People Still Buy Music: Adele goes 21 for 21, enjoys incredible post-Grammys sales bump
Adele, who literally just can’t stop winning things, finds her sophomore effort, 21, atop the Billboard albums chart for the 21st nonconsecutive week. After she won six Grammys and nailed a lights-out post-surgery comeback performance of “Rolling In The Deep” at the Grammys on Feb. 12, Adele's album saw a sales bump of 207 percent, moving a best-to-date 730,000 copies in the week after the ceremony.
Her first album, 19, also moved up five slots to No. 4, selling 87,000 copies. And just in case anyone doubted Adele’s stamina, get this: 21 made its debut—at the pole position, natch—one year ago next week, and hasn’t dropped below No. 7 spot since.
Whitney Houston, meanwhile, continues her posthumous chart climb. With seven albums on the chart this week, Houston holds the No. 2 spot on the Albums chart with Whitney: The Greatest Hits (up from No. 6 last week). Selling 175,000 copies in the first full week since the singer’s death, its second coming is outperforming its original run in 2000, when the album debuted at No. 5.
Grammy performers and nominees also zoomed into the top 10 this week. Bruno Mars nabbed the No. 8 spot (up from No. 30 last week, moving 38,000 copies) with Doo-Wops & Hooligans, country album of the year winner Lady Antebellum sold 37,000 copies to move up to the ninth slot from the 17th with Own The Night, and the Civil Wars’ Barton Hollow enjoyed its most productive week ever on the chart, selling 36,000 copies to occupy the 10th spot.
The rest of the top 10 includes the Now 41 pop collection, which sold 94,000 copies, at No. 3; the 2012 Grammy Nominees album at No. 5; Van Halen’s A Different Kind Of Truth at No. 6, and Paul McCartney’s Kisses On The Bottom at No. 7.
Power-belting females also made their mark on this week's Digital Songs chart: Katy Perry’s “Part Of Me” debuts at the No. 1 position, with 411,000 downloads, while Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” moves up to the No. 2 spot, up one from last week. Adele holds positions 3 and 4 with “Rolling In The Deep” and “Set Fire To The Rain,” while her somber “Someone Like You” clocks in at No. 8. Nicki Minaj’s “Starships” debuts at No. 7, while Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” drops three spots to No. 5.
Amidst all the girl power, there’s also… Chris Brown. So many snide comments, so little time, but suffice it to say Brown’s “Turn Up The Music” debuts strong at No. 9, selling 180,000 (no doubt with a nice boost from a new remix with Rihanna). LMFAO’s “Sexy And I Know It” drops from the fifth spot to the tenth, while Fun’s “We Are Young” with Janelle Monae falls from the top spot to No. 6. [via Billboard]