Why hello there, Adele! The British songstress set a new record with sales of her third studio album, 25 — blowing big-hitters *N Sync and Taylor Swift out of the water.
According to Billboard, the “When We Were Young” singer sold 3.38 million copies of 25 in its first week in the U.S., which is the largest single sales week for an album since Nielsen first began tracking music purchases back in 1991.
Previously, boy band *N Sync held the record, with 2.42 million copies of No Strings Attached sold within its first week of release in 2000.
Adele’s 25 has even surpassed Swift’s 1989 as the biggest selling album of 2015 (Swift’s hit record has sold 1.8 million so far this year).
On Friday, Nov. 20, the 27-year-old singer took to her social media accounts to pen an open letter to her fans.
“this feels like such a long time coming, my new album is finally out,” she wrote. “i am so overwhelmed and grateful to be able to even put another record out, and put it out how i want. the last month has been a whirlwind, its literally taken my breath away. i hope you enjoy the record as much as i enjoyed making it for you. see you on the other side… love adele x.”
On Thanksgiving, the Brit also shared some fantastic holiday news: a European tour kicking off at the end of February next year.
“Hello, it’s me. Adele,” she said in an adorable Instagram video announcing the tour, before bursting into giggles. “God, I can’t even say that anymore.”
Adele’s tour will make stops in Dublin, London, Glasgow, and Berlin, among other European cities.
https://twitter.com/swanfckngqueen/status/670968846803673089
https://twitter.com/philsavedpizza/status/670947293948985344
Seriously @Adele.. pic.twitter.com/AA6XfzyDiP
— Greg Holden (@gregholden) November 29, 2015
