The debut album by Brit award winner James Bay has entered the UK charts at No 1. With over 64,000 combined sales, Chaos and the Calm dethroned Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly.
After releasing three EPs, the 24-year-old has followed in the footsteps of previous Brits Critics’ Choice award winners with success in both the album and singles charts: as well as triumphant sales of his debut, his track, Hold Back the River, sits at No 2 in the UK singles charts.
Elsewhere on the album charts, Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly slipped to fifth place, while the most streamed album of the week, Sam Smith’s In the Lonely Hour, remained at No 2. Ed Sheeran’s X, which has now passed the 2m sales mark, is at No 3, spending its 40th consecutive week in the Top 10.
Jess Glynne – who has featured on No 1 singles by Clean Bandit and Route 94 – notched up her first solo chart-topping single in Britain with Hold My Hand, shifting sales of over 97,000. She outsold the official Red Nose Day single, Lay Me Down by Sam Smith and featuring John Legend, which fell to No 6.
“As amazing as the other two felt, the feeling I have with this is on another level,” Jess told OfficialCharts.com. “To get a No 1 in my own name is one of the most insane feelings.”
Years & Years are currently at No 3 with King, while Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney spend a ninth week in the Top 5 with FourFive Seconds – a song which is also the most streamed of the week, notching up over 1.8m listens.
