Another day, another Tay slay

Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) ends an incredible year by claiming 2022’s Official Christmas Number 1 album with #Midnights

Read the full story ➡ https://t.co/owb6I7lgxZ #XmasNo1 #TaylorSwift pic.twitter.com/cfF052r2fq

— Official Charts (@officialcharts) December 23, 2022

The 33-year-old singer’s festive victory marks the second instance in which Midnight has topped the charts. Released on 21st October 2022, the album debuted at the top spot in the UK album charts and found success in streams, particularly within the platform Spotify. The release marks the tenth studio album by Swift and followed the 2020 release Folklore and Evermore.

 With its win this week, Midnight has now accumulated three weeks at the number one position. Its first entered the charts upon its release and debuted at number one, Midnight then outsold the competition again the following week and has remained in the top three until its triumphant return this festive season. Swift’s recent chart success marks the second time she has spent three weeks at number one. Released on 24th July 2020, Folklore also spent three weeks as the UK’s number-one album.

The success found with Midnight’s charting propelled Swift into the chart of the most popular singers, the “Bad Blood” singer has accumulated the second most number one albums in UK chart history. Swift has entered the top billing with a high stat of nine albums, Madonna remains at the top with twelve UK number-one albums.

Placing at number three within the official 2022 UK album charts is Christmas by Michael Buble, the crooner’s seasonal staple was released on 24th October 2011 and has remained a favourite for shoppers and listeners. Upon its initial release, the album was given a Juno Award for Album of the Year, creating a landmark moment as it was the first holiday-themed release to be given the accolade.

Placing at number four within this year’s annual album race is SOS by SZA, the American singer’s second and most recent album was released on 9th December 2022 via Top Dawg Entertainment and RCA Records, peaking at number two within the UK album charts. Closing off the top five is A Family Christmas by Andrea/Matteo/Virginia Bocelli, a compilation album created by Andrea Bocelli with a heavy focus on family and the Christmas spirit.

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The album was released on 29th October 2021 and was re-released as a Christmas edition on 3rd December 2021. The festive re-issue featured the singer’s duet with Sir Elton John entitled “Merry Christmas”. The single was a tough contender within this year’s race to the Christmas number one and was announced as this week’s number one single. The original release sired many hit tracks including two number one singles “Shivers” and “Bad Habits“. The album debuted at number one within the UK album charts and sold over 139.000 units during its first week of release. During its debut release, the album was named the UK’s fasted selling album of 2021. The album’s sales record was recently beaten by Adele’s album 30; only 500 cart sales separated the albums, and Sheeran’s album placed at number two.

Elsewhere within the charts, this year’s fastest-selling album places within this week’s top five. Adele’s fourth studio album 30 positions at number two, the album’s most popular single “Easy On Me” can also be seen within the singles charts at number thirty-eight. Much like the singles chart, the festive spirit is still alive within the chart, Christmas by Michael Buble places at number three. The album was released on 21st October 2011 and remains a chart frontrunner during the Christmas season. At number four within the UK album charts is Voyage by ABBA, the group’s long-awaited release was a true hit of 2021 and remains to be favourite. This week top five is closed by Between Us by Little Mix, the British girl group’s greatest hits album. The Best of compilation was released on 12th November 2021, shortly after the album’s drop the group announced their hiatus.

The rest of this week’s album chart is also embracing the Christmas spirit with various festive albums placing within the top 100. A seasonal favourite and this week’s biggest climber lands at number 33, Ultimate Christmas by crooner Frank Sinatra jumped an impressive sixty four places to chart at a new peak position. This week’s chart also saw another chart jump, Mariah Carey’s Merry Christmas leaped twenty five places to number thirty four, the singer is often referred to as the Queen of Christmas and is a festive chart regular. Another festive album which has landed within the chart is Christmas Classics released by Bing Crosby, the album jumped fifty four chart places to a position at number thirty six.

Adele’s 2021 album release reached the number one position with 70,800 chart sales. The release’s sales figures are inclusive of 62,000 physical units sold over the last week. The Grammy award winning singer is no stranger to chart success nor Christmas chart success. Adele obtained her first Christmas number one album in 2015 with her third studio album 25.

