Charli XCX has seen off competition from ArrDee and Sea Girls to score her first Number One album in the UK with ‘Crash’.
The Official Charts Company have revealed how the singer’s fifth studio album has shot to number one, with physical formats accounting for over 70% of the LP’s total chart sales.
Born Charlotte Emma Aitchison, the singer has often straddled two worlds: that of the global megastar and the more experimental, cult-like artist who could work with forward-thinking figures like AG Cook.
At times, that gap seemed hard to bridge. None of her four previous full length studio albums or any of several mixtapes had reached the Top 10. Her previous highest charting album was 2019’s ‘Charli’, which reached Number 14. (Commendable but not entirely mainstream success).
Yet now, her latest release has shown that it can be possible – and has done so with some interesting features too, including Rina Sawayama (‘Beg For You’) and Christine and the Queens (‘New Shapes’).
It wasn’t the easiest of roads to get here. Just last month the 29-year-old made the decision to step back from social media, after facing criticism from her fanbase for the way her album was being delivered, and the choice of singles that were being released.
“I’ve noticed lately that a few people seem quite angry at me,” she wrote, “– for the choices of songs I’ve chosen to release, for the way I’ve decided to roll out my campaign, for the things I need to do to fund what will be the greatest tour I’ve ever done, for things I say, things I do, etc.
“I’ve been grappling quite a lot with my mental health the past few months and obviously it makes negativity and criticism harder to handle when I come across it – and of course, I know this is a common struggle for most people in this day and age.”
— Charli (@charli_xcx) February 10, 2022
Today’s news over the Number One spot will no doubt ease her concerns, as she looks towards her tour in America before returning to the UK and Ireland in May. You can see the full dates of that below. (And click here if you want to buy some tickets).
May 13th – Olympia Theatre – Dublin, Ireland
May 15th – O2 Academy – Glasgow, UK
May 17th – Victoria Warehouse – Manchester, UK
May 18th – O2 Academy – Birmingham, UK
May 19th – Alexandra Palace – London, UK
May 21st – UEA – Norwich, UK
May 22nd – O2 Academy – Sheffield, UK
May 23rd – Rock City – Nottingham, UK
May 25th – Trianon – Paris, France
May 27th – La Madeleine – Brussels, Belgium
May 28th – TivoliVredenburg (Ronda Hall) – Utrecht, Netherlands
May 30th – Astra – Berlin, Germany
May 31st – Carlswerk Victoria – Cologne, Germany
