LONDON (Reuters) – Grime artist Stormzy scored his first No. 1 in the UK singles charts on Friday, beating U.S. songstress Taylor Swift to the top spot.
“Vossi Bop”, which features a cameo appearance from actor Idris Elba in its music video, is the London-born rapper’s first single since 2017’s “Gang Signs & Prayer”, which topped the UK album charts.
The Official Charts Company said in a statement “Vossi Bop” had 12.7 million listens, allowing Storzmy to claim “the biggest week of streams ever for a rapper – smashing the previous figure set by Drake’s ‘In My Feelings’ by over two million – and the fifth biggest streaming week of all time”.
“Words don’t really do it justice. I’m genuinely, for once in my life, speechless,” Stormzy said in a statement, thanking his fans.
Stormzy, who will perform at June’s Glastonbury music festival, pushed down last week’s no.1 – “Old Town Road” by American rapper Lil Nas X – to no.2 while Grammy Award winner Swift’s pop duet “ME!” went into the charts at no.3.
American pop singer Pink topped the UK album charts with “Hurts 2B Human”.
Reporting By Marie-Louise Gumuchian, Editing by William Maclean
