To put Adele’s sales in perspective, we’ve compared them to Swift’s “1989”, which, up until the release of “25”, was the highest-selling album of the year (though it came out last year).
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Just as predicted, Adele’s 25 album flies to number one and breaks the all-time record by selling 3.48 million copies in the first week of sale.
We knew Adele had broken a sales record for her newest album, “25”, but her sales also far outpaced those of the band that previously sold the most records in a week.
Prior to the release of “25”, Adele made news for her decision to withhold it from streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify. Her previous outing 21, has spent 82 weeks in the top 10 of Billboard’s Hot 200 chart, and is recognized as the No. 1 all-time album on the Hot 200. Swift’s album has sold some 1.76 million US copies in 2015. This record has made the biggest single sales week in history, or since Nielsen began tracking music purchases in 1991. Oasis’ third album Be Here Now had the previous record, as the rockers sold 696.000 copies its debut week in 1997.
The sales success of 25 – which has sold more than the last 19 Number One albums in the United Kingdom combined – meant the album has already received a double platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry. The lowest week in Nielsen history for album sales was the frame ending September 17, when only 3.51 million albums were sold. The album is the first, in fact, to surpass the 3 million sales mark in its first week, and only the second to even surpass 2 million.
Coming in at #8 was Enya with her latest album Dark Sky Island, which garnered 48,000 EAUs (46,000 in pure album sales). At the 2012 Grammy Awards the singer took home every award – all six – that she was nominated for that year while promoting her second album 21; a list that included Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year.
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Inner circle … Adele leaves a NY restaurant with her bodyguard after dining with Jennifer Lawrence and Emma Stone.