Due to the album’s huge success, the singer is now joint first for this year’s longest-running number one album. Adele’s album shares the top spot with Oliva Rodrigo, both artists have spent five consecutive weeks at number one within the UK album official charts. Rodrigo’s debut studio album, Sour, was released on 21st May 2021 via Geffen Records and marked the meteoric rise of the 18-year-old singer.

Elsewhere within the charts this festive period, another chart-topper secures a big win. Ed Sheeran’s new album = lands at number two within the UK album charts. Sheeran is already accustomed to Christmas chart success, the singer entered two singles into this year’s seasonal chart competition. The 30-year-old singer placed at number two with “Merry Christmas”, his duet with Sir Elton John. Both artists also won this year’s Christmas number one single as a featured artist on Ladbaby’s “Sausage Rolls For Everyone”.

At number three this week is Voyage by ABBA, the iconic group’s new album was released on 5th November 2021 and was their first studio album since the 1981 release of The Visitors. This week’s album chart also sees a festive favourite place at number four, Christmas by Michael Buble has re-entered the charts. The Christmas album was originally released on 24th October 2011 and has remained one of the singer’s most beloved releases. The album sold over 479,000 copies and spent three weeks at number one within the UK charts.

Closing off the top 5 is Happy Together by Andre Rieu and Johann Strauss Or. The album was released in November 2021 by the celebrated Dutch violinist and conductor Rieu with The Johann Strauss Orchestra. The famed orchestra was founded by Rieu in 1987 and began with a small group of twelve musicians. Since its formation, the orchestra has grown to become one of music’s most popular classical acts.

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This year also marks the 10th anniversary of the Official Charts number one single award. The accolade was founded in 2011 with the intention to celebrate an artist’s incredible chart success. The award’s first recipient was the 2011 single “Wherever You Are” by The Military Wives and Gareth Malone. Since its founding year, the award has become a symbol of victory within the UK chart and has evolved to include various levels of prizes. Throughout the decade the award has celebrated great music and has been bestowed to many different artists from many different genres.

After a 6-year hiatus, the 36-year-old is reportedly ready to return to the spotlight with the aim of becoming the UK’s “Queen of Christmas”, a title famously held by Mariah Carey. If released this year Lewis’ new album could be a contender for this year’s Christmas number one.

A source has informed The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column concerning Lewis’ new album. The source discusses the singer’s new album’s release schedule. “It might feel early to be discussing Christmas in September, but it has been in the works for well over a year. Leona has recorded loads of new songs and there are some real belters in there. There’s real momentum behind her.”

The newspaper’s source continues to discuss how the Christmas musical icon Carey has cornered the market for Christmas music whilst discussing how Lewis can follow in the “Hero” singer’s footsteps. “Mariah banks millions every year from her single ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’, its accompanying album ‘Merry Christmas’ and loads of big-money brand deals like her one with Walkers a few years ago. It’s a really lucrative opportunity for Leona to follow suit.”

They then reported how Lewis’ alleged issues within the music industry have reportedly caused struggles within her career whilst reminding readers of how the singer began her career. “She hasn’t had the easiest ride in music, especially over the last decade because of issues with record labels. But now she is throwing herself head-first into this comeback which her team think will help remind the British public why she won millions of fans on ‘The X Factor’ all those years ago.”

Lewis is no stranger to success within the Christmas music market, the singer’s debut single “A Moment Like This” became the UK Christmas number one in 2006. At the time of release, the single broke the world record with downloads via digital platforms and accrued 50,000 sales in below 30 minutes. The single sold 571,000 copies during its debut release week and spent over a month within the UK singles chart. The single was the singer’s winning song within the X-Factor, during the televised competition Lewis was often compared to Carey due to her vocal talent and style.

Lewis’ next Christmas success came from her fourth studio album Christmas, with Love, the album was released on 29th November 2013. The 10-track album included three original tracks in which Lewis co-wrote, “One More Sleep”, “Mr Right” and “Your Hallelujah”. “One More Sleep” has now acquired a sales record of over 100mln and has entered into the Christmas zeitgeist becoming one of the most streamed Christmas tracks within the UK. The single initially reached number three within the UK charts but is a regular re-appearance within the charts over the holiday period.

