We all knew that Adele's 25 was going to be a smash success, but it's looking to be even bigger than expected. Although it's only been out since Friday (November 20), it's already on the cusp of breaking the record for the top sales week of the Soundscan era.
Nielsen Music reports that, in the U.S. alone, 25 has sold at least 2.3 million copies in its first three days on the market. Industry forecasters now predict that it will finish its first week with 2.9 million copies sold, Billboard reports.
This makes Adele just the second artist to ever crack two million in weekly sales since Nielsen Music began collecting data in 1991. The current record is held by NSYNC's 2000 album No Strings Attached, which moved 2.4 million in its first week.
UPDATE (11/24, 12 p.m.): And it's official: Adele has broken the single-week U.S. album sales record, according to Nielsen Music. As Billboard reports, the album has now already sold at least 2,433,000 copies in the U.S., officially beating NSYNC's record of 2,416,000 copies sold in the week ending March 26, 2000.
UPDATE (11/24, 3:15 p.m.): Speaking to Billboard, NSYNC member Joey Fatone had this to say about Adele beating his group's record: "Records are always meant to be broken, but with technology and current music business model, I thought this one would be tough to beat. In all honesty, Adele is the truth — kinda excited a rare talent like hers is in the same breath as our group. I'm a huge fan....I even bought the damn album."
UPDATE (11/30, 12:00 p.m.): The report is in, and Adele destroyed the previous record for single week sales, selling a total of 3.38 million copies of 25 in its first week. It is the first album in Nielsen's history to sell more than 3 million copies in one week.
The sales week will end on Thursday (November 26), and the sales report will come on Sunday (November 29).
Last year, when Taylor Swift's 1989 debuted with just shy of 1.3 million copies sold, it was the best sales week since The Eminem Show in 2002. Interestingly, both Swift and Adele opted not to make their album available on streaming services (at least not initially, in Swift's case).
Nielsen Music reports that, in the U.S. alone, 25 has sold at least 2.3 million copies in its first three days on the market. Industry forecasters now predict that it will finish its first week with 2.9 million copies sold, Billboard reports.
This makes Adele just the second artist to ever crack two million in weekly sales since Nielsen Music began collecting data in 1991. The current record is held by NSYNC's 2000 album No Strings Attached, which moved 2.4 million in its first week.
UPDATE (11/24, 12 p.m.): And it's official: Adele has broken the single-week U.S. album sales record, according to Nielsen Music. As Billboard reports, the album has now already sold at least 2,433,000 copies in the U.S., officially beating NSYNC's record of 2,416,000 copies sold in the week ending March 26, 2000.
UPDATE (11/24, 3:15 p.m.): Speaking to Billboard, NSYNC member Joey Fatone had this to say about Adele beating his group's record: "Records are always meant to be broken, but with technology and current music business model, I thought this one would be tough to beat. In all honesty, Adele is the truth — kinda excited a rare talent like hers is in the same breath as our group. I'm a huge fan....I even bought the damn album."
UPDATE (11/30, 12:00 p.m.): The report is in, and Adele destroyed the previous record for single week sales, selling a total of 3.38 million copies of 25 in its first week. It is the first album in Nielsen's history to sell more than 3 million copies in one week.
The sales week will end on Thursday (November 26), and the sales report will come on Sunday (November 29).
Last year, when Taylor Swift's 1989 debuted with just shy of 1.3 million copies sold, it was the best sales week since The Eminem Show in 2002. Interestingly, both Swift and Adele opted not to make their album available on streaming services (at least not initially, in Swift's case).
