<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"It looks like this past year, Adele wasn&amp;#039;t just selling records-she was making them! Not only has her album 21 been named the bestselling album in the country for the second consecutive year, but the 24-year-old British singer has become the first artist since Michael Jackson to achieve such a feat. According to sales figures released by Nielsen SoundScan, Adele sold 4.4 million copies of the album in 2012 after selling 5.8 million in 2011, making it the first album to double-up in success in the SoundScan tracking era, which began in 1991. The album, which includes chart-topping hits such as Rolling In the Deep, Someone Like You and Set Fire to the Rain, passed the 10-million mark in November 2012 and continues to sell well. And even while album sales declined 4.4% overall, the downward trend could not keep 21 off the weekly top 40 since it debuted at No.1 in March 2011. The nine-time Grammy winner and new mother was also named as the Associated Press&amp;#039;s Entertainer of the Year early in 2012, despite not releasing a full album or embarking on a world tour.  The songstress was only rivaled by country star Taylor Swift, whose album Red finished in second with 3.1 million albums sold. Other spots were earned by artists hailing from Adele&amp;#039;s UK homeland including One Direction, who took the No. 3 and No. 5 spots for their albums Up All Night and Take Me Home, and Mumford &amp;amp;amp; Sons, who finished fourth with 1.5 million copies of Babel. Congrats to Adele! Keep up the good work in 2013! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/life/entertainment/news/a47752/adele-tops-record-sales/?src=shelter_footer>