Adele: 17 Weeks as Billboards #1 Pop Album

[jobeterob]

Adele's '21' hits 17 weeks at No. 1
It seems the industry is in a contest to figure out all the different ways to say, "Adele's '21' is a really, really big hit."

The album has spent 17 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, the longest an album has spent in the top spot since the soundtrack to Whitney Houston's movie with Kevin Costner,"The Bodyguard," accumulated 20 weeks at No. 1 from 1992 to 1993.

[[Alternatively, you can interpret Adele's reign as tying with Billy Ray Cyrus, as his 1992 album, "Some Gave All," also had 17 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.)

Last week, when Adele's "21" notched 16 weeks at No. 1, we were informed that it was the most weeks at No. 1 of any album since 1998's "Titanic" soundtrack also racked up 16 weeks in the top spot. [[We have a feeling Celine Dion's heart will go on, though...)

[carlo]

Do you have Adele's new album, Joebeterob?

[jobeterob]

I got as far as the Supremes and Tempts 50th Anniversary, More Hits by the Supremes.................

I should get Adele; I'd probably like it.

But somebody on here raised diana 1980 and sister sledge and we are family and the later is stuck in my head along with Moves Like Jagger.

I'll get Adele soon.

[jobeterob]

[bradsupremes]

Jobeterob, I'd also pick up Dionne Bromfield's Good For The Soul album while you're at it. For being only 16, she's remarkable. She grew up listening to Motown so her album is heavily Motown influenced. I really do think she'll be huge one day. I'm a huge fan of hers. Her voice has similar qualities to Diana Ross, Tammi Terrell, Syreeta Wright, etc. and she's really beautiful. In the current music world that's filled with tons of talentless jokes, Dionne is a shining light for the future.

Here's her album sampler:

[jillfoster]

Records are broken all the time... some stand for decades, others tumble rather often. The Bee Gees still hold a chart record from 1978, hell, even Skeeter Davis still holds a billboard record to this day from March of 1963. Length of time at #1 is one of those that can always be broken many times through history.

[Kamasu_Jr]

Adele's '21' hits 17 weeks at No. 1
It seems the industry is in a contest to figure out all the different ways to say, "Adele's '21' is a really, really big hit."

The album has spent 17 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, the longest an album has spent in the top spot since the soundtrack to Whitney Houston's movie with Kevin Costner,"The Bodyguard," accumulated 20 weeks at No. 1 from 1992 to 1993.

[[Alternatively, you can interpret Adele's reign as tying with Billy Ray Cyrus, as his 1992 album, "Some Gave All," also had 17 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.)

Last week, when Adele's "21" notched 16 weeks at No. 1, we were informed that it was the most weeks at No. 1 of any album since 1998's "Titanic" soundtrack also racked up 16 weeks in the top spot. [[We have a feeling Celine Dion's heart will go on, though...)

Frankly Rob, I can't see what all of the fuss is about. I've heard much better singers and in my opinion England has yet to produce another female singer as good as Dusty Springfield was.

[smark21]

Well it's now had 19 weeks at #1. This week's chart also reveals that Leonard Cohen is now in the top ten, first time in his career. He debut at #3, behind Adele and Lana Del Rey, with his new album

[Roberta75]

I got as far as the Supremes and Tempts 50th Anniversary, More Hits by the Supremes.................

I should get Adele; I'd probably like it.

But somebody on here raised diana 1980 and sister sledge and we are family and the later is stuck in my head along with Moves Like Jagger.

I'll get Adele soon.

Do yourself a favor and order Adele today. The CD is brilliant.

Roberta

[jobeterob]

I do know Rolling in the Deep............I should get this. I agree that to top Dusty will be remarkable; poor Dusty who really never did massive chart numbers.

But Adele here is moving into Thriller and Tapestry type numbers. I guess Please Hammer Don't Hurt Em might have got there too and it was utterly forgettable and forgotten.

