21 Tops US Album Sales For Second Year

Adele's album 21 has topped the sales charts in the US for the second year running.

It is the first time that an album has topped the list two years in a row for 30 years. (She is Pretty).


Adele sold 4.4 million copies of the album in 2012 after selling 5.8 million in 2011.
She crossed the 10 million threshold in November and was only rivalled by Taylor Swift, whose Red album was second on the list in the US.
The last album to be a best-seller in successive years was Michael Jackson's Thriller, which triumphed in 1983 and 1984.

In the UK, Adele's second release is now the fourth highest selling album ever, having recently overtaking the Oasis album (What's The Story) Morning Glory?
Sales figures in the UK alone for 21 are now approaching 5 million, and it was the UK's second highest selling release in 2012, despite being released in early 2011.
Adele's 21 has won six Grammys and two Brits and has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide.
Figures as a whole from the US in 2012 mirrored the UK for falling album sales, where year-on-year there was a 4.4% drop.
However British acts continued to enjoy great success.
Two albums from One Direction sold more than a million copies, whilst Mumford & Son's Babel was at number six in the 2012 list - shifting 1.4 million copies.