Ed Sheeran & Elton John's Merry Christmas debuts at Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart

Plus Olivia Dean and SZA land new Top 40 entries.

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Ed Sheeran and Elton John fly straight to Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart with their new collaboration Merry Christmas.

The song claims 76,700 chart sales in its first week, including 22,100 pure sales (physical + digital downloads) and 7.6 million streams. It also earns the biggest week of CD single sales of the year so far, with 8,100 copies sold on disc over the last seven days.

Merry Christmas marks Ed’s third Number 1 single of 2021, and 12th in total, and Elton’s second of this year – following Cold Heart (PNAU Remix) with Dua Lipa – and ninth in total.

Ed Sheeran now matches Take That’s total Number 1 tally, and only five acts in UK chart history have more: Madonna (13), Cliff Richard (14), Westlife (14), The Beatles (17) and Elvis Presley (21).

MORE: All the Official Singles Chart Number 1s

Meanwhile, festive favourites moving into this week’s Top 10 come from: Shakin’ Stevens’ Merry Christmas Everyone (6) The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl’s Fairytale Of New York (7), Michael Buble’s It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas (9) and Brenda Lee’s Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree (10).

In total there are 22 Christmas tracks in this week’s Top 40, including a brand new peak for George Ezra’s Come On Home For Christmas, up ten to 26, and British singer Olivia Dean’s Amazon Originals version of The Christmas Song, which climbs seven places to Number 39 to become her first Top 40 hit.

Other festive hits re-entering the Top 40 this week are: Paul McCartney - Wonderful Christmastime (29), Leona Lewis – One More Sleep (31), Bobby Helms – Jingle Bell Rock (32), Slade – Merry Xmas Everybody (33), John Lennon & Yoko Ono - Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (35), The Ronettes – Sleigh Ride (36).

Finally, American singer SZA debuts at Number 38 with I Hate U - her 6th UK Top 40 single and fourth this year.

See the full Official Singles Chart Top 100

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BleeUK

0

i wonder if We Are The 99% By The Daz Band will get to #1 For Soon For Christmas ? Download and stream now, it In Top 30 On I Tunes Currently.

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Piran

6

I still think ‘ABCDEFU’ will go to #1 in the New Year!

It’s be cool to see a new name at the top of the singles chart next month. :)

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Lawrence Colwell

0

So disappointed Abba's Little Things never even hit the top 20, awful it only entered at no 61. Its a bit like when The Day Before You Came only reached 32 in 1982, oh well thats Abba officially out of the running for this year's Xmas number one!!!

JH

John Hawkins

1

Some consolation that Abba are number 2 on the physical singles chart. They are just not streamed enough.

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Lawrence Colwell

1

Oh thats good news, really thought they would be streamed more with the video, although Abba were not in it, maybe there will be a sudden surge nearer to Christmas

C

Cat

0

I think that Abba song is totally awful and not worthy of them.

NN

Nu No

0

Nice to see over 8k of the same CD-single sold during just 1 week!

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Michael Jenkins

1

Merry Christmas was so underwheming. I wonder what the public sees in Ed, he is so boring to me outside his hit singles.

Happy for Sza though, that song has been on constant repeat.

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Lawrence Colwell

2

So predicted already boared of hearing it, hope its not number one over Christmas. fairy tale in New York gets my vote

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Piran

0

I was kind of mixed on 'Merry Christmas' as a whole, but I'm really happy to see a charity song at the top of the charts again & Elton getting his second #1 single of the year. :)

CM

Christian Martin

1

This song doesn't need to be No. 1! Ed Sheeran has already got enough No.1 hits!

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Piran

0

It does need to be #1 given how many people bought it! Isn’t that the point of the charts anyway? :)