CHART STORY: 25 NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD

Let’s be real—it’s Adele’s world and we’re just living in it. The XL/Columbia vocal powerhouse and flat-out megastar has become the first artist in recorded history to sell more than 1m in her first and second weeks, according to the HITS Album Sales Chart. This brings her total to 4.4m after just 14 days. On the Sales Plus Streaming (SPS) Chart, meanwhile, she also moves just under 1.1m units.

Consequently, predecessors 21 and 19 hold strong at #16 and #30, respectively. We’d like to take this moment to wish you and your loved ones a very Adele Christmas.

The holiday spirit has also boosted RCA a cappella stars Pentatonix, whose 2014 That’s Christmas to Me bolts back into the Top 5 at #3 with another 76k. The album should continue to grow throughout the month. This year’s self-titled PTX release—which consists of mostly original material—leaps to #8 with help from a $6.99 sale at iTunes.

Also lifted by that very same sale, Justin Bieber’s Purpose (RBMG/Def Jam) holds strong at #2 with 141k (and 220k at SPS), while Carrie Underwood’s Storyteller (19/Arista Nashville) hits #5 and Blake Shelton’s Reloaded (Warner Bros. Nashville) goes #35-9.

In other seasonal news, Michael Bublé’s Christmas (Reprise) waltzes #25-18, while Reunion’s Casting Crowns (#39), Fantasy’s Vince Guaraldi Trio (#41), Fair Trade’s MercyMe (#43), Reprise’s Josh Groban (#45) and RCA’s Elvis Presley (#50) all re-enter their chart with yuletide sets.

Motown’s Erykah Badu proves to be the only debut in the Top 15 this week, as she bows at #13.

Coldplay’s A Head Full of Dreams (Parlophone) streets this week, along with albums from Def Jam’s Rick Ross, RCA’s G-Eazy and Capitol’s Troye Sivan.

You can also get your paws on The Ties That Bind: The River Collection, a comprehensive look at Bruce Springsteen’s River era—out now via Columbia. The deluxe package includes a four-CD set of 52 tracks with some unreleased material, as well as three DVDs with four hours of never-before-seen video and a coffee-table book of 200 rare or previously unseen photos and memorabilia. If you gift the book, each CD and each DVD separately, you’ll cover every night of Hanukkah in one $100 purchase. Mazel, buddy.

At press time, there were rumblings of a possible Rihanna release, although rumors have been swirling around ANTI’s street date for some time.

And stay tuned for more Adele updates. At this point, it’s looking like 25 has a chance to sell more than 7m by year’s end. Can we get a “Ho, Ho, Hello?”