[jobeterob]

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Lana Del Rey lands high on this week's chart
Her debut album "Born to Die" debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, selling a solid 77,000 copies
Impressively, Del Rey accomplished this feat without a single bona fide "hit"
[[EW.com) -- People constantly debate whether the phrase, "All publicity is good publicity," actually has any credence, but in the case of Lana Del Rey, the saying has proven itself true.

After nearly six months of feverish online debate -- her name! her lips! her backstory! -- the divisive songstress, whose poorly received performance on "SNL" launched a thousand blog posts, lands high on this week's chart. Her debut album "Born to Die" debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, selling a solid 77,000 [[if not spectacular, considering its marketing budget) copies.

Impressively, Del Rey accomplished this feat without a single bona fide "hit" to her name. Although her recent video for "Born to Die" has amassed over 19 million views, she has only charted one song domestically: "Video Games," and that only reached No. 91 on the Hot 100. Understandably, 74 percent of her album sales were digital downloads.

Adele, of course, topped the chart once again, logging her 19th week in first place. Thanks to massive Grammy buzz, the blockbuster album moved another 122,000 copies, which means "21" has now sold over 100,000 units in 35 separate weeks.

Yahoo's Paul Grein notes that this is the first time an album has done this since Creed's "Human Clay," which logged 49 weeks of sales above 100,000 from 1999 to 2001. If Adele wins Album of the Year at the Grammys on Sunday [[as she is expected to), "21" should easily blaze past the 7 million mark.

The only other debuts in the Top 10 were Leonard Cohen's "Old Ideas," which sold 41,000, and Fred Hammond's gospel album "God, Love And Romance," which sold 26,000. Check out the Top 10 below:

1. Adele, "21" -- 122,000

2. Lana Del Rey, "Born To Die" -- 77,000

3. Leonard Cohen, "Old Ideas" -- 41,000

4. Various Artists, "2012 Grammy Nominees" -- 34,000

5. Kidz Bop Kids, "Kidz Bop 21" -- 30,000

6. Drake, "Take Care" -- 30,000

7. Tim McGraw, "Emotional Traffic" -- 29,000

8. Fred Hammond, "God, Love And Romance" -- 26,000

9. LMFAO, "Sorry For Party Rocking" -- 22,000

10. Rihanna, "Talk That Talk" -- 22,000

[smark21]

I do know Rolling in the Deep............I should get this. I agree that to top Dusty will be remarkable; poor Dusty who really never did massive chart numbers.

But Adele here is moving into Thriller and Tapestry type numbers. I guess Please Hammer Don't Hurt Em might have got there too and it was utterly forgettable and forgotten.

She's not moving into Thriller territory as the sales per unit are not what they used to be, but within 2012 terms, her album 21 is about as ubiquitious as it gets.

[jobeterob]

Ya, your right; she'll never get there, not even with paid downloads. Those sales figures are pretty weak.

[stephanie]

I dont think artists now are seeing the type of success in sales like they did with Carole Kings - Tapestry, Fleetwood Mac-Rumours, and the Bee Gees - Saturday Night Fever. I mean yes she is at number one but in the 70s and 80s these groups were selling 10-15 million and more. Smark and Jobete you are right there will never again be someone who is going to hit that Thriller and Off the Wall territory or even a Supertramp - Breakfast in America territory. I really believe its because the music of today is junk and younger people are discovering the other side.

I can promise you that if people will go see Tony Bennett and Michael Buble if you were to play songs like Mary Wilsons -U or have La La Brooks come out and do one of her songs from the Crystals lineup people would go wild. How do I know this? Look at the response the kids have on youtube when an old song comes up on Glee and they like the original, look at how well Hairspray did, and Dreamgirl. If the record companies dont want to pay royalties just re-release the old music again.

[jobeterob]

Ya, it's a shame how these sales have fallen apart, how some of these new artists can't even do a concert; there is a real sea change going on in the business; will be interesting to see where things are at in 20 years.

