Coldplay chalk up year's fastest-selling album

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/may/26/coldplay-number-one-fastest-selling-album

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Coldplay have achieved their sixth consecutive No 1 album. Ghost Stories has extended the British group's unbroken sales streak, smashing past Michael Jackson to top this week's UK chart and become the fastest-selling album of the year.

Although Ghost Stories hasn't sold nearly as well as their last release, 2011's Mylo Xyloto, it smashed the first-week sales figure for the year's previous leader, Paolo Nutini's Caustic Love, selling 168,000 copies to his 109,000.

Jackson's posthumous compilation Xscape has slipped to No 2, followed by What Have We Become, a collaboration by former Beautiful South singers Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott. Paloma Faith's A Perfect Contradiction is at No 4, just ahead of the 20th anniversary rerelease of Oasis's debut, Definitely Maybe.

On the singles chart, Sam Smith celebrates his first album – which is out today –by scoring his third No 1 song. Stay With Me follows the success of Money on My Mind, in February, and La La La, Smith's single with Naughty Boy, which was released last year. "I don't even know what to say," Smith told OfficialCharts.com this weekend. "I really poured my heart into this record and I'm just so happy people love this song."

While Mr Probz and Rita Ora are still hanging around near the top of the chart, and Clean Bandit's new single debuts at No 5, the biggest surprise is at No 3: Dangerous Love is a the best-ever result for Fuse ODG, a Peckham-born rapper who grew up in Ghana. Dancehall star Sean Paul guests on the song, which is also climbing the charts in Africa. Fuse ODG won a 2013 Mobo award for best African act.

Official singles chart top five

1 Sam Smith –Stay With Me2 Mr Probz –Waves3 Fuse ODG ft Sean Paul – Dangerous Love4 Rita Ora – I Will Never Let You Down5 Clean Bandit ft Sharna Bass –Extraordinary

Official albums chart top five

1 Coldplay – Ghost Stories2 Michael Jackson – Xscape3 Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott – What Have We Become4 Paloma Faith – A Perfect Contradiction5 Oasis – Definitely Maybe