SINGER-SONGWRITER Ed Sheeran has seized the top spot in Britain’s singles chart with his track “Thinking Out Loud” after the longest ever climb to the top spot, the Official Charts Company said Sunday.

    The English artist’s song spent 19 weeks in the top 40, gradually winding its way to the top. It racked up a combined sales figure of 89,000 in the last week and has sold more than 356,000 copies and been streamed almost 14 million times since June.

    Sheeran unseated Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass” from the No. 1 spot, pushing it into second place. U.S. singer Taylor Swift moved up to No. 3 from No. 5 with her track “Shake It Off.”

    Sheeran’s album “X,” the fastest-selling and longest-running No. 1 album of 2014 overall, climbed to No. 2 from No. 3. Swift’s “1989” ranked No. 1. (SD-Agencies)