The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on Fridays. It is broadcast on BBC Radio 1 and found on the OCC website as a Top 100 or on UKChartsPlus as a Top 200, with positions continuing until all sales have been tracked in data only available to industry insiders. However, even though number 100 was classed as a hit album in the 1980s until January 1989, since the compilations were removed this definition was changed to Top 75 with follow-up books such as The Virgin Book of British Hit Albums book only including this data. As of 2021, the OCC still only tracks how many UK Top 75s album hits and how many weeks in Top 75 albums chart each artist has achieved.
UKChartsPlus is an independent weekly newsletter about the UK music charts. It was first published in September 2001 as ChartsPlus in order to authoritatively record the official music chart information in the United Kingdom, as compiled by the Official Charts Company. Its publication began after Hit Music which was a sister publication of Music Week ceased publication in May 2001. The new newsletter was established to be totally independent of Music Week, licensing the chart data directly from Official Charts Company and other chart providers.
American singer Beyoncé has released seven studio albums, five live albums, three compilation albums, five EPs, one soundtrack album, two karaoke albums, and 83 singles. As of 2010, Beyoncé has sold over 118 million records worldwide as a solo artist, and a further 60 million as part of Destiny's Child, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Billboard ranked her as the 37th Greatest artist of all time. According to RIAA, she has sold 15 million albums in the United States.
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-selling singles in the United Kingdom, based upon physical sales, paid-for downloads and streaming. The Official Chart, broadcast on BBC Radio 1 and MTV, is the UK music industry's recognised official measure of singles and albums popularity because it is the most comprehensive research panel of its kind, today surveying over 15,000 retailers and digital services daily, capturing 99.9% of all singles consumed in Britain across the week, and over 98% of albums. To be eligible for the chart, a single is currently defined by the Official Charts Company (OCC) as either a 'single bundle' having no more than four tracks and not lasting longer than 25 minutes or one digital audio track not longer than 15 minutes with a minimum sale price of 40 pence. The rules have changed many times as technology has developed, the most notable being the inclusion of digital downloads in 2005 and streaming in July 2014.
American singer Usher has released eight studio albums, ten compilation albums, eight extended plays, and 79 singles. His music has been released on the LaFace, Arista, Jive and RCA record labels. Usher has sold more than 23 million albums in the United States alone and over 65 million albums worldwide. With over 100 million total records sold worldwide, he is one of the best selling music artists of all time. He has nine Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles and 18 Hot 100 top-ten singles. In 1994, Usher released his self-titled debut album in North America, producing three singles that had moderate chart success, and the album sold more than 500,000 copies. His follow-up 1997 album My Way sold over 8 million copies worldwide, becoming his breakthrough album. It was certified six-times platinum in the US, and spawned three successful singles, including his first UK number-one "You Make Me Wanna..." and first US Hot 100 number-one song "Nice & Slow". Usher's success continued in 2001 with his third studio album 8701. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. The album produced two number-one singles—"U Remind Me" and "U Got It Bad". In 2002, the album was certified four-times platinum in the US for sales of 4 million copies. Its worldwide sales stand at over 8 million.
"Hello" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lionel Richie. Taken as the third single from his second solo album, Can't Slow Down (1983), the song was released in 1984 and reached number one on three Billboard music charts: the pop chart, the R&B chart, and the Adult Contemporary chart. The song also went to number one on the UK Singles Chart for six weeks.
The discography of American singer Diana Ross, the former lead singer of the Supremes, consists of 25 studio albums and 116 singles. Throughout her career, Ross has sold over 100 million records worldwide. Billboard ranked her as the 47th Greatest Artist of all time and the 11th Greatest Hot 100 Female Artist of all time. In 1993, Guiness World Records crowned Ross as the "most successful female artist in music history". Her 11th studio album "Diana" remains the best-selling album of her career, selling more than 10 million copies around the world.
The discography of English hip hop trio N-Dubz consists of twenty-one singles, three studio albums, two extended plays, 28 music videos, five video album and one compilation album. N-Dubz have won four MOBO awards; Best Newcomer in 2007, Best Album for their debut album Uncle B) and Best Act in 2009 and Best Song in 2010 for their single "Playing with Fire" featuring Mr Hudson. The band released their first Greatest Hits album on 28 November 2011 after announcing indefinite hiatus so the members could focus on solo projects.
Rapper and singer Nicki Minaj has released four studio albums, three compilation albums, three mixtapes, 121 singles, and 19 promotional singles.
"Dedication to My Ex " is a song by R&B recording artist Lloyd, released on August 9, 2011 as the third single from his fourth studio album, King of Hearts (2011). The song, produced by Polow da Don and D. Smith from Zone 4 productions, features a verse from André 3000 of OutKast and is "narrated" by Lloyd's frequent collaborator and fellow New Orleans rapper Lil Wayne. The brass instrumentation was performed by Siraaj Amnesia James. The song was edited for radio in the United Kingdom, replacing the word "pussy" with "lovin'". The single performed average domestically, but reached the top 5 in the UK, Australia, and Ireland, also reaching the top 10 in Denmark, Netherlands and Austria. The song is Lloyd's biggest hit internationally to date.
American rapper and record producer Kanye West has released 138 singles, four promotional singles and charted with 65 other songs.
Barbadian singer Rihanna has released 53 singles as lead artist, 17 singles as a featured artist, 2 charity singles, and 4 promotional singles. One of the best-selling artists of all time, her albums and singles sales as of 2018 stood at 250 million. In the United States, Rihanna has amassed 14 number-one songs and 31 top-ten songs on the Billboard Hot 100. She has tallied 60 weeks at number one and is the artist with the most weeks in the top ten (360). The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) recognized Rihanna as the top-selling female digital singles artist, with 155.5 million certified units as of June 2022.
Oakley Neil H T Caesar-Su, known professionally as Central Cee, is a British rapper and songwriter from Shepherd's Bush, London. He saw success in 2020 with the release of the singles "Day in the Life" and "Loading". His first mixtape Wild West was released on 12 March 2021, which debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart. His second mixtape 23 was released on 25 February 2022 and debuted atop the UK Albums Chart.
