charts discussion HDD: Adele 833k (biggest debut of the year), Taylor 165k

[Cockney Cupcake]

1 minute ago, Squall said:

Is he stuck in 2014?  

Looks like it 

[UnusualBoy]

15 minutes ago, Vespertine said:

Meanwhile Taylor's RED TV Spotify debut thread was full of people (probably bandwagon fake Adele stans, but still) going on and on about how it was "too bad" Red TV would only hold its debut record for one week  We we assured Taylor's new reign as the most-streamed female artist on Spotify would be swiftly ended and stay that way for the rest of the year. Then it was "wait for the pure sales, wait for the pure sales!"  and until just yesterday they were all insisting it was going to open with 1m+ and obliterate Folklore and Lover. Swifties are only reacting to what we were promised! It's entertaining to see expectations brought back down to earth, and 30 not selling that much more than a re-recording of an album that we've had for almost a decade  

 

Also I'm proud to be the 5% of people saying Adele declined!  She's on her Norah Jones trajectory now, which is what I predicted for her years ago. But I love Norah. 

Norah lasted for 2 albums, this is Adele's forth

[MardinBeksloy]

1 hour ago, Chika said:

I fail to see how Swifties could possibly consider this a win??  Adele just easily matched Taylor in her own home market, we have to go back 3 Taylor releases, all the way back to the pre-rule change period before we can find a Taylor album that can even come close to matching this, and pretty much no Taylor album except maybe 1989 debuted with as much as 30 will globally. Adele stays stomping on Taylor in her home market and globally, clearly there is only one music industry 

Perhaps comprehension is not your key, true Swifties never hope Adele would sell less than Taylor, we know she is the biggest album seller. We’re celebrating the fact that fake Adele fans and Taylor’s haters cannot use Adele as shield any more when her sale has dropped to be on par or slightly more than Taylor. 
 

Comparison to folklore make sense cuz it was her last traditional release, evermore had no physical, fearless and red TV are re-recordings. And if you want to talk global, perhaps add China and her Southeast Asians sales to the equation, and you’ll see 30s sale won’t be far off Taylor’s but of course you won’t do that cuz it wont fit your narrative. 

[MardinBeksloy]

21 minutes ago, Vespertine said:

Meanwhile Taylor's RED TV Spotify debut thread was full of people (probably bandwagon fake Adele stans, but still) going on and on about how it was "too bad" Red TV would only hold its debut record for one week  We we assured Taylor's new reign as the most-streamed female artist on Spotify would be swiftly ended and stay that way for the rest of the year. Then it was "wait for the pure sales, wait for the pure sales!"  and until just yesterday they were all insisting it was going to open with 1m+ and obliterate Folklore and Lover. Swifties are only reacting to what we were promised! It's entertaining to see expectations brought back down to earth, and 30 not selling that much more than a re-recording of an album that we've had for almost a decade  

 

Also I'm proud to be the 5% of people saying Adele declined!  She's on her Norah Jones trajectory now, which is what I predicted for her years ago. But I love Norah. 

The tea you just spilled 

[Vespertine]

4 minutes ago, UnusualBoy said:

Norah lasted for 2 albums, this is Adele's forth

That's unfair to Norah, since her third album debuted pretty well still. And Norah doesn't have an album comparable to 19 since she mega-smashed with her first album.

[Cruel Summer]

1 hour ago, Chika said:

I fail to see how Swifties could possibly consider this a win??  Adele just easily matched Taylor in her own home market, we have to go back 3 Taylor releases, all the way back to the pre-rule change period before we can find a Taylor album that can even come close to matching this, and pretty much no Taylor album except maybe 1989 debuted with as much as 30 will globally. Adele stays stomping on Taylor in her home market and globally, clearly there is only one music industry 

I think that you’re kind of missing a lot of the context in favor of seeing this in a way that you’re already inclined to want to see, which is Adele “stomping on Taylor.”

 

You mention having to “go back 3 Taylor releases, all the way back to the pre-rule change period” to find a comparable Taylor debut but you fail to note a few things here. First, that rule change probably didn’t have much impact on Taylor’s overall selling capacity; that a rerecording just opened with 605k for her proves this. Second, that release was also… her most recent studio album release with a full promotional push and all formats available at once, and it was just last year.

 

I think the reaction that you’re seeing in this thread, Swifties “considering this a win,” comes from weeks - or more - of being told that their fave couldn’t possibly even dream of comparing to Adele, who will easily dwarf her numbers and show everyone who “the real music industry “ is. These numbers bring Adele back down to earth and demonstrate that she’s basically on Taylor and Drake’s level. After all, if Taylor just debuted with 75% of Adele’s number with a rerecording, and if her last major roll-out matched or potentially exceeded 30’s debut, who’s to say that she can’t beat this number next time? I’m sure that people feel somewhat vindicated by this scenario after an extended period of being told their favorite artist is unworthy and not on the same level.

 

Beyond that, you have a broadly similar sentiment coming from a lot of other fans. As they say, “the bigger the target, the harder they fall.” This is the first time in over a decade that people can reasonably look at an Adele stat and interpret it as being from a normal, if massively popular, artist rather than some untouchable deity. ATRL by its very nature tends to constantly compare and contrast the artists that it stans and their commercial performance; until today, Adele has largely been an incomparable exception.

