Adele 21 - Trying to put things in some sort of context

by **davyboy** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 1:51 pm

OK first up - I'm starting this thread because quite rightly it was mentioned on the YTD sales thread that it was the wrong place to discuss such stuff.

I know there's an Adele thread in the Artist Charts Analysis forum but that to me seems very specifically for the purpose of accumulating global sales data etc....and the point of this is really just to continue an interesting point of discussion from another thread, I hope in a fairly objective way, and without irritating others by going 'off-topic'.

So - the point being made was...when was the last time an album was dominating sales in this way? To what extent can we say others have dominated this way in the past?

I'm going to focus on the US. (Even though I'm from the UK. As far as UK is concerned, no album has got close to selling this many copies in such a short time in any era. In a way this makes the UK assessment fairly simple - although if you look at the way the album charts were completely dominated for periods of the 60s by the Beatles you'd argue this was more impressive though overall sales of each album much lower due to the market at that time).

But back to the US - for me, the most objective way to look at 'domination' is to look at the ratio of an album's sales vs its competitor albums within its period. Not just of one or two but, let's say, the whole top 100 for a year.

I thought I'd perform a little exercise, which is to say - how many albums would someone have had to sell in another era, in order to dominate the top 100 the same way that Adele is today?

(There's a bit of maths here so bear with me!)

In 2011, 21 sold 5.8m copies when the entire top 100 sold 66.8m. This was an 8.7% share of the top 100.

If we assume after the current week that 21 sells around 50k per week average for rest of 2012, it would sell another 4.3m in 2012.

If album sales for 2012 continue to be 3% up on 2011 we could estimate total sales for the top 100 2012 of 68.8m.

Therefore predicted share of the top 100 for 21 in 2012 would be 4.3m of 68.8m, which is 6.2%.

For the two years combined...21 predicted total sales 10.1m...Combined top 100 of both years 135.6m. 21's share = 7.5%.

Now to compare to other eras...we need to ask - how many copies would an album have had to sell to be dominating in the same way in that era?

I've used the YTD 2011 chart thread which, towards the end, lists out the top 100 of each year for a decade. The furthest back is 2002.

For 2002, the top 100 albums sold a combined 153.3m. In 2003 the total was 146.8m.

To dominate album sales in that era the same way that 21 is dominating today would be to have achieved the same % of the top 100. To do this you would have needed to sell 13.3m in 2002 and another 9.4m in 2003 - a total of 22.7m over the 2 years - to match 21's 2011/12 share. (Over those two years combined the best performers were the Eminem Show with 8.9m and Come Away with Me selling 7.8m).

Clearly nobody was achieving these levels at the time and without performing the same exercise on every single pair of years (if someone wants to do this - please do!) I think it is reasonable to say that at very few times in history has this sort of domination by one album happened.

Please note...what I am NOT saying is that 21 would necessarily have sold 22m copies if it had been released ten years earlier. There are too many factors to take into account. You could argue for example that it was still important back then to dominate music video in order to sell large quantities and that Adele might have struggled to do this without a strong visual image/brand. You could argue that with the general decline in the market other artists/their management have been happier to focus on singles and/or tours making it easier to outsell the competition.

BUT statistically I think this starts to build some evidence that only the very upper echelon of albums have matched 21's dominance of the market within their time.

by **johnnyboy** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 2:20 pm

Yes, a very impressive achievement. It will be interesting to see if Adele will still be a major artist in 5 years time. Pressure on the next album...

by **ferrero** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 2:56 pm

i thought it is even more impressive than the 30 million sellers in the 90s, people are not buying because of 1-2 songs... it has multiple hits... similar to Mariah's Daydream...

by **rundmck** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 2:58 pm

Hi Davyboy, I've seen a few of your posts on various threads and I have to say, I like the cut o' yer jib. You tend to be objective and subjective in the appropriate places, something that seems very difficult for a lot of posters in this forum.

As for the above post, good work, I've been wanting to do this for quite a while but just couldn't be bothered, and this made interesting reading. I like your disclaimer re variables at the end, something that unfortunately is required in this type of post to ward off the obsessively unnecessary 'correctors' on this site.

by **davyboy** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 3:10 pm

rundmck wrote:Hi Davyboy, I've seen a few of your posts on various threads and I have to say, I like the cut o' yer jib. You tend to be objective and subjective in the appropriate places, something that seems very difficult for a lot of posters in this forum.

As for the above post, good work, I've been wanting to do this for quite a while but just couldn't be bothered, and this made interesting reading. I like your disclaimer re variables at the end, something that unfortunately is required in this type of post to ward off the obsessively unnecessary 'correctors' on this site.

Cheers mate

. Just trying my best to let the numbers do the talking. It's amazing what you can get done when you're supposed to be doing actual work :lol:

by **Allthatisholy** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 3:24 pm

Dunno what the mods would say of this, but i strongly feel that we need a thread specifically for collecting all the numbers and accolades for Adele during this era (and incl 19, the singles and the DVD)
It has broken so many records and counting, it's hard to remember everything!

by **Euromillions** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 5:41 pm

I have to agree. It would at the very least give the discussion of her achievemnts with regards to sales a proper home and maybe alleviate the stress/confrontation caused by these achievements being discussed in a thread not specifically meant for such discussion.

PS davyboy, that's a seriously impressive post!

by **ShayLaB** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 9:43 pm

Apologies for posting this a second time...I put it in another thread but figured it is probably quite appropriate here also. I just gives some historical context - with the albums sales by year and the over-all market size. All the figures are for the US only.

================================================

I think it is an interesting point by HUR...that in the 80s sales did seem to be more concentrated in a small number of albums that generated very large sales. These days the market is much more fragmented.

The sales of her album are not historically unprecedented in a markets of similar size. 21 is, however, trouncing its contemporaries like few albums have before. The chart runs are, of course, absolutely stellar.

Adele's figure in the 2011 list will, of course, continue to grow.