[jobeterob]

Adele's Big Night: Where It Ranks in Grammy History
February 13, 2012

By Fred Bronson, Los Angeles

Adele backstage at the Grammmy Awards holding her six trophies [[Getty Images)





Adele's big night at the Grammys doesn't set any new records, but it does enroll the British singer in an elite club of triple-crown winners for the Recording Academy's top three awards, and artists who have dominated the show with six or more statuettes in a single evening -- and it ties her with Beyonce for most wins in a single night by a female artist.

Adele Makes a Clean Sweep on Somber Night at Grammys 2012

Adele is only the sixth artist to take home Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Album of the Year since the Grammys were first handed out in 1958. The first artist to do so was Paul Simon in 1971: As the sole writer of "Bridge Over Troubled Water," he captured Song of the Year, and with singing partner Art Garfunkel he also won Record of the Year; their "Bridge Over Troubled Water" LP was named Album of the Year.

2012 Complete Grammy Winners & Nominees List

The following year, Carole King became the first woman to win Song of the Year, which went to "You've Got a Friend," a title recorded both by King on her "Tapestry" album and by James Taylor, whose cover version went to No. 1 on the Hot 100. King also won Record of the Year for another "Tapestry" track, the No. 1 single "It's Too Late," while the parent LP won Album of the Year.

Grammy Awards 2012: All Our Coverage

The next hat trick came in 1981 when Christopher Cross' "Sailing" won the Song and Record categories, while his eponymous debut took home the album trophy. In 1993, Eric Clapton's emotionally-charged "Tears in Heaven" was named Song and Record of the Year; his "Unplugged" won in the Album category. And in 2007, the Dixie Chicks were triumphant with "Not Ready to Make Nice" in the Song and Record divisions, while "Taking the Long Way" was named Album of the Year.

Glen Campbell, Diana Ross, George Jones, Allman Brothers, More Honored at Grammy Special Merit Awards

There were three years with close-but-not-quite sweeps: in each case the winning artist did not write the song that prevailed. In 1992, Natalie Cole's recording of "Unforgettable" with her late father, Nat King Cole, was Song and Record of the Year, while "Unforgettable…With Love" picked up the Grammy for Album of the Year. In 2001, Carlos Santana did not write "Smooth," so won Record of the Year and Album of the Year [["Supernatural") categories. And in 2003, Norah Jones was not the composer of "Don't Know Why," named Song and Record of the Year while her "Come Away With Me" was victorious in the Album category.

Video: Jennifer Hudson Pays Tribute to Whitney Houston at Grammys

Winning six Grammys in one night also puts Adele in a very small club. Roger Miller was the first artist to win that many trophies in a single evening, at the 1966 ceremony. His "King of the Road" song won in five categories and his album "The Return of Roger Miller" in one. A year earlier, he had come close by winning five Grammys, thanks to his novelty hit, "Dang Me."

Before Adele, three other artists won six Grammys in one night: Quincy Jones in 1991 for his "Back on the Block" album, Clapton in 1993 and Beyoncé in 2010. Jones was named Producer of the Year and won Album of the Year for "Back on the Block." He also won Best Arrangement on an Instrumental and Best Jazz Fusion Performance for "Birdland," Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals for "The Places You Find Love" and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for the title track from "Back on the Block." Clapton's three other wins aside from Song, Record and Album of the Year were for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Tears in Heaven," Best Rock Song for his updating of "Layla" and Best Rock Vocal Performance for the "Unplugged" CD. Beyoncé's "Single Ladies [[Put a Ring on It)" won Song of the Year, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song. She also won Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Halo," Best Contemporary R&B Album for "I Am…Sasha Fierce" and Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for "At Last," from the soundtrack to "Cadillac Records"; Beyoncé starred as Etta James in the film about Chess Records.

