DUFFY - DUFFY AND ALEXANDRA HAVE BIGGEST SELLERS OF 2008

DUFFY AND ALEXANDRA HAVE BIGGEST SELLERS OF 2008

X Factor winner Alexandra Burke and Welsh songstress Duffy were the top-selling artists of the year, it has been confirmed.

Rockferry, Duffy's debut album, was the biggest seller of the year, with 1.685 million copies shifted.

The Warwick Avenue star held off a late challenge from Take That, whose new effort The Circus sold a million copies in just 19 days.

Duffy also achieved the third biggest-selling single of the year with her number one hit Mercy, one of only three tracks to sell more than half a million copies.

However, the blockbuster single of the year came from Alexandra Burke, whose debut song Hallelujah sold a massive 888,000 copies in the final two weeks of the years.

"Duffy and Alexandra Burke have been the biggest new arrivals on the British music scene over the past year, bar none," said Martin Talbot, managing director of the Official UK Charts Company.

"But the biggest selling singles and albums of the year also show that talent, both new and old, can make an impact, if the music is right.

"Besides the obvious impact of the X Factor artists, including Burke, Leona Lewis and this year's finalists, Duffy, Katy Perry, Sam Sparro and Scouting For Girls all scored big to show that new talent can make an impact."

The top ten singles of 2008 are:

1 Hallelujah - Alexandra Burke
2 Hero - X Factor finalists
3 Mercy - Duffy
4 I Kissed A Girl - Katy Perry
5 Rockstar - Nickelback
6 American Boy - Estelle/ Kanye West
7 Sex on Fire - Kings of Leon
8 Now You're Gone - Basshunter
9 4 Minutes - Madonna/ Justin Timberlake
10 Black & Gold - Sam Sparro

The top ten albums of 2008 are:

1 Rockferry - Duffy
2 The Circus - Take That
3 Only By The Night - Kings of Leon
4 Spirit - Leona Lewis
5 Viva La Vida... - Coldplay
6 Good Girl Gone Bad - Rihanna
7 Day & Age - Killers
8 Out of Control - Girls Aloud
9 Funhouse - Pink
10 Scouting For Girls - Scouting For Girls