As 21 logs its 22nd nonconsecutive week at atop the Billboard albums chart, Adele continues to pass milestones. Though her sales dropped by 59 percent according to Nielsen SoundScan (blame the Grammys spike last week), the singer still becomes the most dominant artist on the albums chart since another regal rankings ruler in the mid-’80s, Prince. (The Purple Rain soundtrack sat atop the chain of command for 24 weeks back in 1984 and 1985.) It’s also the ninth consecutive week at the top for 21—the longest run since the Celine Dion-powered Titanic soundtrack spent 14 consecutive weeks there in 1998. Adele’s 19 also managed to stay in the top 10 this week, selling 39,000 copies to clock in at No. 7.
Whitney Houston, however, claimed the most spots in this week’s upper echelon. Whitney: The Greatest Hits saw almost no drop in sales since last week (less than 1 percent in total) to power into its second week at No. 2, while The Bodyguard soundtrack and Whitney Houston hold the No. 6 and No. 9 spots, respectively.
Though half of this week's top 10 real estate was controlled by just two veteran artists, it’s been a good week for top-10 newcomers, too. Fun. earned a respectable No. 3 debut with 70,000 copies of Some Nights sold in its first week, and Tyga enters the top 10 on a positive note with a No. 4 performance for his Careless World: Rise Of The Last King. Chiddy Bang’s Breakfast leaps onto the chart at the No. 8 position with 31,000 copies sold.