Ed Sheeran’s ‘No. 6 Collaborations Project’ is blowing away the competition everywhere

If you placed a bet on Ed Sheeran’s latest album smashing sales charts around the globe, you’re set to collect.

The Brit’s fourth, collaboration-crammed release No. 6 Collaborations Project is on track for a No. 1 start on the Billboard 200, for his third chart-leader in the United States.

According to Billboard, Sheeran’s latest could open with 170,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending July 18.

No big surprises there. Sheeran ruled the U.S. albums chart with Multiply in 2014 and Divide in 2017, en route to snagging honours as the IFPI's global recording artist of the year.

In his homeland, Sheeran’s LP is doing freakish business. A midweek sales report from the Official Charts Company had No. 6 Collaborations Project way out in front, outselling the rest of the Top 40 combined.

Ed Sheeran is doing big business, everywhere

Sheeran is no stranger to smashing records. His Divide stadium tour of Australia and New Zealand in early 2018 shifted more than 1.1 million tickets, busting a record owned by Dire Straits for more than 30 years.

Expect No. 6 Collaborations Project to start high on the ARIA Albums Chart when it’s published this weekend.

Three tracks from it have hit the ARIA top 5, “Cross Me” (featuring Chance the Rapper and PnB Rock), “Beautiful People” (featuring Khalid) and “I Don’t Care” (with Justin Bieber), which went to No. 1.

Sheeran already has three No. 1 albums in Australia, the previous two outselling every other record in the year of release.