Adele’s second studio album, 21, was such a smash hit critically and commercially that fans have been clamoring to hear the English recording artist’s follow-up to such a colossal debut. Last week, those fans were finally satiated as “Hello” debuted from her sophomore album, 25. The single set Vevo’s record for most views in 24 hours and went to No. 1 on iTunes in 109 countries. It has since spawned a Rick Ross remix and the announcements of her being a musical guest on SNL and having a NBC concert special for the release of the album.
Monday, Adele’s record shattering release continued as Billboard unveiled the weekly charting information. “Hello” is No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart and set a record for most U.S. downloads in a week, being the first to top a million at 1.11 million downloads. It is the fourth No. 1 single for Adele and her first since “Set Fire To The Rain.” The ballad is only the 24th single to debut at at the top of the chart, being the first woman to do so since Taylor Swift debuted “Shake It Off” last year. “Hello” was streamed 61.6 million times in the U.S. which is the second most all time, breaking the one week on-demand stream record by more than doubling the amount of streams that Justin Bieber’s “What Do You Mean” did in its opening week. It is also the second No. 1 single titled “Hello” with the first being Lionel Richie’s hit in 1984.
It will be tough to top Taylor Swift’s album sales for 1989 as the leader in 2015, but if there was a person to do it, it might be Adele.
