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Justin Bieber Now Holds U.K. Chart Record Held By Elvis Presley And The Beatles

By Page Mackinley
Published on: 01:37 PST, Dec 5, 2015

Justin Bieber can’t stop breaking records. The superstar landed his third U.K. No. 1 single this week, as “Love Yourself” replaced his previous chart topper, “Sorry,” on the British official singles chart.

According to the U.K’s official charts company, the island-flavored “Sorry” generated 5.5 million streams, while “Love Yourself” punched in 5.97 million.

Both songs appear on the Canadian’s mostly critically-acclaimed new album Purpose, which was released on November 13.

“Sorry” was the second single, while “Love Yourself” is yet to be officially acknowledged as the follow-up single by Bieber’s record label, Def Jam.

The two tracks received official sales certification from the U.K.’s British Phonographic Industry this week.

Bieber’s chart slayage continues. The 21-year-old’s “What Do You Mean?” is at No. 4 on the U.K. singles chart. The tropical-house jam has stayed on the chart since its August 28 release, topping it on five non-consecutive occasions.

By unseating himself at the No. 1 spot, Bieber becomes one of the only three artists in history to achieve this feat on the U.K’s official Singles Chart.

The last living act to replace itself at No. 1 were the Beatles in 1963 when “She Loves You” gave way to “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” John Lennon did it posthumously in 1981 when “Woman” usurped “Imagine.” As did Elvis Presley in 2005 when reissues of “Jailhouse Rock” and “One Night/I Got Stung” successively took the No. 1 spot.

This isn’t the first time Bieber has followed in The Beatles’ footsteps. When Purpose debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s 200 albums chart two weeks ago pulling in over 640,000 sales in its first week of release, he also broke the legendary Brit band’s 51-year-old record for having the most simultaneous singles in the Hot 100 at any one time, scoring 17 entries to The Beatles’ and Drake’s previous 14.

“Sorry” is No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot 100, while “What Do You Mean?” is at No. 4. “Love Yourself” is No. 7. “Sorry” is No. 2 and “Love Yourself” is No. 3 on the U.S. singles sales chart.

Meanwhile, amid his record-breaking success (echoed on Spotify), Bieber returned to Japan as part of final Purpose promo dates in his comeback year. A performance at Capital FM’s Jingle Ball in London on December 6, and a charity show in his Stratford hometown on December 7 follow.

After a post-Thanksgiving snowboarding break in Utah, Bieber arrived in the Land of the Rising Sun on Friday. It’s no secret that the Biebs loves Japan. He’s previously spoken about its courteous and interesting culture. That, added to a tide of glowing album reviews and chart buoyancy of his music, it’s no surprise the singer seemed to be in a great mood during a Tokyo press conference and performance of “What Do You Mean?” on Friday.

True to form, Justin arrived onstage at the presser on a skateboard. With a translator’s help, he fielded a slew of questions about the process of making his album, collaborating with EDM tastemakers Skrillex and Diplo, his music influences, and what he wants the world to know about where he’s at now after two overly-documented tough years.

The hitmaker had a lot more to say. Check out the video below.

He later performed “What Do You Mean” at a Tokyo television station.

For his part, Bieber tweeted congratulations to fellow artist Ed Sheeran (who co-wrote “Love Yourself”), and producer, Benny Blanco.

The Biebs also shared a slew of pics on Instagram page showing him enjoying various pursuits in Japan.

[Images via Karla Welch/The Wall Group/Instagram]

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