In a monumental achievement for the music industry, Adele's seminal 2011 album 21 has officially been crowned the best-selling album of all time. The announcement, made on Monday, confirms that the record has now surpassed the long-standing benchmark set by Whitney Houston's iconic 1992 soundtrack The Bodyguard.
A Historic Milestone in Music Sales
According to comprehensive data reported by The Sun, Adele's 21 has shifted a staggering 56.375 million equivalent album sales, narrowly eclipsing the late Whitney Houston's total of 56.372 million. This razor-thin margin underscores the historic nature of this achievement, marking a significant shift in the annals of popular music.
The Album That Launched a Global Superstar
21 was the album that catapulted Adele from a critically acclaimed British singer to a bona fide international superstar. The record, brimming with raw emotion and timeless songwriting, spawned multiple tracks that have since become household anthems. Standout songs from the album include the heart-wrenching Someone Like You, the defiant Rumour Has It, and the poignant Turning Tables.
In contrast, Whitney Houston's The Bodyguard soundtrack is a cultural touchstone featuring some of her most legendary performances, including the immortal power ballad I Will Always Love You, alongside other hits like I Have Nothing, I'm Every Woman, and Run To You.
Celebrations from the Creative Team
OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder, who co-wrote and produced Rumour Has It and co-wrote Turning Tables for the album, took to Instagram to celebrate this extraordinary milestone. In a heartfelt post, Tedder reflected on the creative process, stating that none of the team involved fully grasped the magnitude of what they were creating at the time.
'We were just having the best time and sprinting like mad to keep up with Adele’s pace,' he wrote. 'The sound was so different from popular music at that time we didn’t even know if there were legit “hits” on the album... only that we loved these songs more than anything.' Tedder paid tribute to the record being surpassed, calling The Bodyguard one of his all-time favourite albums and honouring Whitney Houston's unparalleled legacy.
Measuring Success Across Eras
The sales figures were calculated using the Commensurate Sales to Popularity Concept (CSPC), a modern metric designed to create fair comparisons across different music eras. This system equates albums, singles, streams, and downloads into equivalent album sales, allowing for a meaningful analysis between artists from the vinyl, CD, and digital streaming ages.
Adele's Personal Reflection on Overwhelming Success
The phenomenal success of 21 was not without its pressures for the Tottenham-born superstar. In a 2015 interview with Australia's 60 Minutes, Adele confessed that the album's runaway success 'frightened me and got out of control.' She described the experience as the record growing 'limbs of its own and doing marathon runs.'
This overwhelming response left her concerned about becoming disconnected from her audience and unsure if she could produce a worthy follow-up. 'How am I supposed to write and record an album that people relate to?' she questioned at the time, explaining that this fear contributed to her stepping back from the spotlight to craft her next project with authenticity.
The Landscape of Best-Selling Female Albums
The new ranking of the best-selling albums by female artists highlights the enduring power of these iconic records:
- Adele, 21 - 56.375 million
- Whitney Houston, The Bodyguard OST - 56.372 million
- Shania Twain, Come On Over - 47.633 million
- Celine Dion, Let's Talk About Love - 47.501 million
- Lady Gaga, The Fame / The Fame Monster - 45.469 million
- Alanis Morissette, Jagged Little Pill - 43.27 million
- Taylor Swift, 1989 - 41.874 million
- Madonna, Like A Virgin - 41.218 million
- Madonna, True Blue - 38.118 million
Whitney Houston, who tragically passed away in 2012 at the age of 48, remains one of the best-selling music artists in history, with over 220 million records sold worldwide. This latest development sees Adele's 21 joining the pantheon of legendary works by female artists like Shania Twain, Alanis Morissette, Celine Dion, and Madonna, cementing its status as a defining record of the 21st century.