Best selling US albums by release year

1970
ELVIS PRESLEY - Christmas Album : 10x platinum
SIMON & GARFUNKEL - Bridge Over Troubled Water : 8x platinum
CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG - Deja Vu : 7x platinum
LED ZEPPELIN - III : 6x platinum
SANTANA - Abraxas : 5x platinum
SLY & THE FAMILY STONE - Greatest Hits : 5x platinum
THE BEATLES - Let It Be : 4x platinum
BLACK SABBATH - Paranoid : 4x platinum
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL - Cosmo's Factory : 4x platinum
VAN MORRISON - Moondance : 3x platinum (4 million sold)

1971
LED ZEPPELIN - IV : 23x platinum
CAROLE KING - Tapestry : 10x platinum
THE ROLLING STONES - Hot Rocks : 6x platinum
CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG - 4 Way Street : 4x platinum
THE CARPENTERS - Carpenters : 4x platinum
JANIS JOPLIN - Pearl : 4x platinum
THE WHO - Who's Next : 3x platinum (4 million)
MARVIN GAYE - What's Going On : gold (4 million)
THE ROLLING STONES - Sticky Fingers : 3x platinum
CAT STEVENS - Teaser & The Firecat : 3x platinum

1972
SIMON & GARFUNKEL - Greatest Hits : 14x platinum
NEIL YOUNG - Harvest : 4x platinum (5 million)
ELVIS PRESLEY - Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden : 3x platinum
THE CARPENTERS - A Song For You : 3x platinum
DEEP PURPLE - Machine Head : 2x platinum (3 million)
STEVIE WONDER - Talking Book : uncertified (3 million)
CHICAGO - V : 2x platinum (3 million)
NEIL DIAMOND - Hot August Night : 2x platinum
ARETHA FRANKLIN - Amazing Grace : 2x platinum
YES - Fragile : 2x platinum

1973
PINK FLOYD - The Dark Side Of The Moon : 15x platinum (20 million)
LED ZEPPELIN - Houses Of The Holy : 11x platinum
JOHN DENVER - Greatest Hits : 9x platinum
THE BEATLES - 1967-1970 : 8x platinum
THE BEATLES - 1962-1966 : 7x platinum
ELTON JOHN - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road : 7x platinum
THE CARPENTERS - The Singles 1969-1973 : 7x platinum
JANIS JOPLIN - Greatest Hits : 7x platinum
ELVIS PRESLEY - Aloha From Hawaii : 5x platinum
BREAD - The Best Of Bread : 5x platinum

1974
ELTON JOHN - Greatest Hits : 16x platinum
SANTANA - Greatest Hits : 7x platinum
CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG - So Far : 6x platinum
BAD COMPANY - Bad Company : 5x platinum
NEIL DIAMOND - His 12 Greatest Hits : 4x platinum
PAUL MCCARTNEY & THE WINGS : Band On The Run : 3x platinum
THE BEACH BOYS - Endless Summer : 3x platinum
GRATEFUL DEAD - Skeletons From The Closet : 3x platinum
AEROSMITH - Get Your Wings : 3x platinum
JOHN DENVER - Back Home Again : 3x platinum

1975
AEROSMITH - Toys In The Attic : 8x platinum
LED ZEPPELIN - Physical Graffiti : 8x platinum
PINK FLOYD - Wish You Were Here : 6x platinum (7 million)
FLEETWOOD MAC - Fleetwood Mac : 5x platinum (7 million)
CHICAGO - Greatest Hits : 5x platinum (7 million)
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - Born To Run : 6x platinum
AMERICA - History-Greatest Hits : 4x platinum (5 million)
EAGLES - One Of These Nights : 4x platinum
CAT STEVENS - Greatest Hits : 4x platinum
KISS - Alive : gold (4 million)

1976
EAGLES - Greatest Hits 71-75 : 29x platinum
BOSTON - Boston : 17x platinum
EAGLES - Hotel California : 16x platinum
JAMES TAYLOR - Greatest Hits : 11x platinum (15 million)
DOOBIE BROTHERS - Best Of : 10x platinum
PETER FRAMPTON - Comes Alive : 8x platinum (9 million)
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL - Chronicle : 8x platinum
LINDA RONSTADT - Greatest Hits : 7x platinum
STEVIE WONDER - Songs In The Key Of Life : 5x platinum (at least 7 million)
BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND - Night Moves : 6x platinum

1977
FLEETWOOD MAC - Rumours : 19x platinum
BEE GEES - Saturday Night Fever : 15x platinum
MEAT LOAF - Bat Out Of Hell : 14x platinum
BILLY JOEL - The Stranger : 10x platinum
JACKSON BROWNE - Running on Empty : 7x platinum
ELTON JOHN - Greatest Hits Vol 2 : 5x platinum
FOREIGNER - Foreigner : 5x platinum
PINK FLOYD - Animals : 4x platinum
QUEEN - News Of The World : 4x platinum
KANSAS - Point Of Know Return : 4x platinum

1978
GREASE (soundtrack) : 8x platinum (16 million)
STEVE MILLER BAND - Greatest Hits 1974-1978 : 13x platinum
VAN HALEN - Van Halen : 10x platinum
BOSTON - Don't Look Back : 7x platinum
FOREIGNER - Double Vision : 7x platinum
BILLY JOEL - 52nd Street : 7x platinum
THE ROLLING STONES - Some Girls : 6x platinum
THE CARS - The Cars : 6x platinum
BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND - Stranger In Town : 6x platinum
BARBRA STREISAND - Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 : 5x platinum

1979
PINK FLOYD - The Wall : 11x platinum (13 million)
MICHAEL JACKSON - Off The Wall : 8x platinum
EAGLES - The Long Run : 7x platinum
AC/DC - Highway To Hell : 7x platinum
LED ZEPPELIN - In Through The Out Door : 6x platinum
VAN HALEN - Van Halen II : 5x platinum
FOREIGNER - Head Games : 5x platinum
WAYLON JENNINGS - Greatest Hits : 5x platinum
BEE GEES - Spirits Having Flown : platinum (5 million)
SUPERTRAMP - Breakfast In America : 4x platinum

1980
AC/DC - Back In Black : 22x platinum
KENNY ROGERS - Greatest Hits : 12x platinum
AEROSMITH - Greatest Hits : 11x platinum
REO SPEEDWAGON - Hi Infidelity : 9x platinum
BILLY JOEL - Glass Houses : 7x platinum
CHRISTOPHER CROSS - Christopher Cross : 5x platinum
NEIL DIAMOND - The Jazz Singer (soundtrack) : 5x platinum
BARBRA STREISAND - Guilty : 5x platinum
BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND - Against The Wind : 5x platinum
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - The River : 5x platinum

