Ed Sheeran's chart-breaking record - will Lorde follow?

Ed Sheeran (AAP)
Ed Sheeran (AAP)

Ed Sheeran's new record has divided critics, but his fans don't care - putting every song from it into the charts here and around the world.

All 16 songs from the deluxe version of the album, titled ÷, are in the New Zealand top 40. In his native UK, all 16 are in the top 20.

Both pale in comparison however to what the 'Shape of You' singer has achieved in Ireland, where he occupies the top 16 spots.

The Irish singles chart - all Ed Sheeran, all the time (Official Charts Company)
The Irish singles chart - all Ed Sheeran, all the time (Official Charts Company)

It's a chart domination unseen since the Beatles, who once held the top five single spots in the US - but that was in 1964, decades before streaming allowed any song to enter the singles chart.

Until recently, tracks needed to actually be bought - whether digitally or physically - to qualify.

In 2014, streaming started counting towards the New Zealand singles chart - 175 streams on Spotify, Apple Music or Google Play the equivalent of a single sale. Last year, the album chart followed.

Recorded Music NZ CEO Damian Vaughan says this week's freak chart isn't a sign the system is broken.

"Absolutely not," he told Newshub, with a laugh.

"The charts exist to just purely reflect what is popular, in terms of what people are buying and consuming in terms of music. It just shows that Ed Sheeran is enormously popular."

The streaming-to-sales ratio used to determine the chart is reviewed quarterly, but is unlikely to change before then. It hasn't been changed since its introduction in 2014.

Physical single sales have become increasingly rare, but - like vinyl records - aren't completely extinct.

"When I see the data come through I ask my chart guy, 'What's that about?' Occasionally something pops through, but it's pretty rare. For albums, physical sales are still a meaningful component of the chart - last year they were approximately 20, 25 percent."

Any other week, getting 16 songs on the chart would probably have scored Sheeran number one.

"We still have our global local superstar Lorde taking out that," says Mr Vaughan, who expects the 'Green Light' singer to duplicate, if not top Sheeran when her album Melodrama drops in June.

In only five days, ÷ was streamed on Spotify 273 million times - smashing the record previously held by The Weeknd.

"It's fair to say that Ed Sheeran nearly broke Spotify this week," a spokesperson said.

Mr Vaughan says Sheeran could be breaking records for years to come.

"Ed Sheeran's still in the beginning stages of his career, I would have thought. This is his third record."

Newshub has compiled some other strange music chart records below.

The Beatles

In 1964, the Beatles had the top five spots on the US singles chart - 'Can't Buy Me Love' was number one, followed by 'Twist and Shout', 'She Loves You', 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' and 'Please Please Me'.

This was possible because rights the Beatles' records in the US at the time were split between Capitol and a few other labels, who put out as many Beatles singles as they could to cash in on the Beatles' exploding popularity after the Fab Four appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.

The Beatles still hold the record for the most number one US singles in a year - six, in 1964. They also hold second-place, with five chart-toppers in 1965.

50 Cent

The closest anyone came to matching the Beatles in the US was rapper 50 Cent. In 2005, he had 'Candy Shop' at number one and 'Disco Inferno' at number five; and featured on The Game's number four hit, 'How We Go'.

'Unchained Melody'

In 1955, four completely different versions of the epic balled 'Unchained Melody' occupied the UK top 20.

Oasis

Oasis hold the record for the longest song to hit #1 anywhere - 'All Around the World' - and are the only band with two of the longest chart-toppers, with fourth-longest 'D'You Know What I Mean'.

Both songs came from the band's cocaine-infused 1997 album Be Here Now.

Glee

The UK record for the most songs to chart in a single year is held by the cast of TV show Glee, with 51 in 2011.

Joy Division

New Zealand was the only country in the world to send post-punk pioneers Joy Division to number one, with 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' topping the charts in June 1981 and funeral dirge 'Atmosphere' following in August.

Michael Jackson

Following his death in 2009, the King of Pop had 27 songs on the UK charts at the same time.

'Hallelujah' and 'Singing the Blues'

Only two songs have held both the number one and two slots on the UK chart at the same time. 'Singing the Blues' hit the top two spots in 1957, and Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' in 2008, recorded by Alexandra Burke and Jeff Buckley. Cohen's own version was also in the chart, down at number 36.

The Dark Side of the Moon

It took Pink Floyd's 1973 classic 15 years to fall off the US Billboard album chart - a record 736 weeks.

Paul McCartney

The former Beatle holds the record for the longest drought between top 10 hits in the US. It was 29 years between his 1986 hit 'Spies Like Us' and his return to the charts, with Rihanna and Kanye West on 'FourFiveSeconds'.

Newshub.