NOTHING BUT THE BEST
Adele’s “21” Reaches Milestone In Sales
By Jacob Wittich
ALTHOUGH ADELE HAS BEEN LAYING LOW AFTER THE ARRIVAL OF HER NEWBORN SON, her hit album 21 still poppin’ on the music scene.
The British songstress’ second album is coincidentally the 21st album to sell 10 million copies since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data in 1991.
The Grammy-winning ‘Album of the Year’ pushed past the 10 million U.S. sales mark 92 weeks after the album’s 2011 release, qualifying it for diamond status from the Recording Industry Association of America.
Before 21, the last album to reach the 10 million mark in a shorter time frame was ‘N Sync’s No Strings Attached, which reached that milestone in 43 weeks.
Adele’s newest achievement is particularly noteworthy since album and CD sales have dropped dramatically as consumers turn to acquiring music through computer downloads.
21 the third album to hit the 10 million benchmark this year, behind Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory, released in October 2000, and Usher’s Confessions, released in March 2004.
“If I have to confess, I have to confess that I have told a few people not to go and buy Adele’s album because I don’t want her to go and break my record,” Usher joked way back in March. Truth told in jest.
Jacob Wittich is pop music fanatic majoring in journalism at Columbia College Chicago.