1981
JOURNEY - Escape : 9x platinum
FOREIGNER - 4 : 6x platinum
AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap : 6x platinum
STEVIE NICKS - Bella Donna : 5x platinum
PHIL COLLINS - Face Value : 5x platinum
BARBRA STREISAND - Memories : 5x platinum
ALABAMA - Feels So Right : 4x platinum
LOVERBOY - Get Lucky : 4x platinum
RUSH - Moving Pictures : 4x platinum
THE ROLLING STONES - Tattoo You : 4x platinum

1982
MICHAEL JACKSON - Thriller : 29x platinum
EAGLES - Greatest Hits Vol. 2 : 11x platinum
ERIC CLAPTON - Time Pieces/Best Of Eric Clapton : 7x platinum
FOREIGNER - Records : 7x platinum
MEN AT WORK - Business As Usual : 6x platinum
ALABAMA - Mountain Music : 5x platinum
JOHN MELLENCAMP - American Fool : 5x platinum
HANK WILLIAMS, JR. - Greatest Hits : 5x platinum
LIONEL RICHIE - Lionel Richie : 4x platinum (5 million)
WILLIE NELSON - Always On My Mind : 4x platinum

1983
LIONEL RICHIE - Can't Slow Down : 10x platinum (13 million)
ZZ TOP - Eliminator : 10x platinum
DEF LEPPARD - Pyromania : 10x platinum
THE POLICE - Synchronicity : 8x platinum
HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS - Sports : 7x platinum
BILLY JOEL - An Innocent Man : 7x platinum
JOURNEY - Frontiers : 6x platinum
FLASHDANCE (soundtrack) : 6x platinum
THE BIG CHILL (soundtrack) : 6x platinum
QUIET RIOT - Metal Health : 6x platinum

1984
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - Born In The U.S.A. : 15x platinum
PRINCE - Purple Rain : 13x platinum (14 million)
BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS - Legend : 10x platinum (14 million)
MADONNA - Like A Virgin : 10x platinum
VAN HALEN - 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) : 10x platinum
FOOTLOOSE (soundtrack) : 9x platinum
CYNDI LAUPER - She's So Unusual : 6x platinum
WHAM! - Make It Big : 6x platinum
CHICAGO - 17 : 6x platinum
MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER - Christmas : 6x platinum

1985
WHITNEY HOUSTON - Whitney Houston : 13x platinum
PHIL COLLINS - No Jacket Required : 12x platinum
BILLY JOEL - Greatest Hits Vol. 1&2 : 11x platinum
DIRE STRAITS - Brothers In Arms : 9x platinum
JIMMY BUFFETT - Songs You Know By Heart : 7x platinum
THE CARS - Greatest Hits : 6x platinum
JOHN MELLENCAMP - Scarecrow : 5x platinum
HEART - Heart : 5x platinum
ZZ TOP - Afterburner : 5x platinum
TEARS FOR FEARS - Songs From The Big Chair : 5x platinum

1986
BON JOVI - Slippery When Wet : 12x platinum (14 million)
BEASTIE BOYS - Licensed To Ill : 9x platinum (11 million)
TOP GUN (soundtrack) : 9x platinum
MADONNA - True Blue : 7x platinum
VAN HALEN - 5150 : 6x platinum
METALLICA - Master Of Puppets : 6x platinum
GENESIS - Invisible Touch : 6x platinum
JANET JACKSON - Control : 5x platinum (6 million)
THE POLICE - Every Breathe You Take - The Singles : 5x platinum
PAUL SIMON - Graceland : 5x platinum

1987
GUNS N' ROSES - Appetite For Destruction : 18x platinum
DIRTY DANCING (soundtrack) : 11x platinum (13 million)
DEF LEPPARD - Hysteria : 12x platinum
U2 - The Joshua Tree : 10x platinum (12 million)
GEORGE MICHAEL - Faith : 10x platinum
WHITNEY HOUSTON - Whitney : 9x platinum
MICHAEL JACKSON - Bad : 8x platinum
WHITESNAKE - Whitnesnake : 8x platinum
INXS - Kick : 6x platinum
AEROSMITH - Permanent Vacation : 5x platinum

1988
JOURNEY - Greatest Hits : 15x platinum
FLEETWOOD MAC - Greatest Hits : 8x platinum
METALLICA - ...And Justice For All : 8x platinum
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK - Hangin' Tough : 8x platinum
BOBBY BROWN - Don't Be Cruel : 7x platinum
BON JOVI - New Jersey : 7x platinum
PAULA ABDUL - Forever Your Girl : 7x platinum
MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER - A Fresh Aire Christmas : 6x platinum
TRACY CHAPMAN - Tracy Chapman : 6x platinum
GUNS N' ROSES - G N' R Lies : 5x platinum

1989
JANET JACKSON - Rhythm Nation 1814 : 6x platinum (9 million)
GARTH BROOKS - Garth Brooks : 8x platinum
AEROSMITH - Pump : 7x platinum
DON HENLEY - The End Of Innocence : 6x platinum
MOTLEY CRUE - Dr. Feelgood : 6x platinum
MILLI VANILLI - Girl, You Know It's True : 6x platinum
MICHAEL BOLTON - Soul Provider - 6x platinum
THE LITTLE MERMAID (soundtrack) : 6x platinum
SKID ROW - Skid Row : 5x platinum
CHICAGO - Greatest Hits 1982-1989 : 5x platinum

1990
GARTH BROOKS - No Fences : 15x platinum
MC HAMMER - Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em : 10x platinum
MADONNA - The Immaculate Collection : 10x platinum
MARIAH CAREY - Mariah Carey : 9x platinum
VANILLA ICE - To The Extreme : 7x platinum
C+C MUSIC FACTORY - Gonna Make You Sweat : 5x platinum
THE BLACK CROWES - Shake Your Money Maker : 5x platinum
WILSON PHILLIPS - Wilson Philipps : 5x platinum
AC/DC - The Razors Edge : 5x platinum
VAN MORRISON - Best Of Van Morrison : 4x platinum

