Sam Smith hits million on both sides of Atlantic

British singer Sam Smith has become the only artist to sell one million copies of his album on both sides of the Atlantic in 2014.

His debut record In The Lonely Hour passed the one million sales milestone in the U.K. by midnight on Wednesday (17Dec14), just 24 hours after it had reached the landmark in the U.S.

Smith told bosses at The Official Charts Company, "Officially sold 1 MILLION copies of In The Lonely Hour! To say I am ecstatic is a huge understatement. Thank you so much to every single person who has purchased my album."

He added on Twitter.com, "1 million albums sold in UK and 1 million sold in America - completely speechless."

In the U.K., the only other artist to surpass the landmark within the calendar year is Ed Sheeran with X. Across the pond, Taylor Swift and the Frozen soundtrack have also crossed the milestone.