Billie Eilish secures album number one hat-trick with Hit Me Hard And Soft

The US singer-songwriter previously claimed the chart top spot with her debut studio album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? in 2019 and in 2021 with her follow-up record Happier Than Ever.

The latest release from the 22-year-old has garnered 67,100 chart units in the last week, making it her biggest opening week in the UK so far, according to the Official Charts Company.

It also marks the second biggest opening week for any album in the UK this year, with Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department still holding on to the lead for now.

Eilish’s album, which she created with her brother and songwriting partner Finneas O’Connell, has also topped the vinyl chart – as more than one quarter of its total came from sales on wax.

Following its release last Friday, critics praised Eilish for creating “surprises around every corner” and described it as “explicit, sapphic and her best work yet”.

The singer exhibits mostly subdued vocals across the album, contrasted with track Lunch featuring a funk beat with lyrics about lust for a lesbian partner.

The song has proven popular with fans as it has soared up the UK singles chart to take the number two spot, while her track Chihiro takes seventh place and Birds Of A Feather makes it into the top 10 at number nine.

The album’s overall success has bumped Swift’s latest hit album off the top spot to number two, while Zayn Malik has taken the third spot with his new album Room Under The Stairs.

The Weeknd’s greatest hits album The Highlights has climbed up one to fourth place and Olivia Rodrigo’s second album Guts has moved up one place to number five.

Elsewhere, Sabrina Carpenter fans are still buzzing over her viral hit Espresso as it has secured a fourth consecutive week at number one.

The song was once again the most-streamed track of the week in the UK with 8.3 million streams, which has heightened speculation that it could become the “official song of the summer”.