Three artists have topped the six-figure mark. Paul Simon won a total of seven in 1971, the year of "Bridge Over Troubled Water." Three artists have topped the six-figure mark. Paul Simon won a total of seven in 1971, all for the album "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and songs from that classic LP. But the all-time champs, both with eight Grammys in a single evening, are Michael Jackson and Carlos Santana. Jackson triumphed in 1984, with seven awards related to "Thriller" and one for Best Recording for Children for "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," featuring Jackson narrating the story of E.T. Santana's comeback with "Supernatural" and the smash hit "Smooth" was strong enough to earn eight Grammys at the 2000 ceremony.

Since Adele was named Best New Artist at the 2009 Grammys, she is only the second person in NARAS history to win that category as well as Song, Record and Album of the Year. The first person to win these four awards was Cross, who did it all in one night back in 1981.

[jobeterob]

Adele's "21" album hits a number of major milestones this week on the Billboard 200 chart, as it basks in the glow of the British diva's multiple Grammy Award wins on Feb. 12.



The album sold 730,000 copies in the U.S. last week [[ending Feb. 19) according to Nielsen SoundScan -- up a whopping 207%. It spends a 21st week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.



BRIT Awards 2012: Adele, Ed Sheeran, Coldplay Win Big



It is the biggest sales week for any album since Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter IV" debuted at No. 1 with 964,000 on the chart dated Sept. 17, 2011. 730,000 is also the largest week for "21," as its previous-best week came over the Christmas holiday, when it shifted 399,000.



More impressively, the last time a non-debuting album sold more than "21" did this past week was on the chart dated Jan. 5, 2008. That was when Josh Groban's "Noel" album moved 757,000 copies over the busy Christmas week of 2007.



Among all albums, since SoundScan started tracking sales in 1991, "21" has the second-largest sales week for an album outside of the Christmas shopping season and its first month of release. Only the "Titanic" soundtrack moved more [[with those qualifiers) on the chart dated Feb. 28, 1998, when it sold 848,000 at No. 1 -- two months after its debut. [[It had a huge gain that week on the chart -- it was up by 44% -- thanks to the Valentine's Day holiday.)



"21" is No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart for a 21st nonconsecutive week, marking the longest-running No. 1 album in the SoundScan era. It surpasses "The Bodyguard" soundtrack [[20 weeks at No. 1 in 1992-1993) for the most chart-topping frames since the Billboard 200 began using SoundScan data in 1991.



"21" -- Adele's second album -- also becomes the longest-running No. 1 album by a woman in history, surpassing the Whitney Houston-led "Bodyguard" album.



Next up in "21's" sights is M.C. Hammer's "Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em," which also banked 21 weeks at No. 1 back in 1990.



Here are the albums with the most weeks at No. 1 in the nearly-56 year history of the Billboard 200 chart:



Weeks at No. 1, Title, Artist, Peak Year

54, "West Side Story" soundtrack, 1962**

37, "Thriller," Michael Jackson, 1983

31, "Rumours," Fleetwood Mac, 1977

31, "South Pacific" soundtrack, 1958

31, "Calypso," Harry Belafonte, 1956 24, "Purple Rain," Prince and the Revolution/Soundtrack, 1984

24, "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack, 1978

21, "Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em," M.C. Hammer, 1990

21, "21," Adele, 2011



** [[The figure of 54 weeks at No. 1 combines the set's time atop separate stereo and mono LP charts before the Billboard 200 became a singular ranking the week of Aug. 17, 1963.)



"21" also turns one-year old on the Billboard 200 as it claims its 52nd week on the list. The album has never left the top 10 in its entire chart run, dipping only as low as No. 7 on Dec. 10, 2011.



Adele is not only No. 1 on the Billboard 200 this week, but she's also No. 4 with her debut set, "19" [[87,000; up 144%). It's the album's best sales week and highest position. Combined, "21" and "19" moved 817,000 copies last week.



This is the first time an act has two concurrent albums in the top four of the chart since Oct. 9, 2004, when Nelly's concurrently-released "Suit" and "Sweat" were Nos. 2 and 4 in their second week on the chart.



