Adele didn’t go easy on her music-making rivals in 2021, as her latest album 30 finished the year as the No. 1 title worldwide.
The British pop singer leads the way on IFPI’s global albums charts, and does so in record breaking fashion.
Announced Tuesday (March 1), 30 dominates all three of the international trade body’s tallies , as it rolls on to No. 1 on the Global Album All Format Chart, now in its second year; the Global Album Sales Chart; and the first-ever Global Vinyl Album Chart.
Following its release in November 2021, 30 was an immediate hit around the world, hitting No. 1 in over 20 markets, including the U.S. and U.K.
Across her career, Adele has built a reputation as a big-hitter on CD sales. She only enhanced that by shifting a whopping 5 million physical units of her latest album in less than two months, IFPI reports.
“It has been wonderful to have Adele back and releasing music over the second half of last year,” comments Frances Moore, CEO of IFPI. “Her dominance of all three IFPI Album Charts speaks to her unique song-writing talent, her iconic voice and unrelenting global popularity.”
Moore continues, “we are thrilled to award Adele and all of her team the IFPI Global Album All Format chart award and send huge congratulations for a stellar year.”
So far, Adele has cleaned up on the awards circuit with her latest album, including a swag of Brit Awards, where she won for artist of the year, Mastercard album of the year and song of the year for “Easy on Me.”
The Top 10 Global Album All Format Chart 2021 is stacked with international acts, including albums from Sweden’s ABBA, Canadian acts The Weeknd and Justin Bieber, Australian The Kid Laroi, and Britons Adele, Ed Sheeran and Dua Lipa.
In the past week, the IFPI has published year-end global charts celebrating the world’s most popular digital singles (won by The Weeknd’s “Save Your Tears”) and global artist (BTS).
Top 10 Global Album All Format Chart 2021 :
RANK
ARTIST
ALBUM
1.
Adele
30
2.
Olivia Rodrigo
SOUR
3.
Justin Bieber
Justice
4.
Ed Sheeran
=
5.
The Weeknd
After Hours
6.
Dua Lipa
Future Nostalgia
7.
The Kid LAROI
F*CK LOVE (Mix Tape)
8.
ABBA
Voyage
9.
Morgan Wallen
Dangerous: The Double Album
10.
Doja Cat
Planet Her
The Global Album All Format Chart takes into account all consumption formats, spanning physical sales, digital downloads, and streaming platforms across a calendar year. It is weighted based on the relative value of each method of consumption.
Top 10 Global Album Sales Chart 2021:
RANK
ARTIST
ALBUM
1.
Adele
30
2.
ABBA
Voyage
3.
SEVENTEEN
Attacca
4.
BTS
BTS, THE BEST
5.
Ed Sheeran
=
6.
Justin Bieber
Justice
7.
Taylor Swift
Red (Taylor’s Version)
8.
SEVENTEEN
Your Choice
9.
Snow Man
Snow Mania S1
10.
Taylor Swift
Fearless (Taylor’s Version)
The Global Album Sales Chart combines global sales of physical albums and digital album downloads to rank the top albums in a calendar year.
Top 10 Global Vinyl Album Chart 2021:
RANK
ARTIST
ALBUM
1.
Adele
30
2.
Harry Styles
Fine Line
3.
Fleetwood Mac
Rumours
4.
Olivia Rodrigo
SOUR
5.
Billie Eilish
Happier Than Ever
6.
Taylor Swift
Red (Taylor’s Version)
7.
The Beatles
Abbey Road
8.
Nirvana
Nevermind
9.
Pink Floyd
The Dark Side Of The Moon
10.
Taylor Swift
evermore
The Global Vinyl Album Chart combines global sales of vinyl format physical albums to rank the top albums in a calendar year.