Ed Sheeran has achieved his seventh consecutive UK number one album with Autumn Variations, which he released under his independent label Gingerbread Records. Sheeran’s entire discography, from his debut album + to his latest release, has now reached the summit of the UK album chart. The singer-songwriter collaborated with Aaron Dessner from The National on Autumn Variations, his second album of 2023. The album has been received with mixed reviews, with some critics insisting that it falls short of the expectations, while others praised the singer-songwriter for his rare artistic skills in creating catchy tunes that evokes raw emotions.
In the reflective album, Sheeran explores his friends’ personal upheavals and struggles throughout 2022, reflecting on the season’s emotional ups and downs. It’s inspired by Edward Elgar’s 1989 Enigma Variations that comprised 14 depictions of his wife, friends, and colleagues. The album’s lead single American Town has recently gained a significant number of fans after Sheeran surprised a fan by playing it in her living room during a home visit, and the video was shared on social media.
Autumn Variations managed to sell the most vinyl copies of any album in the UK in the last seven days, helping it to stay ahead of other high-performing albums such as Haim’s ten-year anniversary reissue, with some predicting that Drake’s For All The Dogs, which was released on Friday, will shake things up in the next chart. Additionally, for the fifth week in a row, Doja Cat’s rap song Paint the Town Red topped the singles charts with over five million streams, followed by Strangers by Kenya Grace, who broke through the scene with her vibey drum and bass music. Lastly, BTS’s Jung Kook attained two UK top five singles, becoming the first K-pop solo artist to achieve this feat.
Sheeran acknowledged that topping the charts with Autumn Variations and getting reconnected with fans have been gratifying and that he will be releasing another album next year. He also suggested that critics’ opinions carry little weight in the streaming era, urging fans to listen to the songs and form their opinions instead. Autumn Variations may not have lit the charts on fire as his previous albums, but it’s undoubtedly a testament to Sheeran’s raw talent and skills that he has attained such success by his independent means
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