Another day, another accolade for Ed Sheeran – this time with the pop star having achieved the fastest-selling album of 2023 so far, for his recent Subtract (–) album.
For an album that had some pretty personal points of inspiration – not least the discovery of his wife’s tumour when she was pregnant and the death of good friend Jamal Edwards – Ed Sheeran’s latest album wasn’t always a shoo-in for major commercial success. Then again, this is Ed Sheeran we’re talking about. He could release The Sounds of Fingernails Running Down a Blackboard and still sell records. His latest album, Subtract (–), released on Friday, certainly isn’t that. Nor is it the usual pop-heavy formula that’s garnered Sheeran almost every mainstream bit of success there is to be had throughout the more-than decades-long release of his mathematical album series.
And now, despite its title, Subtract (–) has in fact had a pretty positive start to life. It isn’t just on course to become Sheeran’s sixth UK Number One album, but is the best-selling album of 2023 so far.
Having sold more than 56,000 units so far, it’s overtaken Lana Del Rey’s Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, which achieved sales of 41,925 in its first week (although remains the best-selling album on vinyl so far in 2023).
As with many Sheeran achievements, though, the bar he has to achieve is rivalled only by himself. His previous album, 2021’s Equals (=) achieved a first-week sales figure of a whopping 139,107.
Produced by The National’s Aaron Dessner, who artfully managed to draw some of Sheeran’s most heartfelt work out from him, Subtract (–) was released just hours after Sheeran won a copyright lawsuit in New York over claims his major 2014 hit ‘Thinking Out Loud’ resembled Marvin Gaye’s soul classic ‘Let’s Get It On’.
In our three-star review of Subtract (–), we wrote: “Overall, both Subtract’s substance and creation serve as a reminder that suffering is an infinite pool from which to gather your artistry… You might not be a fan of Ed Sheeran, but that is certainly a win for music and for art more broadly.”
For an album that had some pretty personal points of inspiration – not least the discovery of his wife’s tumour when she was pregnant and the death of good friend Jamal Edwards – Ed Sheeran’s latest album wasn’t always a shoo-in for major commercial success. Then again, this is Ed Sheeran we’re talking about. He could release The Sounds of Fingernails Running Down a Blackboard and still sell records. His latest album, Subtract (–), released on Friday, certainly isn’t that. Nor is it the usual pop-heavy formula that’s garnered Sheeran almost every mainstream bit of success there is to be had throughout the more-than decades-long release of his mathematical album series.
And now, despite its title, Subtract (–) has in fact had a pretty positive start to life. It isn’t just on course to become Sheeran’s sixth UK Number One album, but is the best-selling album of 2023 so far.
Having sold more than 56,000 units so far, it’s overtaken Lana Del Rey’s Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, which achieved sales of 41,925 in its first week (although remains the best-selling album on vinyl so far in 2023).
Photo: Annie Leibovitz
