Sir Elton John’s career-spanning greatest hits album, Diamonds, has finally reached number one on the UK charts after an impressive 374 weeks.
The 51-track collection features signature hits like “Tiny Dancer,” “I’m Still Standing,” and “Rocket Man,” marking John’s ninth number one album at the age of 77. “I’m so excited and thrilled that Diamonds is the number one album in the UK this week,” he expressed. “What a great start to the new year. I could not be happier.”
Originally released in 2017, Diamonds has remained a consistent presence on the charts, receiving a sales boost recently due to a re-release as a super deluxe edition on Blu-ray, cassette, and diamond-effect vinyl. Additionally, the star’s streaming numbers surged following the release of the Disney+ documentary Never Too Late, which premiered last month.
The documentary features unseen footage, chronicling John’s evolution from session musician to global superstar, alongside his struggles with addiction, fatherhood, and the conclusion of his farewell tour in 2023. Co-directed by his husband, David Furnish, the film was recently longlisted for a Bafta award for best documentary.
Diamonds was initially launched in 2017 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Sir Elton’s songwriting partnership with Bernie Taupin. The double album has sold over 1.5 million copies in the UK but had not previously reached higher than number two on the charts.
Its ascent to the top was facilitated by a quiet week in new music releases, with no fresh entries in the Top 10. According to the Official Charts Company, Diamonds holds the record for the most consecutive weeks spent in the Top 40 of any album in chart history.
Sir Elton’s past number one albums span six decades, beginning with 1973’s Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player. His first greatest hits album topped the charts a year later. Other long-running hit compilations in the Top 100 include Highlights by Canadian artist The Weeknd, which was the second biggest-selling album of 2024, three years post-debut, along with Abba’s Gold and Queen’s Greatest Hits, both having spent over 1,000 weeks on the album chart.
These albums benefit from the streaming integration in chart calculations, where plays of individual tracks contribute to the overall album sales total.
In this week’s chart, Sabrina Carpenter’s Short N’ Sweet claims the number two position, while SZA’s SOS remains steady at number three.
On the singles chart, Gracie Abrams’ bittersweet ballad That’s So True sits at number one for the seventh non-consecutive week, followed by Rosé and Bruno Mars with APT at number two, and British artist Lola Young with Messy at number three. Additionally, Chappell Roan, recently named winner of the BBC’s Sound Of 2025, sees her five-year-old single Pink Pony Club re-enter the chart at number 22.
Credit: BBC News
