Adele's 21 logs its 15th week at #1 on The Billboard 200, which equals the mark set in 1971 by Carole King's Tapestry. Since 1956, when the album chart became a weekly feature, only one other album by a female artist has logged 15 or more weeks at #1: Whitney Houston's 1992 soundtrack to The Bodyguard (which had 20 weeks on top).
Next month, Adele is expected to tie King again. Adele is almost certain to win Grammys for Album, Record and Song of the Year. That would make her only the second female solo artist to win in all three categories. King swept the boards in March 1972 with Tapestry (Album), "It's Too Late" (Record) and "You've Got A Friend" (Song).
21 also returns to #1 in the U.K. This is its 19th week at #1 in that country. That's the longest run at #1 in the U.K. by any album since Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water logged 33 weeks on top in 1970-1971.
21 is first album to spend 15 or more weeks at #1 in both the U.S. and the U.K. since the Bee Gees' Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, which topped the U.S. chart for 24 weeks and the U.K. chart for 18 weeks in 1978.
Besides 21 and Fever, only four other albums in chart history have logged 15 or more weeks at #1 in both countries. The first to do so was the aforementioned Broadway cast album to My Fair Lady (15 weeks in the U.S., 19 weeks in the U.K.). It was followed by the 1958 soundtrack to South Pacific (31 weeks in the U.S., 115 weeks in the U.K.), Elvis Presley's 1961 Blue Hawaii soundtrack (20 weeks in the U.S., 18 weeks in the U.K.) and the Beatles' 1967 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (15 weeks in the U.S., 27 weeks in the U.K.).
Here's the low-down on this week's top 10 Billboard 200 albums :
1. Adele, 21, 124,000. The album logs its 15th week at #1. This is its 46th week in the top 10. The sales tally includes 44K digital copies, which puts the album at #1 on Top Digital Albums for the 10th week. Four songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "Set Fire To The Rain," which jumps from #6 to #3.
2. Drake, Take Care, 42,000. The former #1 album holds at #2 in its eighth week. It has been in the top 10 the entire time. Five songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "Headlines," which drops from #20 to #29.
3. The Black Keys, El Camino, 42,000. The album jumps from #7 to #3 in its fifth week. It has been in the top 10 the entire time. "Lonely Boy" jumps from #133 to #88 on Hot Digital Songs.
4. Young Jeezy, TM:103 Hustlerz Ambition, 36,000. The album dips from #3 to #4 in its third week. "I Do" (featuring Jay-Z and Andre 3000) drops from #165 to #171 on Hot Digital Songs.
5. Coldplay, Mylo Xyloto, 28,000. The former #1 album jumps from #8 to #5 in its 11th week. This is its seventh week in the top 10. Two songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs. "Paradise" jumps from #37 to #32. "Princess Of China" (featuring Rihanna) re-enters at #158.
6. Rihanna, Talk That Talk, 27,000. The album jumps from #9 to #6 in its seventh week. This is its fifth week in the top 10. Two songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs. "We Found Love" (featuring Calvin Harris) drops from #2 to #4. "You Da One" jumps from #25 to #23.
7. SafetySuit, These Times, 27,000. This new entry is an iTunes exclusive for one week.
8. LMFAO, Sorry For Party Rocking, 25,000. The album drops from #5 to #8 in its 29th week. This is its second week in the top 10. Three songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "Sexy And I Know It," which dips from #1 to #2.
9. Various Artists, Now 40, 24,000. The album inches up from #10 to #9 in its ninth week. This is its sixth week in the top 10.
10. Florence + the Machine, Ceremonials, 24,000. The album drops from #6 to #10 in its 10th week.
This is its third week in the top 10. "Shake It Out" jumps from #124 to #73 on Hot Digital Songs.
Adele's 2008 debut album, 19, drops from #11 to #13. This is the 13th time in the past year that Adele has had two albums in the top 20. 19 is #1 on Top Catalog Albums for the 30th week. Only one other debut album has spent this many weeks at #1 on the catalog chart. That's Creed's 1997 album My Own Prison, which topped the catalog chart for 54 weeks in 2000-2001. Will Adele match that long run? At this point I wouldn't bet against her, would you?
Adele's DVD Live At The Royal Albert Hall sold 24K copies this past week. This brings its six-week total to 476K.
Beyonce & Jay Z new baby Blue Ivy Carter. For obvious reasons. But also because the new Princess of Pop, daughter of Jay-Z and Beyoncé, makes her recorded debut, gurgling on the hip-hop star's happy, gospel-ish and clearly rushed "Glory" (the "feat. B.I.C." after Jay-Z's name is a nice touch). Released January 9th, it was too late to make this week's charts and isn't on sale via iTunes. Nonetheless, the most popular version of the video, which arrived on Jay-Z's website two days after the Exalted One's birth, is up to 1.4 million YouTube views. That's probably not enough to boost the song into pop-hit territory, but it's a nice little publicity boost for both singers during an (understandably) inactive time in their careers. Isn't that what children are for?
