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Meet The Future Of UK Music: The Only New Act To Be Certified Gold In 2016

Meet The Future Of UK Music: The Only New Act To Be Certified Gold In 2016

Meet the future of UK music...

James Dawson

James Dawson

Question for you, who was the bestselling breakthrough act of 2016 and the only newcomer to have their debut album certified Gold?

Could it be the Stockport five-piece Blossoms, whose self-titled debut album hit the UK top spot in August last year...

Credit: Virgin EMI

Nope, sorry, lads, just 74,155 copies.

Or was it former One Directioner Zayn with 'Mind of Mine' released on 25 March 2016, featuring his huge single 'Pillowtalk'....

Credit: PA Images

Nah, only 65,208 copies.

Oh, of course, then it must have BRIT award-winning Jack Garratt with his debut 'Phase'....

Unlucky, that sold 62,954 copies.

No, there was only one brand new British act that managed to sell a Gold debut album last year - that's more than 100,000 copies.

An act described brutally on Amazon reviews as "mumbling a poor Frank Sinatra impression" and having "a voice that really doesn't cut it."

One reviewer even describes "wincing as you could hear him struggle to hit the notes. Yes, he can hold a tune down the pub, but by no stretch of the imagination can he be called a singer."

But who was this enigma who managed to defy the online haters and... ahem... chase his dreams....

None.

Other.

Than.

This man....

Credit: ITV

Yes, that's right, guys. The only debut British act to have their album certified Gold in 2016 was The Chase's host, Bradley Walsh, who is probably better known for this clip than he is for his angelic voice...

Credit: ITV

The 56-year-old, who played Danny Baldwin in Coronation Street, set the hearts of nans across the UK alight when he released his album 'Chasing Dreams' via Sony CG in October. From there it managed to sell 111,650 copies last year.

It was the UK's 57th best-selling album of the year, and the biggest-selling debut LP by a British singer, Music Business Worldwide reports.

And it even out-sold efforts from established acts like Tom Odell and Biffy Clyro, as well as 'Konichiwa' by Skepta, which won the Mercury Prize.

You might think this is just because more and more of us are streaming albums, and you'd be right, but it doesn't look like good news for the UK in that department either. The British streaming charts of 2016 was dominated by North American acts, with the Top 10 most-streamed hits of the year containing just one song by one Brit - Calvin Harris.

We can only hope that Bradley - clearly the future of UK music - releases a barnstorming follow-up in 2017 to pull us out of this rut, who knows it could even go platinum....

Featured Image Credit: Play Station

Topics: bradley walsh

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