The list of the top selling albums of 2015 has been released and shown a number of surprises including the shock revelation that Little Mix actually sold more albums than One Direction.

Both bands were formed on the X Factor so have a natural rivalry and although One Direction are one of the biggest bands in the world, it was a shock to many to find that their latest album hadn’t performed as well as their rivals.

There were a number of other surprises in the chart. Justin Bieber sold fewer copies of his massive current album Purpose than Elvis’ latest big band offering If I Can Dream. This was particularly surprising as tracks from Bieber’s album are currently all over the singles charts.

Perhaps the least surprising part of the chart was Adele having the top selling album of the year with her massively popular album 25.

Two of the albums that made the top three weren’t even released in 2015 – Ed Sheeran’s X and Sam Smith’s In the Lonely Hour were both released in 2014 but still manged to beat off much of the competition from 2015.

The full top ten for the biggest selling albums of 2015 is as follows:

25 - Adele
x - Ed Sheeran
In the Lonely Hour - Sam Smith
If I Can Dream - Elvis Presley
Purpose - Justin Bieber
1989 - Taylor Swift
I Cry When I Laugh - Jess Glynne
Chaos and the Calm - James Bay
A Head Full of Dreams - Coldplay
Wanted on Voyage - George Ezra
Get Weird - Little Mix
Hozier - Hozier
Never Been Better - Olly Murs
Made in the AM - One Direction
Wilder Mind - Mumford & Sons