Ed Sheeran Blocked From A No. 1 Debut By His Pop Competition

Ed Sheeran's new single 'Sapphire' debuts at No. 2 on the Official Singles Sales chart, landing ... More behind only "Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter. Ed Sheeran performs onstage at the 2025 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival on April 19, 2025 in Indio, California. (Photo by Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)
Ed Sheeran is used to hitting No. 1 in the United Kingdom whenever he delivers a new single. The singer-songwriter ranks as one of the most successful pop acts of all time in that nation, and he's currently barreling toward the release of a brand new album. Play has already produced a trio of hits, including 'Sapphire,' the most recent of the bunch, which debuts on a number of tallies in Sheeran's home country this frame.
The cut nearly manages a No. 1 start on one tally, but another of the hottest names in pop music today – and a true superstar in the U.K. at the moment – beats him to the punch.
Sheeran's latest cut 'Sapphire' opens at No. 2 on the Official Singles Sales chart, the ranking of the tracks that sell the most copies in the U.K., regardless of style, language, or format. Sheeran is blocked from another champion by 'Manchild,' Sabrina Carpenter's latest smash, which opens in first place.
While 'Sapphire' might not lead the charge on the Official Singles chart, its arrival does help Sheeran reach a pair of exciting milestones. The tune is his thirty-fifth career top 10 on the tally and his eightieth overall placement.
'Sapphire' does manage to conquer one of the four U.K.-based rankings on which it appears, but it doesn't do so as it arrives. The track was released with only a few hours left in the previous tracking period, and 'Sapphire' managed to sell just enough copies to debut at No. 99 on the Official Singles Downloads chart. Now, it rockets from second-to-last place to No. 1, earning Sheeran his sixteenth leader and fortieth top 10 on the tally that looks only at purchases on digital download storefronts.
'Sapphire' also manages to debut inside the top 10 on the other two tallies where it can be found this frame. It opens in ninth place on the Official Singles chart — the all-encompassing ranking of the most popular songs in the U.K. — and No. 8 on the Official Streaming roster.
The new arrival joins previous Play singles 'Azizam' and 'Old Phone,' which are declining on almost every tally on which they appear in the U.K. Those tracks have already hit the top 10 on a handful of rosters, but interest seems to be fading, as none of them have reached the same levels of ubiquity as some of his past releases.

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