The rest of the release features seven covers including such classics as “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home”, “O Holy Night” and “Silent Night”. All three covers were also recorded by Carey and released from her initial studio Christmas album Merry Christmas. The celebrated singer’s holiday album was released on 28th October 1994 and propelled Carey’s already blossoming career further. The album has become a classic and iconic album boasting immense commercial successes being certified platinum over eight times

The “Bleeding Love” singer will be hitting the road this year with various dates starting in November, Lewis will be supporting Gary Barlow on his Music Played by Humans tour. Full details are below.

Leona Lewis UK tour dates

27/11/2021 – The SSE Arena – Belfast
30/11 – P&J Live – Aberdeen
01/12 – The SSE Hydro – Glasgow
02/12 – Utilita Arena – Sheffield
05/12 – Motorpoint Arena – Cardiff
06/12 – Motorpoint Arena – Cardiff
07/12 – Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham
09/12 – AO Arena – Manchester
10/12 – Resorts World Arena – Birmingham
11/12 – First Direct Arena – Leeds
13/12 – M&S Bank Arena – Liverpool
16/12- The O2 – London
17/12 – The O2 – London
18/12 – Utilita Arena – Newcastle Upon Tyne

On making the album, Shaggy explained, “Since I was a child, I can remember seeing tourists flock to Jamaica during Christmastime for some sun, fun, rum, and great parties! Our island is all about family, friends, food, great beaches, warm, welcoming people, and a strong culture, which is the perfect recipe for a joyous Christmas, so we decided to embody all of that into one album.” – NME

Shaggy added in speaking about his Christmas extravaganza, “We enlisted some of Jamaica’s leading, iconic artists to participate, and with guests like Ne-Yo and Joss Stone, who frequent Jamaica during the holiday season, we hope to transport listeners and share how we celebrate Christmas in the Islands!”- NME

Shaggy (real name Orville Richard Burrell) was nicknamed after the scooby-doo character and grew up  in Jamaica and was born on 22nd October in 1968. After taking up singing lessons, Shaggy was discovered while singing on the streets with his friends.

His first mega hit was in 1993 with ‘O Carolina‘ a dancehall version of a ska song by the Folkes Brothers. Signed to Virgin records, the theme tune of the Levi’s commercial ‘Bombastic’ saw him shoot to fame in 1995. He then signed to Dreamworks to release his album, ‘Hot shot‘ which featured chart topping tunes, ‘It Was’nt Me’ and ‘Angel.’ In April 2020, Shaggy celebrated the 20th anniversary of his popular album, by releasing an updated version of his album, which he named ‘Hot Shot 2020.’ 

There is no doubt Shaggy will be bringing us some Jamaican warmth over the festive period with his Caribbean themed album. When reminiscing on his childhood memories of Christmas he said, “Since I was a child, I can remember seeing tourists flock to Jamaica during Christmas time for some sun, fun, rum, and great parties!” – Metro  It is certain that the Reggae legend will be lifting many spirits over Christmas with this fun album, bringing ‘Christmas In The Islands.’

Track List

1. ‘No Icy Christmas’ feat. Sanchez
2. ‘We Got Us’ feat. Shenseea and OMI
3. ‘Take You to the Cool’ feat. Richie Stephens & Conkarah
4. ‘Christmas In the Islands’ feat Rayvon
5. ‘Holiday in Jamaica’ feat. Ne-Yo & Ding Dong
6. ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’
7. ‘Open Presents’ feat. Romain Virgo
8. ‘Raggamuffin Christmas’ feat. Junior Reid and Bounty Killer
9. ‘Christmas Time’ feat. Jamila Falak
10. ’12 Days of Christmas’ feat. Beenie Man and Craigy T
11. ‘Warm & Easy
12. ‘Sunny Celebration’ feat. Joss Stone
13. ‘Catch Myself Some Rays’feat. CARYS
14. ‘Love When It’s Christmas’
15. ‘I’ll Be Home for Christmas’