Ed Sheeran tops NZ Music Charts for 2017
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Photo by David Watson
It won't come as too much of a surprise to anyone who has kept an eye on the charts this year that Ed Sheeran looms large when we look back over 2017.
The Official NZ Top 40 End of Year Charts released by Recorded Music NZ today reveal the 26-year-old Englishman took out the 2017 double, topping both the Singles Chart with Shape Of You and the Albums Chart with Divide.
Streamed more than 16 million times and going five times platinum, Shape Of You debuted at #1 in the second week of January and remained there for 13 weeks. In fact, it didn't leave Top 40 at all this year and notched up a remarkable 28 weeks straight in the Top 10.
The song is just one of three Sheeran tunes in the Top 10 this year with Castle On The Hill at #4 and Galway Girl at #9.
It's not surprising therefore that Divide was also the biggest album of the year, says Chart Compiler Paul Kennedy.
"At five times platinum and with 25 weeks at #1, Ed really did dominate the year in a way few other artists ever have before,” says Kennedy.
He was chased hard, however, by three huge Kiwi albums, as Lorde's critically acclaim Melodrama, the Moana movie soundtrack, composed by Opetaia Foa'i, and A Very M3rry Christmas, the Sol3 Mio album currently topping the charts, all finished the year in the Top 10.
"All three were #1 albums and between them held the top spot for 12 weeks this year," says Kennedy.
Lorde's much-anticipated second album, Melodrama, was the biggest local album of the year, opening at #1 in June and spending three weeks atop the chart.
Six tracks off the record entered the Top 40, including 2017's biggest local single - the award-winning #1 hit Green Light, which spent 17 weeks in the Top 40 and achieved platinum status.
"In the streaming era it is incredibly difficult to conjure up the kind of mass popularity required to top the charts and stay there ahead of the biggest pop stars in the world," says Kennedy.
"So, it is even more impressive in this age that we still have a homegrown star like Lorde able to top the Singles Chart, as she did around the world. It’s also encouraging to see brand-new Kiwi talent entering the music scene.”
The Official Charts' first duty to more than 45,000 weekly subscribers is to report back on the most popular singles and albums of the day.
But just as importantly, they showcase a range of talent through Discovery charts like the weekly NZ Artist Top 20 and Heatseekers, which highlights the fastest-rising tracks outside the main chart.
"If you've been keeping up with all the charts this year, you will have seen a bunch of new names there in 2017,” says Kennedy.
Local artists who saw their singles chart in the main Top 40, NZ-only Top 20 or Heatseeker Charts for the first time this year included:
DRAX Project
Aldous Harding
SWIDT
Teeks
Fazerdaze
Openside
Alien Weaponry
Chores
Balu Brigada
Diaz Grimm
General Fiyah
Jon Lemmon
Montell2099
Maimoa
Noah Slee
Earth Tiger
Matthew Young
Tapz
October
Tunes Of I
Uru Whetu
Boyboy
JessB
TESSA
MOONZz
Estere
Sachi
Thomston
William Waiirua
Shakes
Elly
BAYNK
Nika
And on the albums front, the list of local talent to grace the main Top 40, NZ-only Top 20 or Heatseeker Charts for the first time this year is even longer, including:
Nadia Reid
Decades
Albi And The Wolves
Fazerdaze
Theia
Rei
Reb Fountain
Ty
Link
Ciaran McMeeken
Grawlixes
Glass Vaults
Maaka
Mermaidens
Merrin
Kane Strang
Modern Maori Quartet
Bronwyn
The Miltones
Cave Circles
Lord Echo
Grayson Gilmour
Howie Morrison Jr
Strangely Arousing
Stretch
Charlotte Kerrigan
Coral
Curlys Jewels
Disasteradio
Ghost Town
Inebriation
Kelvin Cummings
Kramit
Love Spud
Manzo
Marlin's Dreaming
The Nudge
Neil Watson
Sky Canvas
Summer Thieves
Teeth
The Nukes
The Strait Shooters
Tweed
MeloDownz
Coridian
Great North
Arthur Ahbez
Herriot Row
The Butlers
Dion Lunadon
This Pale Fire
Mikey Mayz
Dad Jokes
Elan Vital
Purple Pilgrims
The All Seeing Hand
Recorded Music New Zealand CEO Damian Vaughan applauds all the New Zealand musicians who contributed to the Kiwi music landscape in 2017.
“Looking at the success of our musicians both at home and overseas is heart-warming. It was a huge year for Lorde, but look at the fantastic list of homegrown artists represented across our range of official charts for the first time,” says Vaughan.
Top 50 Singles:
Top 20 NZ Singles: