Timber! Pitbull and Ke$ha topple Pharrell from Number 1

Pitbull and Ke$ha outperform the market to score the UK's first Official Number 1 single of 2014 with Timber.

Pitbull and Ke$ha have claimed the first Official Number 1 single of 2014 with new track Timber. And it’s a big one!

Inspired by Avicii’s crossover hit Wake Me Up, Timber fuses rap with country music, and is both Pitbull and Ke$ha’s third UK Number 1 single; Pitbull topped the Official Singles Chart twice in 2011 with Jennifer Lopez (On The Floor) and with Nayer, Afrojack and Ne-Yo (Give Me Everything), while Ke$ha reached Number 1 in 2009 with Flo Rida (Right Round) and again in 2011 with We R Who We R.

Timber has also significantly outperformed what is traditionally one of the quietest weeks of the year for singles sales, selling nearly 139,000 copies this week.

The news comes less than 24 hours after Ke$ha announced that she has checked herself into rehab to treat an undisclosed eating disorder.

"I'm a crusader for being yourself and loving yourself, but I've found it hard to practice,” she said in an official statement. “I'll be unavailable for the next 30 days, seeking treatment for my eating disorder."

Meanwhile, last week’s chart topper Pharrell Williams’ Happy  (2) increases sales again this week, shifting another 108,000 sales in the past seven days. The US singer and producer featured on the two biggest selling singles of last year – Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines and Daft Punk’s Get Lucky.

This week’s Top 5 is completed by Avicii’s Hey Brother and Jason Derulo’s Trumpets, (non-movers at 3 and 4), while Ellie Goulding’s Children In Need Single, How Long Will I Love You, climbs two places to Number 5.

New Entries and High Climbers

In addition to Pitbull’s Timber FT Ke$ha (Number 1), there are two other new entries on this week’s Official Singles Chart Top 40.

Following on from his chart success in 2013 – which saw his debut single, Antenna, peak at Number 7 - Fuse ODG returns to the Top 40 today with Million Pound Girl (Badder Than Bad). The British-Ghanaian singer is new in at Number 14.

Meanwhile, Matrix & Futurebound score their highest charting single to date with Control FT Max Marshall. The British DJ duo enter at 18 today.

Afterglow by Wilkinson climbs seven places to re-enter the Top 40 at Number 34, while Chase & Status’s Alive and Daft Punk’s Get Lucky both climb 10 places to Number 35 and 39.

The Official Singles Chart Top 10 is as follows. Click here to see the Official Singles Chart Top 100 in full after 7pm.

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