NEWS
The Weeknd secures biggest album of 2023 so far with 'The Highlights'
07 April 2023
The Weeknd secures the Official biggest album of 2023 to date with The Highlights, the Official Charts Company can reveal.
The Canadian singer-songwriter, born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, reigns atop the newly-unveiled list with his 2021 hits collection, which peaked at Number 2 on the Official Albums Chart upon its release.
The Weeknd’s 2016 album Starboy also features at Number 25 on the list, thanks in part to the release of a remix of its single Die For You featuring Ariana Grande which gained popularity on TikTok.
Having broken records in 2022, Taylor Swift’s Midnights lands at Number 2 on the biggest albums of 2023 so far. The release of Taylor’s tenth studio album, which has spent a total of five non-consecutive weeks at Number 1 to date, surpassing a record previously held by Madonna as she claimed nine UK Number 1 albums in the fastest succession of any female artist in Official Charts history.
Taylor also boasts three further entries in the year-to-date Top 40; 2014 LP 1989 (23), 2020’s folklore (28) and 2019 release Lover (31).
SZA lands at Number 3 with her acclaimed second studio album SOS. Similarly, the record’s lead single Kill Bill boasts the title of the year’s third-biggest song so far.
The biggest new release of 2023 comes courtesy of Pink, with her ninth studio LP TRUSTFALL (4). Having provided the Pennsylvania-born singer-songwriter a fourth Number 1 record in February, TRUSTFALL claims the title of both the most-downloaded and most-purchased album on physical formats of 2023 so far.
Rounding out the year-to-date Top 5 is Harry Styles’ Harry’s House. After being crowned 2022’s Official biggest album overall, its success continues into 2023 thanks to a BRIT Awards Best British Album win and Harry’s ongoing Love On Tour stadium shows.
A host of greatest hits collections are present in the year-to-date ranking: Eminem’s Curtain Call: The Hits (6), Diamonds by Elton John (8), Fleetwood Mac’s 50 Years – Don’t Stop (9), and ABBA’s Gold – Greatest Hits (10) all secure a spot in the Top 10.
Lana Del Rey’s landmark sixth Number 1 album Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd. is the second-biggest new LP of 2023 to make the list (18), and second biggest title on physical formats. This eighth full-length studio release saw Lana level with the likes of Arctic Monkeys and Pink Floyd earlier this month; all boasting UK chart-topping albums six apiece.
Another new 2023 release on the year-to-date list comes courtesy of Gorillaz, with their eighth studio album Cracker Island (29). In March, the record provided the virtual group their second chart-topping LP and first in 17 years.
London-born rapper Clavish’s 2023 debut mixtape Rap Game Awful is just behind at Number 30 having only been released in January.
More chart-topping 2023 releases in the Top 40 come from Miley Cyrus’s Endless Summer Vacation (33) - the parent album of 2023’s Official biggest song to date, Flowers – Sam Smith’s fourth studio album Gloria (34), and Paramore’s genre-defying comeback This Is Why (36).
The Canadian singer-songwriter, born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, reigns atop the newly-unveiled list with his 2021 hits collection, which peaked at Number 2 on the Official Albums Chart upon its release.
Having broken records in 2022, Taylor Swift’s Midnights lands at Number 2 on the biggest albums of 2023 so far. The release of Taylor’s tenth studio album, which has spent a total of five non-consecutive weeks at Number 1 to date, surpassing a record previously held by Madonna as she claimed nine UK Number 1 albums in the fastest succession of any female artist in Official Charts history.
Taylor also boasts three further entries in the year-to-date Top 40; 2014 LP 1989 (23), 2020’s folklore (28) and 2019 release Lover (31).
SZA lands at Number 3 with her acclaimed second studio album SOS. Similarly, the record’s lead single Kill Bill boasts the title of the year’s third-biggest song so far.
The biggest new release of 2023 comes courtesy of Pink, with her ninth studio LP TRUSTFALL (4). Having provided the Pennsylvania-born singer-songwriter a fourth Number 1 record in February, TRUSTFALL claims the title of both the most-downloaded and most-purchased album on physical formats of 2023 so far.
Rounding out the year-to-date Top 5 is Harry Styles’ Harry’s House. After being crowned 2022’s Official biggest album overall, its success continues into 2023 thanks to a BRIT Awards Best British Album win and Harry’s ongoing Love On Tour stadium shows.
A host of greatest hits collections are present in the year-to-date ranking: Eminem’s Curtain Call: The Hits (6), Diamonds by Elton John (8), Fleetwood Mac’s 50 Years – Don’t Stop (9), and ABBA’s Gold – Greatest Hits (10) all secure a spot in the Top 10.
Lana Del Rey’s landmark sixth Number 1 album Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd. is the second-biggest new LP of 2023 to make the list (18), and second biggest title on physical formats. This eighth full-length studio release saw Lana level with the likes of Arctic Monkeys and Pink Floyd earlier this month; all boasting UK chart-topping albums six apiece.
Another new 2023 release on the year-to-date list comes courtesy of Gorillaz, with their eighth studio album Cracker Island (29). In March, the record provided the virtual group their second chart-topping LP and first in 17 years.
London-born rapper Clavish’s 2023 debut mixtape Rap Game Awful is just behind at Number 30 having only been released in January.
More chart-topping 2023 releases in the Top 40 come from Miley Cyrus’s Endless Summer Vacation (33) - the parent album of 2023’s Official biggest song to date, Flowers – Sam Smith’s fourth studio album Gloria (34), and Paramore’s genre-defying comeback This Is Why (36).
