On the Charts: Adele’s ’25’ Number One Again, But Lead Shrinking
Adele‘s 25 continued its charts dominance, compiling its seventh straight week atop the Billboard 200. While the singer’s new album might not be enjoying the same platinum-selling weeks she was accumulating in 2015, 25 conjured up another 194,000 in total album sales to make Adele the first female singer since Whitney Houston’s Whitney in 1987 to claim the Number One spot for its first seven weeks on the charts, Billboard reports.
However, after six weeks of runaway sales that put 25 out of reach of the competition, the rest of the field is beginning to encroach on Adele’s turf. Justin Bieber’s Purpose, the immediate runner-up to 25 over the past month, sold 124,000 total albums to close their gap to 70,000 copies.
At stake is Adele’s efforts to become the first artist to place an album at Number One for its first eight weeks of release since Creed’s Weathered in 2002. However, a sign of Adele’s slipping charts stranglehold: Bieber’s “Sorry” finally edged Adele’s “Hello” on the Hot 100, ending the 25 single’s 11-week reign.
Bieber isn’t the only threat to Adele’s throne: Following the death of David Bowie, the rock legend’s Blackstar has seen a boost in sales that could propel the album to Number One; at press time, Blackstar was atop iTunes’ Album Charts, followed by Best of Bowie, 25, then other albums from the rocker’s catalog. On the U.K. charts, Bowie’s final LP is already expected to claim the top spot, which would end 25‘s Number One streak there.
Only one new release managed to break into this week’s Top 10: Rachel Platten’s Wildfire, which debuted at Number Five with 45,000 copies, although only 29,000 of that was from pure album sales; the rest came from bulk purchases of the LP’s lead single “Fight Song.” Twenty One Pilots’ Blurryface spent a second straight week at Number Three while the Weeknd’s Beauty Behind the Madness climbed to Number Four.