weeks. Adele has gone on to smash it; she's now notched up 37 weeks at Number 1 across her three albums.

23. Justin Bieber was the only act to score more than one Number 1 single in 2016. It's unusual for the same to happen on the album chart, but in 2016 it did. David Bowie's Best Of knocked his own Blackstar off Number 1 in February.

24. Keeping with the Official Albums Chart, it was a big year for UK country on the chart. Sister duo Ward Thomas scored the first ever Number 1 album by a UK country act. Impressive work girls!

25. The beloved vinyl continued its resurgence, as sales of albums in retro black plastic overtook those in digital for the first time. In the first week of December, £2.4m was spent on vinyl albums, while digital sales reached £2.1m.

26. Seven of the 37 albums that reached Number 1 in 2016 were by female artists: Adele, PJ Harvey, Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, Barbra Streisand, Ward Thomas, and Little Mix. For those mixed group fans out there, there's an eighth female slot when including The Lumineers' Neyla Pekarek into the mix.

MORE: See every Official Albums Chart Number 1 ever

27. Three acts topped the Official Albums Chart posthumously in 2016: David Bowie, Viola Beach, and Elvis Presley.

28. Viola Beach were the first act to achieve a posthumous Number 1 with their debut album, following their tragic passing, along with their manager, in a car accident in Stockholm in February.

29. Four songs were announced as million-sellers in 2016. They were:

Christina Perri – Jar of Hearts

Gerry & The Pacemakers – You'll Never Walk Alone

Nicki Minaj – Starships

One Direction – What Makes You Beautiful

30. The fastest selling DVD of the year was Star Wars: The Force Awakens with 1,189,287 copies sold in just seven days. In second place was James Bond movie Spectre, which sold 940,565 in its first week.

31. Monday's Official Chart Update gives us an idea of who might be Number 1 the following Friday. And it's pretty accurate – only 6 times has the midweek Number 1 not gone on to top the Official Singles Chart. Sigala's Say You Do (beaten by Mike Posner), Calvin Harris and Rihanna's This What You Came For (beaten by Drake), Justin Timberlake's Can't Stop the Feeling (Drake again), Kungs vs Cookin' on 3 Burners' This Girl (yep, Drake, for 4 weeks in a row), and James Arthur (he had been Number 1 for three weeks but was knocked off Little Mix in the final chart).

32. Only one song topped the Official Streaming Chart but never was a Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart itself – that honour goes to Rihanna's Work (work work work work).

Look back at every song that got to Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart in 2016: