Adele Will Be the Only Artist to Sell One Million Copies in the U.S.
Debuting at on. 1 on the Billboard 200 last month, Adele album 30 crosses the one million mark in the U.S.
Nearly three weeks after the release of her new album 30, Adele has done something that rarely happens anymore: sell one million copies of an album in the United States. 30 is the only album released in 2021 to sell a million copies, and with streaming being such a dominate force, who knows if there will be an artist to sell one million copies in 2022.
Shooting to the top of the charts during its debut week, Rolling Stone reported that the singer launched partnerships with retailers like Amazon and Target for exclusive versions of 30. Prior to 30, Swift’s surprise album Folklore was the only 2020 album to reach the one million milestone. With decreasing CD sales globally in favor of music streaming, this hasn’t stopped Adele’s historic reign.
Although 30 became the fastest-selling record of 2021 — racking up 839,000 album-equivalent units on the Billboard 200 within two weeks — the album release caused a pivot in the vinyl industry. Sony ordered 500,000 copies of 30 which caused a massive delay in other releases at various record-pressing plants. Still, 30 instantly became this week’s biggest seller on vinyl according to NME, with 16,700 copies sold on wax. As 30 lead single “Easy On Me” continues to dominate the Billboard Hot 100, according to Forbes, in October the song broke the Spotify record for single-day streams.
Releasing on November 19th, Adele’s long-awaited album met instant fanfare after her CBS concert special Adele: Live from Las Vegas at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. The show coincided with an Adele: One Night Only interview with Oprah Winfrey where the singer divulged into her experience with divorce and new relationship with sports agent Rich Paul.
As Adele returns to the West Coast in early-2022, the acclaim of 30 has led to the singer headlining upcoming Caesars Palace residency, Weekends With Adele. From January 21, 2022 to April 16, 2022, the event website states that Adele will perform two shows each weekend. With presale tickets releasing today on Ticketmaster, Adele is sure to captivate audiences with her record-breaking new album.