1991
METALLICA - Metallica : 15x platinum
PEARL JAM - Ten : 13x platinum
GARTH BROOKS - Ropin' The Wind : 12x platinum
NIRVANA - Nevermind : 10x platinum
BOYZ II MEN - Cooleyhighharmony : 9x platinum
U2 - Achtung Baby : 8x platinum
MICHAEL BOLTON - Time, Love & Tenderness : 8x platinum
NATALIE COLE - Unforgettable : With Love : 8x platinum
MICHAEL JACKSON - Dangerous : 7x platinum
GUNS 'N ROSES - Use Your Illusion II : 7x platinum

1992
WHITNEY HOUSTON - The Bodyguard (soundtrack) : 17x platinum
KENNY G - Breathless : 12x platinum
ERIC CLAPTON - Unplugged : 10x platinum
BILLY RAY CYRUS - Some Gave All : 9x platinum
STONE TEMPLE PILOTS - Core : 8x platinum
GARTH BROOKS - The Chase : 7x platinum
QUEEN - Greatest Hits : 6x platinum
ALAN JACKSON - A Lot About Livin' (And A Little 'Bout Love) : 6x platinum
GEORGE STRAIT - Pure Country : 6x platinum
WYNONNA JUDD - Wynonna : 5x platinum

1993
TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS - Greatest Hits : 10x platinum
MARIAH CAREY - Music Box : 10x platinum
ACE OF BASE - The Sign : 9x platinum
TONI BRAXTON - Toni Braxton : 8x platinum
SHERYL CROW - Tuesday Night Music Club : 7x platinum
COUNTING CROWS - August & Everything After : 7x platinum
AEROSMITH - Get A Grip : 7x platinum
PEARL JAM - Vs. : 7x platinum
JANET JACKSON - Janet : 6x platinum (7 million)
ABBA - Gold - Greatest Hits : 6x platinum

1994
HOOTIE & THE BLOWFISH - Cracked Rear View : 16x platinum
BOYZ II MEN - II : 12x platinum
TLC - CrazySexyCool : 11x platinum
THE LION KING (soundtrack) : 10x platinum
GARTH BROOKS - The Hits : 10x platinum
GREEN DAY - Dookie : 10x platinum
EAGLES - Hell Freezes Over : 8x platinum
BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND - Greatest Hits : 8x platinum
KENNY G - Miracles : The Holiday Album : 8x platinum
LIVE - Throwing Copper : 8x platinum

1995
ALANIS MORISSETTE - Jagged Little Pill : 16x platinum
SHANIA TWAIN - The Woman In Me : 12x platinum
JEWEL - Pieces Of You : 12x platinum
MARIAH CAREY - Daydream : 10x platinum
NO DOUBT - Tragic Kingdom : 10x platinum
WAITING TO EXHALE (soundtrack) : 7x platinum
ALAN JACKSON - Greatest Hits Collection : 6x platinum
BONE THUGS 'N HARMONY - E. 1999 Eternal : 4x platinum (6 million)
R. KELLY - R. Kelly : 5x platinum
GARTH BROOKS - Fresh Horses : 5x platinum

1996
MATCHBOX TWENTY - Yourself Or Someone Like You : 12x platinum
CELINE DION - Falling Into You : 11x platinum
TONI BRAXTON - Secrets : 8x platinum
DAVE MATTHEWS BAND - Crash : 7x platinum
SPACE JAM (soundtrack) : 6x platinum
LEANN RIMES - Blue : 6x platinum
THE FUGEES - The Score : 6x platinum
2PAC - All Eyez On Me : 4x platinum (6 million)
SUBLIME - Sublime : 5x platinum (6 million)
METALLICA - Load : 5x platinum

1997
SHANIA TWAIN - Come On Over : 20x platinum
BACKSTREET BOYS - Backstreet Boys : 14x platinum
TITANIC (soundtrack) : 11x platinum
CELINE DION - Let's Talk About Love : 10x platinum
WILL SMITH - Big Willie Style : 9x platinum
GARTH BROOKS - Sevens : 8x platinum
SARAH MCLACHLAN - Surfacing : 8x platinum
SPICE GIRLS - Spice : 7x platinum
PUFF DADDY & THE FAMILY - No Way Out : 7x platinum
SAVAGE GARDEN - Savage Garden : 7x platinum

1998
DIXIE CHICKS - Wide Open Spaces : 12x platinum
KID ROCK - Devil Without A Cause : 11x platinum
'N SYNC - 'N Sync : 10x platinum
GARTH BROOKS - Double Live : 8x platinum
LAURYN HILL - The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill : 8x platinum
FAITH HILL - Faith : 6x platinum
CITY OF ANGELS (soundtrack) : 5x platinum
BRANDY - Never Say Never : 5x platinum
CELINE DION - These Are Special Times : 5x platinum
2PAC - Greatest Hits : 5x platinum

1999
SANTANA - Supernatural : 15x platinum
BRITNEY SPEARS - ...Baby One More Time : 14x platinum
BACKSTREET BOYS - Millenium : 13x platinum
CREED - Human Clay : 11x platinum
DIXIE CHICKS - Fly : 10x platinum
CHRISTINA AGUILERA - Christina Aguilera : 8x platinum
FAITH HILL - Breathe : 8x platinum
DESTINY'S CHILD - The Writing's On The Wall : 8x platinum
CELINE DION - All The Way... A Decade Of Song : 7x platinum (8 million)
RICKY MARTIN - Ricky Martin : 7x platinum (8 million)

2000
'N SYNC - No Strings Attached : 11x platinum (13 million)
EMINEM - The Marshall Mathers LP : 9x platinum (12 million)
THE BEATLES - 1 : 10x platinum (12 million)
BRITNEY SPEARS - Oops!...I Did It Again : 10x platinum
LINKIN PARK - Hybrid Theory : 10x platinum
NELLY - Country Grammar : 9x platinum
BACKSTREET BOYS - Black And Blue : 8x platinum
O BROTHER, WHERE ARE THOU ? (soundtrack) : 8x platinum
ENYA - A Day Without Rain : 7x platinum
SHAGGY - Hotshot : 6x platinum (7 million)

