US Album Sales: Justin Bieber’s “Purpose” Now Ranks as 2015’s Third-Best Seller

At the beginning of the December 18-24 tracking week, Justin Bieber’s “Purpose” held 2015’s fifth-greatest US album sales total.

By the end of the week, it was 2015’s third-best seller.

According to Nielsen Music, “Purpose” sold 153,000 pure US copies during the most recent tracking period. That brought its cumulative US total to approximately 1.167 million.

It also thrust “Purpose” past Ed Sheeran’s “x” and Drake’s “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” on the year-to-date sales list.

In terms of US album sales within the 2015 calendar year, “Purpose” now trails only Adele’s “25” (~7.13 million) and Taylor Swift’s “1989” (~1.96 million).

Of note: Two of those albums — “Purpose” and “25” — did not arrive until the fourth quarter of 2015. “Purpose” shipped on November 13, while “25” debuted on November 20. “1989” was released on October 27, 2014; it sold over 3.6 million US copies before the end of 2014.

Brian Cantor

Brian Cantor is the editor-in-chief for Headline Planet. He has been a leading reporter in the music, movie, television and sporting spaces since 2002. Brian's reporting has been cited by major websites like BuzzFeed, Billboard, the New Yorker and The Fader -- and shared by celebrities like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj. Contact Brian at brian.cantor[at]headlineplanet.com.

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Brian Cantor