Adele’s “21” continues to sell big in the States, as it holds down #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart for the 23rd week.
Billboard reports Adele’s sophomore release sold another 247,000 copies this past week (down 17%) according to Nielsen SoundScan, to become the longest-running #1 since Prince & the Revolution's "Purple Rain" soundtrack scored 24 weeks on top in 1984 and 1985.
"21's" year-to-date sales now stand at 2.07 million (by far 2012's top album). Well behind, in second place, among the best-sellers this year is Whitney Houston's "Whitney: The Greatest Hits," with 527,000 sold.
The last time an album sold over 2 million copies this early in a year was in 2003, when 50 Cent's just-released "Get Rich Or Die Tryin'" blew through 2.6 million by March 2.
As "21" was released more than a year ago, its 2012 sales are all the more impressive. Reaching back further in the archives, the last time a months-old album rang up 2 million this fast was in 2001, when Shaggy's "Hotshot" album sold 2.12 million (through March 4).
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