Adele’s ’21′ album notched a 21st week at the top of the US Billboard 200 this week and became the longest-running #1 release by a female artist on the lineup. Now, following her highly publicised performance at the 2012 BRIT Awards, the singer has matched that feat in the UK.
After 57 weeks in the top 10 of the UK Albums Chart, ’21′ has sold over 4 million copies in that territory. The album has also logged 21 non-consecutive weeks at the summit thanks to a 37% sales surge. In the US, ’21′ has exceeded 7.35 million copies in sales as the fastest-selling album since Usher’s ‘Confessions’ in 2004.
However, Adele’s polar opposite, Nicki Minaj, also scored a victory this week. The latter’s new single, ‘Starships’, has leaped 9 spots from #16 to #7 on the Official UK Singles Chart. The tune also placed in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 10 when it debuted at #9. Meanwhile, Minaj’s collaboration with David Guetta, ‘Turn Me On’, also landed in the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart at #8.
See other leading Urban/Pop releases on both the albums and singles charts below:
1. Adele – ’21′
2. Emeli Sande – ‘Our Version of Events’
3. Ed Sheeran – ‘+’
4. Lana Del Rey – ‘Born to Die’
5. Goyta – ‘Making Mirrors’
6. Coldplay – ‘Mylo Xyloto’
7. Adele – ’19′
8. Maverick Sabre – ‘Lonely are the Brave’
9. Florence + the Machine – ‘Ceremonials’
10. Jessie J – ‘Who You Are’
1. Goyte – ‘Somebody That I Used To Know (Ft. Kimbra)’
2. Emeli Sande – ‘Next to Me’
3. DJ Fresh – ‘Hot Right Now (Ft. Rita Ora)’
4. Flo Rida – ‘Wild Ones (Ft. Sia)’
5. David Guetta – ‘Titanium (Ft. Sia)’
6. Jessie J – ‘Domino’
7. Nicki Minaj – ‘Starships’
8. David Guetta – ‘Turn Me On (Ft. Nicki Minaj)’
9. Gym Class Heroes – ‘Ass Back Home (Ft. Neon Hitch)’
10. will.i.am – ‘T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever) (Ft. Jennifer Lopez & Mick Jagger)’
Watch Adele’s performance of ‘Rolling in the Deep’ at the BRIT Awards below: