British pop star Ed Sheeran has been honoured with a special Brit Billion Award as he becomes the first British artist to surpass ten billion streams in the UK.
The singer-songwriter, 32, was presented with the Gold award by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), the British record industry's trade association, following analysis by the Official Charts Company.
According to its data, more than one billion of the streams occurred in the last 12 months.
Three of his tracks are also within the top ten most-streamed songs of all time with Shape Of You taking the second spot, Perfect at number three and Bad Habits holding on to number nine.
On receiving his Gold Brit Billion award, Sheeran said, "It's wonderful to receive the first-ever BRIT Billion Award in the UK for 10 billion streams.
"I want say a big thank you to my fans. None of this is possible without you guys."
Officially launched in May, over a dozen artists have already received the Brit Billion award for attaining a billion streams. These include ABBA, Coldplay, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, as well as pioneering rap and hip-hop artists AJ Tracey and Headie One.
Also receiving the honour were Anne-Marie, Ellie Goulding, George Ezra, Lewis Capaldi, RAYE, Rita Ora, Sam Smith and Billie Eilish, among others.
Sheeran is a seven-time Brit Award winner and has dominated the charts across his career, with all six of his studio albums peaking at number one.
Last Friday, he released his latest album, Autumn Variations, which is his second record this year after producing the chart-topping '–' (Subtract) in May.
Source: Press Association
