10 Official Irish Chart facts about Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran is one of the most popular artists on the planet, so it should come as no surprise that he's taken up plenty of pages in the Official Irish Charts history books.

To celebrate the release of Ed's latest single Bad Habits, we look back at Ed's chart legacy and highlight 10 of his most impressive chart accomplishments.

1. ÷ is the most streamed album of all-time in Ireland

A whopping 164.4 million streams across all of ÷'s 16 tracks have been logged in Ireland, with 52.7 million them coming from its dual lead singles Shape of You and Castle On The Hill alone. No.6 Collaborations Project is Ireland's 11th most-streamed album, while X ranks 15th.

MORE: Ed Sheeran's Official Irish Singles Chart history - the numbers behind his success in Ireland

2. Ed spent more weeks at Number 1 on the Official Irish Albums Chart in the 2010s decade than any other artist

Across four Number 1 albums, Ed spent 61 weeks at Number 1 between 2010 and 2019, beating out Adele who ranked second with 50 total weeks. 61 weeks is actually more than the likes of Lady Gaga, Eminem, Michael Buble and Bruce Springsteen combined!

3. He claimed every position in the Top 16 of the Official Irish Singles Chart the week of ÷’s release

Talk about making history. Ed shattered so many Official Chart records the week of ÷'s release, the biggest being that the album's complete tracklist occupied every position in the Top 16 of the Official Irish Singles Chart. Previously, no-one had ever held more than all of the Top 3 concurrently. As a bonus fact, in that same week, his three albums ÷, X and + were Numbers 1, 2 and 5 respectively on the Official Irish Albums Chart.

4. Three of Ed's tracks have charted highest in Ireland

The Official Irish Singles Chart holds bragging rights when it comes to a trio of Ed Sheeran singles, all of which peaked at a higher position in Ireland than any other country. 

The most notable of these worldwide peak positions on Irish shores is for Nancy Mulligan. The ÷ deluxe edition track was on the whole one of the lesser popular - and perhaps lesser consumed - songs from the album, but the only country it reached the Top 10 in was Ireland. The key to Nancy Mulligan peaking at Number 3 here? That's down to its story being centred around Ed's heritage, with the titular character being Ed's Irish grandmother. To top off the authenticity Irish folk group Beoga play on the song, and Northern Irish singer Foy Vance is a co-writer.

MORE: The acts with most weeks at Number 1 in the 2010s decade on the Official Irish Singles Chart

Also, Ed's collaboration with Taylor Swift peaked at 5 on the Official Irish Singles Chart, eclipsing its fellow Top 10 positions in the UK and Belgium and Ed's song All of the Stars from the movie The Fault In Our Stars charted at 29, better than even its American chart position after a highly-publicised performance on The Voice US with the late Christina Grimmie.

5. Galway Girl has the biggest week of streams ever for a male solo artist 

Another track of Ed's that taps into his Irish roots is Galway Girl, a trad-influenced hip-hop/folk mash-up that features a medley of fiddle, accordion and bodhram instrumentation. The week after ÷ was released, Galway Girl debuted at Number 1 on the Official Irish Singles Chart, replacing Shape of You on top. In the process, the song tallied 1.22 million streams. Then an all-time high, the song now holds the record for the biggest week of streams ever for a male solo artist, and has since only being eclipsed overall by Olivia Rodrigo's Drivers License & Good 4 U, and Ariana Grande's 7 Rings.

6. Shape of You is the third longest-reigning Number 1 single ever in Ireland

Spending 14 non-consecutive weeks at Number 1, only two songs have managed longer stints at the top; Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee & Justin Bieber's Despacito (15 weeks), and Bill Whelan's Riverdance (18 weeks).

7. No act has earned the Official Chart Double more times than Ed

Ed Sheeran has spent plenty of time at the top of the Official Irish Singles and Albums Charts separately, and it turns out he also has a habit for being Number 1 on both at the same time. In fact, more so than anyone else! No less than 15 times has Ed topped both charts concurrently.

Impressively, Ed is the only act to claim a chart double with an album his concurrent Number 1 single didn't feature on! This occurred when Shape of You was Number 1 alongside X prior to ÷'s release. After that album came out, Shape Of You and ÷ ruled their respective charts at the same time for six weeks, while Galway Girl managed it for two, and Perfect for a month.

8. ÷ claimed the 2010s decade's biggest opening week of chart sales

With 27,600 chart sales accumulated in its first seven days, ÷ claimed the biggest opening week of the last decade, surpassing Adele's 21, The Script's Science & Faith and Westlife's Greatest Hits.

9. Ed scored more Top 50 hits from 2010-2019 than anyone else... except Justin Bieber

Ed Sheeran impacted the Official Irish Singles Chart with an incredible 40 different songs from the start of his career in 2011 until 2019, exceeded only by Justin Bieber who made 46 appearances.

MORE: The acts with the most Number 1 singles from 2010-2019 on the Official Irish Singles Chart

10. Ed has had songs peak at every position in the Official Irish Singles Chart Top 10

Ed Sheeran has visited the Top 10 on 30 occasions, reaching Number 1 six times. In addition to his trips to the top, Ed has had at least one song top out at every position in the Top 10. His debut single The A Team was a Number 3 hit in 2011, while the number Ed needed to complete his full Top 10 set was Number 4, which his Eminem and 50 Cent collab Remember The Name reached in July 2019. Ed had songs peak at every position in the Top 10 in the following order: 3 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 4

© IRMA | Image: Zakary Walters