2001
ALICIA KEYS - Songs In A Minor : 6x platinum (7 million)
CREED - Weathered : 6x platinum
NICKELBACK - Silver Side Up : 6x platinum
'N SYNC - Celebrity : 5x platinum
PINK - Missundaztood : 5x platinum
STAIND - Break The Cycle : 5x platinum
KID ROCK - Cocky : 5x platinum
BRITNEY SPEARS - Britney : 4x platinum (5 million)
JOSH GROBAN - Josh Groban : 4x platinum (5 million)
DESTINY'S CHILD - Survivor : 4x platinum (5 million)

2002
NORAH JONES - Come Away With Me : 10x platinum
EMINEM - The Eminem Show : 8x platinum (10 million)
AVRIL LAVIGNE - Let Go : 6x platinum
NELLY - Nellyville : 6x platinum
DIXIE CHICKS - Home : 6x platinum
SHANIA TWAIN - Up! : 5x platinum
ELVIS PRESLEY - 30 #1 Hits : 5x platinum
COLDPLAY - A Rush Of Blood To The Head : 4x platinum
8 MILE (soundtrack) : 4x platinum
MAROON 5 - Songs About Jane : 4x platinum

2003
50 CENT - Get Rich Or Die Tryin' : 6x platinum (8 million)
EVANESCENCE - Fallen : 7x platinum
JOSH GROBAN - Closer : 5x platinum
OUTKAST - Speakerboxxx / The Love Below : 5x platinum
LINKIN PARK - Meteora : 4x platinum (5 million)
BEYONCE - Dangerously In Love : 4x platinum
TOBY KEITH - Shock'n Y'All : 4x platinum
ALICIA KEYS - The Diary Of Alicia Keys : 4x platinum
ALAN JACKSON - Greatest Hits Vol. 2 : 6x platinum (4 million)
MICHAEL JACKSON - Number Ones : 3x platinum (4 million)

2004
USHER - Confessions : 10x platinum
KELLY CLARKSON - Breakaway : 6x platinum
GREEN DAY - American Idiot : 5x platinum
RASCAL FLATTS - Feels Like Today : 5x platinum
GRETCHEN WILSON - Here For The Party : 5x platinum
GUNS 'N ROSES - Greatest Hits : 5x platinum
EMINEM - Encore : 4x platinum (5 million)
NORAH JONES - Feels Like Home : 4x platinum
SHANIA TWAIN - Greatest Hits : 4x platinum
KENNY CHESNEY - When The Sun Goes Down : 4x platinum

2005
NICKELBACK - All The Right Reasons : 8x platinum
CARRIE UNDERWOOD - Some Hearts : 7x platinum
MARIAH CAREY - The Emancipation Of Mimi : 6x platinum
50 CENT - The Massacre : 5x platinum
BLACK EYED PEAS - Monkey Business : 3x platinum (4 million)
COLDPLAY - X&Y : 3x platinum
MARY J BLIGE - The Breakthrough : 3x platinum
KENNY CHESNEY - The Road And The Radio : 3x platinum
MICHAEL BUBLE - It's Time : 2x platinum (3 million)
EMINEM - Curtain Call: The Hits : 2x platinum (3 million)

2006
TAYLOR SWIFT - Taylor Swift : 5,2 million
RASCAL FLATTS - Me And My Gang : 4,9 million
HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL (soundtrack) : 4,9 million
DAUGHTRY - Daughtry : 4,7 million
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE - FutureSex/LoveSounds : 4,3 million
FERGIE - The Dutchess : 3,8 million
HANNAH MONTANA (soundtrack) : 3,7 million
BEYONCE - B' Day : 3,2 million
AKON - Konvicted : 3 million
SUGARLAND - Enjoy The Ride : 2,9 million

2007
JOSH GROBAN - Noel : 5,4 million
ALICIA KEYS - As I Am : 3,8 million
HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2 : 3,4 million
KID ROCK - Rock 'N Roll Jesus : 3,4 million
EAGLES - Long Road Out Of Eden : 3,3 million
MILEY CYRUS - Hannah Montana 2 : 3,3 million
CARRIE UNDERWOOD - Carnival Ride : 3,2 million
LINKIN PARK - Minutes To Midnight : 3,1 million
RIHANNA - Good Girl Gone Bad : 2,7 million
AMY WINEHOUSE - Back To Black : 2,5 million

2008
TAYLOR SWIFT - Fearless : 6,5 million
LADY GAGA - The Fame : 4,4 million
LIL WAYNE - Tha Carter III : 3,7 million
NICKELBACK - Dark Horse : 3,2 million
BEYONCE - I Am... Sasha Fierce : 3 million
COLDPLAY - Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends : 2,8 million
ZAC BROWN BAND - Foundation : 2,8 million
TWILIGHT (soundtrack) : 2,7 million
AC/DC - Black Ice : 2,2 million
SUGARLAND - Love On The Inside : 2,2 million

2009
SUSAN BOYLE - I Dreamed A Dream : 4 million
BLACK EYED PEAS - The E.N.D. : 3,1 millon
ANDREA BOCELLI - My Christmas : 2,7 million
EMINEM - Relapse : 2,2 million
MICHAEL BUBLE - Crazy Love : 2,1 million
CARRIE UNDERWOOD - Play On : 2,1 million
HANNAH MONTANA - THE MOVIE : 2 million
JUSTIN BIEBER - My World : 1,9 million
JAY-Z - The Blueprint 3 : 1,9 million
MICHAEL JACKSON - This Is It : 1,7 million

2010
EMINEM - Recovery : 4,2 million
TAYLOR SWIFT - Speak Now : 3,9 million
LADY ANTEBELLUM - Need You Now : 3,8 million
JUSTIN BIEBER - My World 2.0 : 3 million
JASON ALDEAN - My Kinda Party : 2,3 million
MUMFORD & SONS - Sigh No More : 2,1 million
KATY PERRY - Teenage Dream : 2 million
SUSAN BOYLE - The Gift : 2 million
NICKI MINAJ - Pink Friday : 1,7 million
RIHANNA - Loud : 1,6 million

2011
ADELE - 21 : 6,5 million
MICHAEL BUBLE - Christmas : 2,5 million
LADY GAGA - Born This Way : 2,1 million
LIL WAYNE - Tha Carter IV : 2 million
DRAKE - Take Care : 1,4 million
JAY-Z & KANYE WEST - Watch The Throne : 1,3 million
LADY ANTEBELLUM - Own The Night : 1,3 million
JUSTIN BIEBER - Under The Mistletoe : 1,2 million
BEYONCE - 4 : 1,1 million
COLDPLAY - Mylo Xyloto : 1,1 million

http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=54983

This is also an interesting chart depicting US album sales since the early 70s. The market now is *approximately* the same as today but every year was generating a number of very big sellers.

