Powered by a record-breaking performance, Adele’s “25” lands atop the Billboard 200.
Per Nielsen Music, the smash hit album generated 3.48 million total consumption units in the United States. 3,377,885 came from pure album sales (obviously enough for #1 on Top Album Sales), 96,000 came from Track Equivalent Albums (track sales/10) and 8,000 came from Streaming Equivalent Albums (track streams/1500; only “Hello” is on eligible streaming services).
Both the 3.48 million and 3.38 million figures represent new Soundscan era records. *NSYNC’s 2000 album “No Strings Attached,” which previously held the record for opening week US sales, sold 2.416 million pure copies during its inaugural week (at the time, the Billboard 200 only measured pure sales).
Adele’s previous two albums also hold positions on the Billboard 200. “21” is up to #9 this week (46,000 units, 34,000 from sales), and “19” rises to #20 (27,000 units, 20,000 from sales).
The Top 10 of this week’s Billboard 200 follows:
1) Adele – 25 – 3.48 million units (3.38m from sales)
2) Justin Bieber – Purpose – 290K units (184K from sales)
3) One Direction – Made In The AM – 108K units (77K from sales)
4) Jadakiss – Top 5 Dead or Alive – 66K units (60K from sales)
5) The Weeknd – Beauty Behind The Madness – 65K units
6) Pentatonix – That’s Christmas To Me – 61K units
7) Chris Stapleton – Traveller – 58K units
8) Enya – Dark Sky Island – 48K units (46K from sales)
9) Adele – 21 – 46K units (34K from sales)
10) Fetty Wap – Fetty Wap – 38K units
