Adele & Whitney Houston Top Billboard Album!

Adele's 21 logs its 21st week at #1 on The Billboard 200, which is the longest that any album has remained on top since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales for Billboard in 1991. 

The album sold 730,000 copies in its 52nd week, which is more than any album has sold this deep into its chart run. It blows past a record set nine years ago by Norah Jones' Come Away With Me, which sold 621K in its 53rd week in March 2003. Both albums owed their late surges to a Grammy sweep. Jones won five awards; Adele won six. This is the longest that an album by a female solo artist has held the top spot since the album chart became a weekly feature in 1956. 21 surpasses Whitney Houston's The Bodyguard, which logged 20 weeks on top in 1992-1993.

Adele has a second album in this week's top five. Her 2008 debut album 19 jumps from #9 to #4, its highest ranking to date. Adele's two albums sold a combined 817K copies this week, which is more than all the other albums in the top 18 combined (809K).

TOP TEN BILLBOARD 200 ALBUM CHARTS

Issue Date : 24 February 2012

1. Adele, 21, 730,000.

2. Whitney Houston, The Greatest Hits, 175,000.

3.  Various Artists, Now 41, 94,000.

4. Adele, 19, 87,000.

5. Various Artists, Grammy Nominees 2012, 85,000.

6. Van Halen, A Different Kind Of Truth, 58,000.

7. Paul McCartney, Kisses On The Bottom, 58,000.

8. Bruno Mars, Doo-Wops & Hooligans, 38,000.

9. Lady Antebellum, Own The Night, 37,000.

10. The Civil Wars, Barton Hollow, 36,000.

Whitney Houston Vs. Madonna on Billboard Charts!

Whitney Houston is back on charts after her tragic death drama that shocked the world. "I Will Always Love You" re-enters the Hot 100 at #7, based on just one full day's worth of explosive sales and airplay following Houston's death on Saturday. It's remarkable for a single to return to the top 10 nearly two decades after it was first a hit, but it's not unprecedented. Ben E. King's "Stand By Me" returned to the top 10 in 1986 (when it was featured in the Rob Reiner movie of the same name), more than 25 years after it had been a top 10 hit.

Two other Houston hits also re-enter the Hot 100. "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" re-opens at #35. "Greatest Love Of All" re-appears at #41. These were among 22 Houston hits that showed up this week on the top 200 Hot Digital Songs chart. (Michael Jackson's biggest hits did not return to the Hot 100 in the wake of his death. Chart policies change over time.)

"I Will Always Love You" sold 195K copies this week, which brings the song's digital sales total to 1,105,000. That's probably less than you assumed, but bear in mind that Houston hadn't been "hot" in years.

"I Will Always Love You," which was certified for sales of 4 million physical singles in January 1993, is Houston's first digital million-seller. Her next four biggest digital hits (not just this week, but counting their entire runs) are: "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" (583K), "Greatest Love Of All" (371K), "How Will I Know" (300K) and "I Have Nothing (287K).

TOP TEN BILLBOARD HOT 100

Issue Date : 17 February 2012

1. (1) Kelly Clarkson, "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)."(2 weeks#1)

2. (2) Adele, "Set Fire To The Rain." (24weeks , peak #1) 

3. (41) fun. featuring Janelle Monae, "We Are Young." (8 weeks)

4. (7) LMFAO, "Sexy And I Know It." (23 weeks)

5. (3) Flo Rida, "Good Feeling." (20 weeks)

6. (4) Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris, "We Found Love." (21 weeks, peak #1) 

7. (-) Whitney Houston, "I Will Always Love You." (17 weeks)

8. (5) David Guetta featuring Nicki Minaj, "Turn Me On." (11 weeks on charts)

9. (7) Tyga, "Rack City." (12 weeks on charts)

10. (13) Madonna/Nicki Minaj/M.I.A. "Give Me All Your Luvin." (2 weeks) 

Tribute to Whitney Houston

The music world is remembering the life and career of singer Whitney Houston at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

The star was found dead in her Los Angeles hotel room on Saturday, the day before the prestigious ceremony.

Host LL Cool J opened the event with a prayer for the singer.

Meanwhile, after a post mortem examination, the Los Angeles coroner said there were no visible signs of trauma on Houston's body and that foul play was "not suspected at this time".

The coroner confirmed that Houston, 48, was found in the bath.

LL Cool J said: "There is no way around this. We've had a death in our family.

"The only thing that feels right is to begin with a prayer for a woman who we loved - for our fallen sister, Whitney Houston."

The audience then gave a standing ovation after watching a clip of her hit I Will Always Love You.

Later, dressed in black and with a simple piano accompaniment, singer Jennifer Hudson gave a moving rendition of the same song, ending with the line: "Whitney, we will always love you."

Houston won six Grammys during her career.

Others paying tribute during the ceremony included Bruno Mars, who told the crowd: "Tonight we're celebrating. Tonight we're celebrating the beautiful Miss Whitney Houston."

Stevie Wonder said: "To Whitney up in heaven, we all love you."

Melanie Fiona, who won best traditional R&B vocal performance and best R&B song, said: "Whitney Houston, I would not be standing up here if it were not for you, thank you so much."

The reaction to Houston's death dominated the ceremony, which is the most high-profile event in the US music calendar.

Before the show, Jimmy Jam, a friend and producer of Houston's, said it was "a bittersweet occasion tonight with the passing of Whitney".

"Anytime someone passes away, the thing you do is you gather your family together, tell stories," he said. "A little bit of mourning, little bit of celebrating - this is our family tonight and we're going to do it the best that we can do it."

Earlier on Sunday, the Rev Al Sharpton paid tribute to Houston while preaching at the Second Baptist Church in Los Angeles.

"Yes, she had an outstanding range," he said. "Yes, she could hit notes no one else could reach. But what made her different was she was born and bred in the bosom of the black church.

"A lot of artists can hit notes but they don't hit us. Say words but they have no meaning. Have gifts and talent but no anointing. Something about Whitney that would reach in you and make you feel."

Meanwhile, Houston's 18-year-old daughter Bobbi has been released from hospital after being treated for stress and anxiety following her mother's death.

Houston became known for powerful ballads such as I Will Always Love You and One Moment In Time.

She holds the record for having the most consecutive chart-topping singles in the US - reaching number one seven times between 1985 and 1988.

But her later career was overshadowed by substance abuse and her turbulent marriage to singer Bobby Brown.

In recent years drug use had taken its toll on the star and her voice - once acknowledged as one of the finest in pop music - was badly damaged.