Adele Takes Back the Throne

When Taylor Swift sold 1.3 million albums in the first week after 1989 released in 2014, the music world chalked it up as unique. And then, hello, there was Adele. Her much-anticipated third album, 25, which released in late November, passed that number easily—shattering all digital single-week sales records. Combining CDs and digital sales, the new queen of pop moved 2.5 million copies in the U.S. the first week, passing even the all-time record holder, NSYNC’s No Strings Attached.