For the first time in music history, album chart-toppers are being determined not only by album sales, but also by what has been called a “stream factor.” The Official Charts Company has devised a formula to add streaming from services like Spotify and Google Play to the numbers accrued from physical and digital purchases, resulting in big reshuffling of this week’s top albums.

The shakeup resulted in British singer-songwriter Sam Smith knocking the American band Imagine Dragons out of the No. 1 album spot. Smith’s debut album The Lonely Hour finished first, while the Imagine Dragons album Smoke and Mirrors fell to twelfth place. Smith also beat fellow Brits Ed Sheeran, who had the second highest album sales with his album X, and rock group Royal Blood, who moved up 15 spots to snag No. 3.

Smith’s triumph follows his success earlier in the week at the Brit Awards, where he won both Best Breakthrough Artist and the Global Success Award for top number of global sales. Sheeran and Royal Blood also scored at the Brit Awards: the former winning Best British Male and Best British Album, and the latter Best British Group.

“It’s an especially impressive achievement given the strength of the competition,” said Official Charts Company chief executive Martin Talbot in a statement. “Sam [Smith] and Ed [Sheeran] are both established as genuine superstars now – and the fact that they appeal to fans who buy CDs, snap up album downloads AND stream music highlights just how broad their appeal is.”

The new formula to add streaming numbers to determining chart sales definitely gave the British boys a boost. The numbers of people who stream music doubled in the UK last year, while CD sales dropped by 8 percent. Smith’s album sold 38,000 copies last week, with an added “stream factor” of 2,900. Sheeran’s album sold 35,000 copies with a streaming figure of 3,400.

Streaming figures have been used to help determine the top singles since July. The Top 5 singles chart remained unchanged this week, with Ellie Goulding’s “Love Me Like You Do” holding down the No. 1 spot, Hozier’s “Take Me To Church” No. 2, and Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk” No. 3.