Adele's '25' Debuts with Historic 3.38 Million Sold in First Week

Photo of Adele performing on 'Saturday Night Live,' by Dana Edelson


After breaking the all-time first-week sales record earlier this week (in just over three days), Adele's new album 25 is proving unstoppable, with the official tally coming in at a historic 3.38 million copies sold in the United States in its first full week.

According to Nielsen Music data released Saturday evening, that makes 25 the first album in music history to reach—much less surpass—3 million in a week. It's only the second to pass 2 million after *NYSNC's No Strings Attached, the previous one-week sales record-holder with 2.42 million copies.

For comparison's sake, 25 has already sold 31 percent of the 11 million Adele's previous album, 2011's 21, has sold in the U.S. to date.

25 will, of course, start at No. 1 on the U.S. charts when the Billboard 200 is revealed next week.