Source

by **WolfSpear** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 10:59 pm

I think Adele has a lot of potential in the next few years. If she changes around the tone of the songs for the next album, we might not see as big of a slump that most artists get following a blockbuster. Look at all the artists to clock in 20+ weeks @ #1 ... on Michael Jackson really had another huge smash.

That said, Adele's sales are impressive. She's collecting 10 million in just over a year of release, something you can only compare to titles like Thriller and Purple Rain. I suppose you can compare certain albums from the 70's if you adjust for the population inflation and what not, but some of the albums got popular with time and not instant successes.

Bottom line is that I'm sure anyone would agree, this is the best album in terms of chart performance and overall quality in probably the last decade.

by **davyboy** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 11:00 pm

Loving that graph, though haven't had a chance to look in real detail as am only on Blackberry at the moment.

All makes sense though - overall market no smaller now than in the 70s but with much more fragmentation, generally more product on the market and sales less likely to be concentrated on a few top albums.

Would be nice if this thread could be considered somewhere you could put your feet up, have a cup of tea, and feel OK to debate the achievements of Adele in an objective way. If that were the case I'd feel proud to have started it.

by **phoenix83** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 12:34 am

davyboy wrote:Loving that graph, though haven't had a chance to look in real detail as am only on Blackberry at the moment.

It is a fascinating graph, I would've thought CD sales picked up a bit earlier than it shows - i.e. cassettes being overwhelmingly the main medium in 1989 is a little surprising to me.

Excellent opening post in this thread by the way.

by **HUR** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 12:49 am

Amazing post coming from MJDangerous. I asked him for his opinion, and let's enjoy what he prepared for all us to read. Banned from this forum, he is still bringing us the most interestimg comments and analysis as to how the markets work. See this:

Below 4 main points to understand on that issue.

A) Market size VS Available buyers

Actually, if we are trying to rate sales we obviously need a scale of measure, there is two different point of views possible yet not one:

1 - Number of people regularily buying music
2 - Number of people that can possibly buy music

The first category will determine largely the size of the market. Regular music buyers are at an alltime low. More and more people just download illegaly music.

The second category on which you enlarge the scope to even people buying 1 record every 2 or 3 years, is at an alltime high. All recent studies show that since the explosion of the iPod in 2004 the average number of hours dedicated to music is much higher and that music entered among hobbies of much more people than in the past. They also prove that with also the arrival of internet and the likes Youtube, the music knowledge of an average person massively increased. That is why album sales overall in the US start going back up (that is not due to Adele at all even if people like to use that shortcut) even though if you compare the sales of weekly album #50 or 200 to last 2 years it dropped, but catalog sales and new but unpromoted music is increasing a lot off radar.

Most of the time, we don't really care about the second category that is pretty much irrelevant for 99% of releases. But when it comes to 'blockbusters', albums which are exactly albums that sell beyond the regular music buyers (Thriller, Grease, Saturday Night Fever, Bodyguard etc and now 21), the first category doesn't matter much anymore. We do know that Adele broke the barrier of casual buyers. The question to know which blockbuster is the biggest, is not the share of an album among the entire market but the percentage of casual buyers that got the album - and as I said, that number is at an alltime high.

Both conditions put together - very low number of regular buyers and very high number of casual buyers - generates the perfect background to massively dominate charts, because once you broke into the main audience there is infinitely more buyers than on the first group. Selling to a few casual buyers is enough to sell more copies every week than someone selling to most regular buyers; so if you are the only album crossing over, you will be a never ending #1, that's as simple as that. It simulates someway the situation of the 60s which enabled all Beatles records: There were very few people used to buy albums, but there were people out there looking to Top Of The Pop and listenning radios, it was the perfect situation to dominate charts in the way the Beatles did because a bit of hype to casual persons was enough to sell more than albums selling to the very low number of regular buyers.

Adele is just the first album enjoying that situation - released today, albums like Come Away With Me or Supernatural would have got much more weeks at 1 than they did when they were first released.

If we check the situation of the second category, we have following numbers - let's focus on US sales, for the first 15 months of release

1983
US population: 230 million
Residents per house: 3
Thriller sales: 19 million

Which makes it 25% of houses buying Thriller (19m out of 76m)
2011
US population: 310 million
Residents per house: 2.5
21 sales: 9 million

Which makes it 7% of houses buying 21 (9m out of 124m)

The real difference is even bigger since actually several people from the same house can buy the same stuff with iPods/iPhones & such (it would be interesting to know the number of 15-25 years old people that downloaded legally 21 first and offered the physical copy to their mom/girlfriend second).

It shows that 21 even though being a massive blockbuster has come so far nowhere near Thriller.

That also highlights how incorrect it is to believe if the market was the same as in the 90s 21 would be up to 40m or - Actually, it could have very well reached exactly the same sales, simply because what matters isn't the number of albums bought during the year but how many people bought albums during the year, and that number hasn't been going down (even going up). Someone has to understand that the best selling album ever (Thriller) was released on the worst year for worldwide sales in 30 years (75-05 - year 1982) while Laundry Service is the lowest selling Best selling album of the year (that is the best selling album released in 2001) for that period, despite 2001 being the alltime peak of music sales worldwide, which shows very well how irrelevant the market size gets when we refer to albums crossing over a largest audience than regular buyers.

B) Singles success

An other very incorrect point is arguying about singles #1. During the 80s (and as a whole the physical era), the ratio of price between a single and an album was about 3-4, now it is 10+. It means back in the day very quickly it was much more worth it to buy the album, so with convincing singles would boost the album without selling necessarily that much singles (Led Zep or Floyd perfectly summarize that situation). Today, singles are so cheap and also so easily 'pickable', that you can already own the album but still buy a single if you are out and want to listen to it. You don't question yourself "I'm I going to buy the album latter" anymore. That is why Perry can have so easily #1 singles. Because of their price singles sales enter lesser in conflict with album sales now, it is a lot easier to get high single peaks and high album sales in the same time.

