Adele’s smash hit album “21,” was her first album. It was a smash as well. It became the highest-selling album of both 2011 and 2012 in the US. In 2012, Taylor Swift’s “Red” hit the playlist. However, even “Red” couldn’t outnumber “21” as Adele’s tracks outsold Swift by more than a million. Imagine the excitement for Adele’s fans when the news of her 2015 album coming into play was set to release. Even industry watcher’s were wagering sales in the first week to be nearly 2 million. So is this post in honor of her new song?
Actually, it’s not. I do love the song. And yes, I am an Adele fan. However, this post reflects the outlook of just how popular Adele is, as well as the fact that her music is not only a benchmark, record breaking sound; it’s sales dates back to the 2000’s, when Napster was put music-sharing on the map. This was when Brittany Spears did it again, and NSYNC went in search of a puppet master and Taylor Swift saw red.
Adele rocked the scene in the late 2000’s and it carried us forward. As a major sales performer, who is bringing back the business with her “no music-sharing” approach to her albums; this is an opportunity for other artists to get on board and start this as well. Needless to say, the first week for Adele has prospered well.
With almost 900,000 digital copies on iTunes in the first week, and CD sales expecting to be in the range of 1.5 million, it seems industry watchers greatly underestimated Adele’s first week out. Adele’s third album, 25, appears well on its way to setting a new record for first-week sales. USA Today reports, “Fittingly, the new record is on track for 2.5 million sales, which would overtake the 15-year-old benchmark of 2.42 set by NSYNC. If it hits its projected targets, “25″ would also join “No Strings Attached” as the only other album to sell 2 million copies in its first week of release.
Adele’s first release, Hello from “25” did not stay still long. It has moved right up the billboard playlist, to debut at number one. The last time a song with this title made it to number one, it stayed there for a total of nine weeks, on three different charts in 1984. The song was brought to the world on the album “Can’t Slow Down” by none other than, Lionel Richie.
Some people have pondered the idea of a duet with Adele and Lionel Richie. What would it be like, if the two happened to meet? Sometimes, it is just a thought….
Touring from the Park Bench 