The last time an act snared two albums in the top five -- that weren't released at the same time -- was on April 4, 1992. That was when Garth Brooks' "Ropin' the Wind" was No. 2 and "No Fences" was No. 4.



It should be noted that while Billboard 200 has allowed catalog [[older) albums to chart since the end of 2009 [[thus why we see "19" in the top four), that wasn't always the case. On the now-defunct Top Comprehensive Albums chart [[which ranked both new and old albums), Michael Jackson posthumously notched three out of the top four during seven nonconsecutive weeks in 2009.



Finally, "21's" so-far three singles moved an incredible number of downloads last week -- a combined total of 709,000. "Rolling in the Deep" shifted 271,000 [[up 115%), "Set Fire to the Rain" did 254,000 [[up 36%) and "Someone Like You" sold 183,000 [[up 44%).



Adele by the Numbers:



6 - Grammy Awards won by Adele on Feb. 12. Her total Grammy count now stands at eight, as she earned two trophies at the 2009 ceremony.



730,000 - Number of copies "21" sold in the U.S. last week [[ending Feb. 19) according to Nielsen SoundScan.



207% - The sales gain "21" earned in the week after the Feb. 12 Grammy Awards.



7,353,000 - Total number of copies "21" has sold in the U.S.



2.34% - Percentage of the U.S. population that owns "21" [[based on the U.S. Census Bureau's current population estimate of 313,059,000; and if each "21" owner only has one copy).



21 - Number of weeks "21" has spent at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.



9 - Number of albums that have spent 21 weeks or more at No. 1 in history.



52 - Weeks that "21" has been in release. Also the total number of weeks the album has been in the top 10 of the Billboard 200.



Oct. 2, 2004 - With Adele's "21" and "19" in the top four concurrently, it's the first time an act has had a pair of albums in the top four since Nelly on Oct. 2, 2004.



3 - "21" has spawned three singles thus far, and all of hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart: "Rolling in the Deep," "Someone Like You" and "Set Fire to the Rain."



709,000 - Downloads sold last week of those three singles: "Rolling in the Deep" shifted 271,000 [[up 115%), "Set Fire to the Rain" did 254,000 [[up 36%) and "Someone Like You" sold 183,000 [[up 44%).

[Constantin]

Never heard of Adele before the Grammies [[and it was "thanks to" W. Houston's death). Personally, I'm not a big fan of folk/blues.

[marv2]

I dont think artists now are seeing the type of success in sales like they did with Carole Kings - Tapestry, Fleetwood Mac-Rumours, and the Bee Gees - Saturday Night Fever. I mean yes she is at number one but in the 70s and 80s these groups were selling 10-15 million and more. Smark and Jobete you are right there will never again be someone who is going to hit that Thriller and Off the Wall territory or even a Supertramp - Breakfast in America territory. I really believe its because the music of today is junk and younger people are discovering the other side.

I can promise you that if people will go see Tony Bennett and Michael Buble if you were to play songs like Mary Wilsons -U or have La La Brooks come out and do one of her songs from the Crystals lineup people would go wild. How do I know this? Look at the response the kids have on youtube when an old song comes up on Glee and they like the original, look at how well Hairspray did, and Dreamgirl. If the record companies dont want to pay royalties just re-release the old music again.

This all goes along with what I have been saying. The music industry or rather the decision makers are DUMB! They don't even look at marketing or demographic information, but are still running on the thought that popular music is only for the very, very young [[13-24 year old demographic). Another reason why artists sold more in the 60's,70's,80's is because there were more people in the demographic that the industry generally caters to. Well guess what? All those people have grown up and older now! There are more people over the age of 40 than under yet still this DUMB music industry ignores that and continue to try to milk the smaller demographic of 13- 24 yr. olds for sales when they should be moving along with the largest segment of the population. Dumb, just plain dumb!