To reach 7 top 10 singles in 1983, meaning people were ready to pay $4 and go out on shops to specifically get the single, while 25% of houses already owned the parent album, is just beyond madness. Getting 7 top 10 singles at the time was undoubtedly more impressive than getting 7 #1s today.

C) Competition / Dominance

Thriller has been incorrectly compared to Purple Rain. Thriller had been already 18 months top 10 when that one was released. Not only it wasn't his competition, but it actualy reached so many sales partially thanks to Thriller, which opened to Prince the door of new medias like MTV, increased the average interest in music (as shown by record breaking audiences of awards shows during the Thriller era) as well as having give the habit of buying records to a lot of new people - Springsteen as well benefited largely from that.

If we focus on albums released in 1982 just like Thriller, its real competitors, then the biggest selling ones during their promotional campaign (Moments by Iglesias, Hello by Phil Collins, Records by Foreigner, Lionel Richie eponymous debut, Love Over Gold by Dire Straits) all sold from 4 to 6 million copies worldwide. Others, like War by U2 or 1999 by Prince did not even sell that, they were selling 2m-ish. Thriller ended its initial run closing in 40 million sales, or let say, 7 times more than its biggest competitors. The #1 Billboard Album Of The Year the year just before Thriller was Asia album, which at the time ended its run shipping 2.5 million copies only.

Speaking about 21, it got released in a time that was knowing none blockbuster for nearly a decade (I even opened a thread about that a few years ago saying if an album sells as a blockbuster on all countries it is still not hard to sell 20m copies), which makes it look like a juggernaut. It makes no sense to think 21 is a bigger blockbuster than others just because it faced none other one. Had Bodyguard or Titanic been released today, would 21 be a much less successful album? Of course no. That would be the same as saying Saturday Night Fever wasn't that big because Grease sold about the same and vice versa, it makes obviously no sense at all.

D) World scale

A last point is about WW sales. We tend to compare through US/UK figures since we know them best, but 21, although being massive worldwide, has still not quite reach the 'blockbuster' status everywhere. It failed to reach #1 in Spain for example where Thriller dominated for 20 weeks. It is breaking through Asia but still on low proportion. The same can be said about Sweden and other countries. On all those countries, Adele sold damn well for a foreign act, while albums like Saturday Night Fever, Thriller or Bodyguard sold damn well even by local artists sales standards.

I hope that helps making the jigsaw clearer. To summarize, Adele is the first blockbuster in years but then benefits from the situation to make it look even bigger than it actually is. It would still end being as big as Titanic or Come On Over were - pushing optimism a bit it can possibly reach the level of success reached by Bodyguard and Saturday Night Fever. That being said, unless 21 keeps going as strong as it is until at least the end of 2013, it won't come close of Thriller yet.

by **HAL9000** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 12:56 am

davyboy wrote:for me, the most objective way to look at 'domination' is to look at the ratio of an album's sales vs its competitor albums within its period. Not just of one or two but, let's say, the whole top 100 for a year.

There are many different types of domination - absolute domination, relative domination, domination on music market, domination on market as whole etc.... Regarding relative domination (which you refer) you must consider time span and (as HUR said in another thread) competition and quality of competition.

Lately (in many threads) I see a lot of comparison between the "Thriller" and "21" in the US because of 21's impressive chart runs so...
For start in 1983 there was 233.8 million people and 85.4 million households. In 1982 when "Thriller" was released music market (albums shipped) was at the absolute lowest since 1976 and (just for the sake of comparison) twice weaker than in 2002 and yet 15 months since release "Thriller" shipped 19+ million copies in the US. Being popular primary refers to dominance within the entire population and 20 million copies vs. 85.4 households speak volumes. Statistically, almost every fourth household bought "Thriller" during its peak.
In 2010 the US population was 308.7 million people and there was 118.7 million households. :wink:

Thriller's competition in 1983/84 were many great albums like "Synchronicity" by The Police, "1999" by Prince, "Frontiers" by Journey, "1984" by Van Halen, "Eliminator" by ZZ Top, "Pyromania" by Def Leppard, "Lionel Richie" and "Can't Slow Down" by Lionel Richie, "Flashdance" and "Footloose" soundtracks, "An Innocent Man" by Billy Joel, "Business as Usual" and "Cargo" by Men At Work, "She's so Unusual" by Cindy Lauper, "Colour By Numbers" by Culture Club, "War" and "Under A Blood Red Sky" by U2, "Private Dancer" by Tina Turner, "Genesis" by Genesis, "90125" by Yes, "Eagles Greatest Hits Volume 2" by Eagles, "What's New" by Linda Ronstadt, "Madonna" by Madonna etc (in ShayLaB's post you can check some certifications)....
Nevertheless, "Thriller" spent 71 consecutive weeks in the Top 5 from January 1983 to May 1984 including 37 non-consecutive weeks at #1. In June 1984 (18/19 months after the album's release) another two all time great albums were released: "Purple Rain" by Prince and "Born in the U.S.A." by Bruce Springsteen [a small remark, which today's album should represent "Purple Rain" and "Born in the U.S.A." or some of the classics mentioned before? :-?

].
Regardless of 21's impressive chart run, speaking about dominance within the entire population in the US and cultural and social relevance IMO it's impossible to compare "21" even with "Purple Rain" and "Born in the U.S.A.", let alone with "Thriller".

by **HAL9000** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 1:13 am

Thanks HUR (and MJD). Excellent analysis!

by **WolfSpear** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 2:09 am

It is a great analysis. It's sad that the market doesn't have the competition. I guess we drifted to nearly a singles market

But seriously, I can see why...

All the albums that were up against 'Thriller' are virtually landmarks. Sadly I can't even name one that's competed against Adele.

by **HAL9000** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 6:18 am

HUR wrote:To reach 7 top 10 singles in 1983, meaning people were ready to pay $4 and go out on shops to specifically get the single, while 25% of houses already owned the parent album, is just beyond madness. Getting 7 top 10 singles at the time was undoubtedly more impressive than getting 7 #1s today.

And let's not forget that a whole Thriller era had 9 Top 10 singles, 7 from "Thriller" and 2 additional, "Say Say Say" (#1) and "Somebody's Watching Me" by Rockwell (#2) which people bought mostly (or to a large extent) because of Michael Jackson.

