Lewis Capaldi’s debut album Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent is officially the biggest selling album of 2019 in the UK.

27 May 2019 - Press release

Breakthrough artist Lewis Capaldi’s debut album — Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent — is now officially the biggest selling album of 2019 in the UK. The album sold over 89,000 combined units, outselling the entire week’s Top 10 albums combined, making it the biggest selling UK debut week 1 album of the year ahead of Ariana Grande, and even beating record sales for Adele’s ‘19’. The album has also broken streaming records, securing over 25 million week 1 streams, making Capaldi the top streaming debut album artist ever in the UK. Cumulative global streams of all Capaldi’s songs are approaching one billion worldwide.

The album includes the 22-year-old Scottish singer-songwriter’s breakout single, “Someone You Loved” which has shattered records throughout Europe and just ended a nearly unprecedented seven straight week run at #1 on the UK charts. Capaldi now holds three spots on the UK Top 10 chart with “Someone You Loved” (#3) “Hold Me While You Wait,” (#5) and “Grace,” (#9).

On receiving the record-breaking news, Capaldi said, “I have the number one album in the UK and it’s not only the fastest selling album of the year, but also the biggest debut of the year. I cannot wait to tell my mother because maybe then she’ll be able to look me in the eyes. Thank you so much for going out and buying it and making the album this massive.” He continues, “This is mad man. I’m quite glad I’ll be able to stave off unemployment for at least two years, I think, so thank you very much for keeping me employed. It looks like I won’t be getting dropped by the record label just yet either. All joking aside, thank you so much - this is wild!"

Recorded over an 18-month period in London, New York and Los Angeles, Capaldi co-wrote each of the album’s 12 songs, working with Malay who also produced, (Frank Ocean, Sam Smith Lorde) Jamie Hartman (Calvin Harris, Rag N Bone Man) and TMS (Niall Horan, Maroon 5, Little Mix). Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent is an ironically titled, but charismatically defining album that’s lyrically candid and a realistic snapshot of the ups and downs of growing up. Capaldi’s stunningly identifiable voice, coupled with its turbulent themes of love, loss and heartache, make it a debut album that is unequivocally relatable.

Capaldi recently announced his second North American tour of 2019. Kicking off with a trio of shows in Texas, the headline run will also include concerts at First Avenue in Minneapolis (October 3), Brooklyn Steel in New York (October 11) and the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC (October 12). All dates can be found here. The fall outing will find Capaldi playing larger venues than those he will visit on his summer run, which had already sold out, prompting him to upgrade venues in Seattle and Portland, both due to phenomenal demand. His March 2020 tour of the UK and Ireland recently sold out in mere seconds, making him the first artist in history to sell out arenas prior to the release of a debut album. He will perform for upwards of 100,000 people on the run, which includes a show at the SSE Arena Wembley in London and two nights at 3Arena in Dublin. He will also tour with both Ed Sheeran and The Killers in the UK this summer.

Capaldi was hailed as a 2018 Vevo DSCVR Artist To Watch, longlisted for the BBC Sound Of 2018 Poll, and won Breakthrough Artist of the Year honors at the Scottish Music Awards. Capaldi was nominated for the BRIT Awards Critics’ Choice award and named an MTV UK PUSH Ones To Watch artist. He has toured with Rag’n’Bone Man, Niall Horan, and Sam Smith, and performed at such festivals as Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Firefly, Mountain Jam, Splendour in the Grass, Fuji, and Osheaga.