Adele s record-breaking album “25” has scored another feat — the highest US sales during a single year in a decade.
The British singer s album unsurprisingly was the top-selling album of 2015 and spent its sixth week at number one on the year s final chart released Monday by Nielsen Music.
“25” sold 7.44 million copies in the United States by the end of December 31 — the most in a year since R&B star Usher s album “Confessions” sold 7.98 million copies in 2004.
However, Usher s album came out in March while Adele managed the massive year-end tally despite releasing “25” on November 20.
“25,” full of ballads that touch on heartache and childhood nostalgia, was Adele s first album in four years and benefited from massive pent-up demand. Her previous album, “21,” was the top-selling album in the United States in both 2011 and 2012.
But “21” did not reach the sales of “25” in either year, showing the historic nature of Adele s latest work.
“25,” led by the single “Hello,” enjoyed the biggest debut week sales on record both in the United States and Adele s native Britain.
In a move that challenged the music industry s conventional wisdom about the need for instant online music, Adele did not make “25” available on streaming sites and still managed the huge sales through physical copies and digital downloads.