WolfSpear wrote:It's sad that the market doesn't have the competition. I guess we drifted to nearly a singles market But seriously, I can see why...

I am pretty sure that there are many talented musicians (local acts) out there but unfortunately they don't get any/enough (radio and media) promotion :-?

so they don't sell (much) records.
Radio plays the same songs over and over and over and over... for months!
I won't generalize, but really, there are a billion songs on charts credited as Artist X featuring Artist Y just for the sake of publicity and better stats, then there are many covers or songs sampling old hits, then a series of songs with curses, then there are many acts with pretty faces and great aerobics skills (some people call that dancing) singing/performing catchy auto-tuned songs, etc....

Adele simply doesn't fit in today's music scene (created by the music industry). She doesn't look as model, she sings with raw emotion, she has personality and she created a series of poems inspired by her own life. With so much generic c..p out there she sounds truly original.

by **pierpinto** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 6:23 am

HAL9000 wrote:
Adele simply doesn't fit in today's music scene (created by the music industry). She doesn't look as model, she sings with raw emotion, she has personality and she created a series of poems inspired by her own life. With so much generic c..p out there she sounds truly original.

I agree, and i like her music.

Great analysis (as always) by MJD !

Thanks MJD and Hur 8-)

by **NothingFails** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 7:18 am

HAL9000 wrote:Nevertheless, "Thriller" spent 71 consecutive weeks in the Top 5 from January 1983 to May 1984 including 37 non-consecutive weeks at #1. In June 1984 (18/19 months after the album's release) another two all time great albums were released: "Purple Rain" by Prince and "Born in the U.S.A." by Bruce Springsteen [a small remark, which today's album should represent "Purple Rain" and "Born in the U.S.A." or some of the classics mentioned before? ].

Really great writeup as a whole. Re: Springsteen and Prince, those two albums came out right as Thriller was beginning its descent down the chart, so in a sense if "21" is this generations' "Thriller", then the Born In The USA and Purple Rain are still some months off from release.

by **NothingFails** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 7:27 am

A big problem I would say that separates today from the 80's and 90's is that nowadays everything is front-loaded. It isn't about what an album will still be selling after its been out six months, its what can it open with, and once that crucial opening weekend is over, 90% of albums have their promotion abandoned because all they wanted was a nice opening. Adele's album has been an exception to this rule, its been marketed with the intent that people would still want to buy it six months later (over a year later at thispoint), instead of putting all the eggs in the basket and doing one major blowout opening week which they do way too often. The albums that "competed" with Thriller, Purple Rain and Born In The U.S.A. on the chart were all albums that had nice lengthy chart runs with multiple hit singles, most of them had a very successful tour, and were still selling well months after they hit streets. Most of the albums competing with 21 fall quickly after a nice opening week or two.

Openings are important don't get me wrong, but I feel like the true test in "success" is if people are still buying it once the initial burst where the "true fans" have already run out and purchased a copy.

by **Allthatisholy** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 7:38 am

Great analysis and interesting points.
Kinda answered the question i made earlier.
One thing i thought about tho; we see that album sales were quite low in early 80's, almost as low as now. But still, in order to get some songs you really like, u had to buy the album. Thriller really was in that department aswell, since all those singles made top ten, still 20 million in its initial, singles-driven run were bought!
But today you have the option to download anything for free (illegal, which might hold many off maybe). I know i did with 21, but i discovered that i really liked the material, so i bought the album + 19 (yes, i'm a bandwagoner, haha!).
So either 21 has an almost unprecedented selling power, but suffer from illegal d/l as much as other albums, OR it did have alot of illegal d/l but many, like me, decided to actually go and buy the album!
Also i know, that 21 has really hit a wide span of demographics; from tweens to parents and middle-age people, alot of ppl that doesn't buy much music but when they want to own an album, they buy it.
*rant*

by **Allthatisholy** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 7:40 am

NothingFails wrote:A big problem I would say that separates today from the 80's and 90's is that nowadays everything is front-loaded. It isn't about what an album will still be selling after its been out six months, its what can it open with, and once that crucial opening weekend is over, 90% of albums have their promotion abandoned because all they wanted was a nice opening. Adele's album has been an exception to this rule, its been marketed with the intent that people would still want to buy it six months later (over a year later at thispoint), instead of putting all the eggs in the basket and doing one major blowout opening week which they do way too often. The albums that "competed" with Thriller, Purple Rain and Born In The U.S.A. on the chart were all albums that had nice lengthy chart runs with multiple hit singles, most of them had a very successful tour, and were still selling well months after they hit streets. Most of the albums competing with 21 fall quickly after a nice opening week or two.

Openings are important don't get me wrong, but I feel like the true test in "success" is if people are still buying it once the initial burst where the "true fans" have already run out and purchased a copy.

100% correct, and yeah Adele made out to be the succesful exception!
*coughGagacough*

by **ShayLaB** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 8:39 am

A terrific contribution by mjd...articulates clearly many of the thoughts I had and adds a whole stream of new ones. Will have to re-read to get all the details.

by **Euromillions** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 9:53 am

Should '21' sell as many (even more) albums ww in 2012 than it did in 2011 and outsell the nearest rival by almost 3:1 again, I think this thread needs to be revisited. It wasn't that long ago that some were comparing its domination unfavourably to Come Away With Me and Jagged Little Pill. It's now far surpassed those 2 blockbusters and is onto the next level.

As I intimated in my opening line of this post, unlike other blockbusters from years ago we can't look back in hindsight at '21' yet simply because it may only be just half way through its blockbuster selling era. Let's give it some more time and have a look then. I do know that it's not advisable to predict negatively about this album's future success, as some so called chart experts have found to their embarrassment on these forums.

''21' will never be diamond in the US'

''21' will hit a brick wall sales wise after Januray 2012'

'When Coldplay/Gaga/Beyonce/Britney (delete as applicable) release, Adele's reign will be over'

etc.

by **stevyy** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 10:00 am

very interesting read by MJD. I miss him.

by **denise** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 10:09 am

stevyy wrote:very interesting read by MJD. I miss him.

+1!!

He should be allowed to be back here....for the sake of this forum: his contribution is irreplaceable.