ADELE'S 21 TIMES 18 = #1
Forty-nine weeks later, the disc remains ensconced at #1 for the 18th week, the most since Whitney Houston’s Bodyguard soundtrack logged 20 weeks from 1992 through May, 1993.
And, with her just-announced Grammy appearance in two weeks, Adele's album is now approaching 6.3 million with no end in sight. In addition, her debut, 19, is also up 13% in sales at #18.
This week, it sold another 111k copies, an incredible 16% increase, easily topping Curb country star Tim McGraw’s Emotional Traffic, which debuts at #2 with 77k.
In all, there were nine new chart entries in the top dozen, including the rest of the Top 5.
Epic heavy metal vets Lamb of God’s Resolution bows at #3, with 52k, followed by Universal Republic’s 2012 Grammy Nominees (#4) and Cabin24/Mom + Pop’s Ingrid Michaelson (#5).
Raxor & Tie’s Kidz Bop 21 is the other holdover at #6, followed by a pair of debuts in BNA’s Kellie Pickler (#7) and Reprise’s Seal (#8).
YM/CM/Universal Republic’s Drake (#9) remains in the Top 10, followed by another trio of first-timers in Sparrow gospel artist Kari Jobe (#10), Amnesty International’s four-CD set, Chimes of Freedom: Songs of Bob Dylan (#11) and Manhattan/EMI’s Celtic Woman (#12).
Other Top 50 newcomers include Century Media’s veteran metallers Lacuna Coil (26), the two-CD version of Chimes of Freedom (#35) and Atlantic British diva sensation Rumer (#46). Both Nonesuch’s Black Keys album Brothers and RCA Nashville’s Miranda Lambert (#50) re-enter.
Grammy Best New Artist nominee, electronic whiz Skrillex’s Big Beat EP Bangarang led the week’s gainers, moving #25-15, +69%, with his other album, Scary Monsters & Nice Sprites, at #49.
Other chart jumps are registered by Glassnote’s long-running Mumford & Sons (#28-25, +40%), 19/RCA’s Daughtry (#39-32, +36%), Geffen’s Mary J. Blige (#24-23l, +32%) and Capitol Nashville’s Luke Bryan (#20, +17%).
Hitting retail this week are Interscope’s Lana Del Rey,
