Obscure Fact About Adele’s Chart Reign Gives Us a Reason to Listen to Shaggy

Posted by Andrew Unterberger on 03/07/2012 at 1:08 PM News

The Popdust Files: adele, Billboard, charts, sales, Shaggy

As predicted, Adele is #1 again this week, selling an always impressive 247,000 copies of sophomore album 21. This is 21‘s 23rd week on top, and if she gets one more (with only Bruce Springsteen’s Wrecking Ball really standing in her way) she’ll tie the Saturday Night Fever and Purple Rain soundtracks for the sixth-longest-running stay on top of the album charts. Whitney is just behind her at #2 again with her greatest hits set, and Kid Cudi’s WZRD prog rock side project has the week’s top debut with their self-titled album, at #3 with 66k sold.

None of this is surprising or even really news-worthy. The only interesting thing about this week’s album chart is a super-esoteric chart stat listed by Billboard related to Adele’s incredible 2012 sales numbers. She’s already sold two million copies of 21 in ’12 alone, which makes it the fastest album to two mil in a calendar year since 2001. And you’ll never guess the album that did it back then (unless, of course, you’ve read this article title)—Shaggy’s Hot Shot, which sold 2.12 million copies through March 4th of ’01, on the backs of mega-hit singles “Angel” and “It Wasn’t Me.” Somehow, that album actually sold six million copies back in the day, arguably making the Shaggster the Adele of his time and place.

We don’t get to talk too much Shaggy around the ‘Dust in 2012, so we’re glad to have the excuse to invoke his name on this day. By the way, how underrated was “Luv Me, Luv Me”? Good-ass song, that. Give it a spin or two before day’s end.

VN:R_U [1.9.10_1130]