Atlantic U.K. has expertly gamed the British charts this year with Ed Sheeran and, as year ends, the WMG label is doing so again. A re-release of “Perfect” f/Beyonce is on course for its second week at the top of the singles list with another—f/Andrea Bocelli— arriving on Friday.
Meanwhile, ÷ is back at #1 on albums. You’ve gotta hand it to ‘em…
If you’ll recall, Sheeran spent 13 consecutive weeks at #1 on the Official Singles Chart with “Shape of You” in January. On the release of ÷ in March, all 16 album tracks were in the Top 20. Now Atlantic is taking full advantage of the featured artist trend to try and ensure Sheeran ends the year on top. It’s working so far.
“Perfect,” which originally peaked at #4 in March, is on course for its second week at #1 on the Official Singles Chart. The sales of the original version as well as remixes and new editions all count toward the current version f/Beyonce hitting #1. So if the track stays there next week and onward, it will be because of Beyonce and Bocelli, plus the original, the acoustic version, and remixes by Mike Perry and Robin Schulz.
