George Michael has taken the number one spot in the UK album charts with his latest album Symphonica. This album, Michael’s sixth solo effort, toppled Kylie Minogue’s Kiss Me Once and knocked it into second place after outselling the coach from The Voice by over 20,000 copies.

Symphonica is the first album to be released by George Michael since 2004’s Patience which also topped the UK album chart before going on to achieve double platinum status. The success of this new album means that Songs From The Last Century, released by Michael in 1999, remains to be his only studio album not to reach the UK number one spot. Compiled of a selection of covers, alongside six new originals, Symphonica is primarily put together thanks to recordings from Michael’s 2011-12 tour of the same name.

Though he may have a somewhat eventful and troubled past, the success of this new album would seem to suggest that there is very much still a market out there for George Michael and few would be surprised if he followed up the success of the album with a tour. With his versions of classics such as ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’, ‘Brother Can You Spare A Dime’ and Elton John’s ‘Idol’, fans will know what to expect from a man with serial album successes. Whilst lead single ‘Let Her Down Easy’ failed to trouble the top 40, George Michael has once again shown that his albums are undoubtedly best-sellers.