Music
03 Jul 20

Dua Lipa's 'Future Nostalgia' is Ireland's biggest new album release of 2020 so far, The Weeknd and Saint Jhn claim most popular singles of the year

Lewis Capaldi proves his staying power with the biggest album of 2020 overall.

With 2020 halfway over, Dua Lipa has proven her success with new album Future Nostalgia earning the honour of the biggest new album of the year so far. The British pop star’s second record, which spent three consecutive weeks at Number 1 in April, is the most streamed album released in the first six months of the year, and ranks sixth overall in the list of biggest albums of the year to date, unveiled by IRMA.

Though released last year, Lewis Capaldi's Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent remains immensely popular, eading the way as the biggest album overall across all formats – physical, download and streaming. Dermot Kennedy's Without Fear is the biggest Irish album of 2020 so far

Speaking on Capaldi's success, IRMA chairman Willie Kavanagh comments, "Once more Lewis Capaldi proves his staying power in Ireland. Lewis has two qualities that the Irish people like – a good sense of humour and a great voice! It is fantastic to see that Dua Lipa has the most popular album released in 2020, a big seller on vinyl with huge streaming figures too. Great to see homegrown talent in the Top 10 also with Dermot Kennedy and Niall Horan."

The Weeknd's 'Blinding Lights' is the biggest single of 2020 so far with 14 million streams, though closely followed by Saint Jhn's 'Roses' which reigned No. 1 for an impressive eight weeks.

Dua Lipa also has a hat trick of songs in the Top 50 of 2020 so far. 2019 chart-topper 'Don’t Start Now' ranks in third place, while 'Physical'– the biggest song by a female artist released this year – sits in 12^th, and 'Break My Heart' lands at 34. Harry Styles also claims a trio of hits with 'Adore You' in tenth, 'Watermelon Sugar' at 29 and 'Falling' at 37.

Commenting on the status of the music industry during the pandemic, chairman Kavanagh says, “Against a backdrop of COVID-19, while the first half of 2020 has been difficult for many sectors worldwide, the recorded music industry has been very strong. Along with other home entertainment products, music has continued to give an enormous amount of joy and comfort to many."

The full chart listings are available here.