 

I personally think that these numbers are fine and that the album is a clear success. This debut is clearly strong, the biggest of the year and potentially the decade so far, and as we’ve covered in the thread, literally only Drake and Taylor have done similar in the streaming era. But I can’t deny that I totally get where other Swifties and other fanbases are coming from, here. And I can’t deny that there’s a small part of me that wonders if my own favorite artist just might be a able to beat this number with her next studio album.

[By the Water]

56 minutes ago, Beyonnaise said:

I feel like this thread is like 5% some random person saying Adele declined then 80% people saying “SWIFTIES HAVE ZERO ROOM TO SAY ANYTHING ABOUT ADELE”  

You'd think they'd be more bothered about people with Lady Gaga or Katy Perry avis dragging her 

[Aethereal]

7 hours ago, TaylorFantasy said:

Except those Chinese sales are all real. Y'all are so ****ing racist and you're not even hiding it.  I know racism against Asians always get swept under the rug but ATRL still has ZTP in place

Expect that they aren't real.

How is that racist?  

You seriously think that in the time of piracy and streaming era the music industry re-peaked in China?

 

I am a Mariah Carey stan do you know that she is the most successful international artist in Asia?

[Blue Honeymoon]

18 minutes ago, MardinBeksloy said:

Perhaps comprehension is not your key, true Swifties never hope Adele would sell less than Taylor, we know she is the biggest album seller. We’re celebrating the fact that fake Adele fans and Taylor’s haters cannot use Adele as shield any more when her sale has dropped to be on par or slightly more than Taylor. 
 

Comparison to folklore make sense cuz it was her last traditional release, evermore had no physical, fearless and red TV are re-recordings. And if you want to talk global, perhaps add China and her Southeast Asians sales to the equation, and you’ll see 30s sale won’t be far off Taylor’s but of course you won’t do that cuz it wont fit your narrative. 

It doesn't make sense because Folklore had bundles and it was a surprise release. Not comparable at all.

[wastedpotential]

Just now, Blue Honeymoon said:

It doesn't make sense because Folklore had bundles and it was a surprise release. Not comparable at all.

Fine then, we can go back to Lover (867,000) or Reputation (1,238,000), which had no bundles, were available in stores the first week, and weren't re-recordings, since those are the things that make folklore, evermore, and RED (TV) incomparable. They were also released years more recently than 25, and both ended above the top range of the first 30 projections  

[Headlock]

6 minutes ago, Aristotle said:

Expect that they aren't real.

How is that racist?  

You seriously think that in the time of piracy and streaming era the music industry re-peaked in China?

Eternium is that you 

[Bey Admired]

1 hour ago, blackbeatxx said:

Stop this *sigh*
 

as an Adele fan i clearly see two women ruling music industry.

they’re on par in US maybe Taylor a bit ahead but globally Adele is #1

How is Taylor slightly ahead of Adele in the US? This is based on literally nothing. Adele has 2 diamond albums in the US and just had the biggest debut of the year with her latest release in just 3 days. 

 

If you don’t want people to compare, then it’s very stupid to go onto say how “Taylor is a bit head of Adele”. It’s counterproductive and is doing the exact same thing you just told someone else to stop doing. 

 

I respect you Blackbeatxx but this post is all over the place. 

[Hot Volcano]

Just now, Bey Admired said:

How is Taylor slightly ahead of Adele in the US? This is based on literally nothing. Adele has diamond albums in the US and just had the biggest debut of the year with her latest release in just 3 days. 

 

If you don’t want people to compare, then it’s very stupid to go onto say how “Taylor is a bit head of Adele”. It’s counterproductive and is doing the exact same thing you just told someone else to stop doing. 

 

I respect you Blackbeatxx but this post is all over the place. 

Couldn't have said it better

[WildHeart]

5 minutes ago, Bey Admired said:

How is Taylor slightly ahead of Adele in the US? This is based on literally nothing. Adele has 2 diamond albums in the US and just had the biggest debut of the year with her latest release in just 3 days. 

 

If you don’t want people to compare, then it’s very stupid to go onto say how “Taylor is a bit head of Adele”. It’s counterproductive and is doing the exact same thing you just told someone else to stop doing. 

 

I respect you Blackbeatxx but this post is all over the place. 

Taylor also has 2 Diamond albums in US so what's the point... 

 

Taylor is 8th biggest artist in US history(probably top5 since the last update) so you are arguing with facts at this point

Greatest of All Time Artists – Billboard

[Chika]

37 minutes ago, Cruel Summer said:

I think that you’re kind of missing a lot of the context in favor of seeing this in a way that you’re already inclined to want to see, which is Adele “stomping on Taylor.”

 

You mention having to “go back 3 Taylor releases, all the way back to the pre-rule change period” to find a comparable Taylor debut but you fail to note a few things here. First, that rule change probably didn’t have much impact on Taylor’s overall selling capacity; that a rerecording just opened with 605k for her proves this. Second, that release was also… her most recent studio album release with a full promotional push and all formats available at once, and it was just last year.

 

I think the reaction that you’re seeing in this thread, Swifties “considering this a win,” comes from weeks - or more - of being told that their fave couldn’t possibly even dream of comparing to Adele, who will easily dwarf her numbers and show everyone who “the real music industry “ is. These numbers bring Adele back down to earth and demonstrate that she’s basically on Taylor and Drake’s level. After all, if Taylor just debuted with 75% of Adele’s number with a rerecording, and if her last major roll-out matched or potentially exceeded 30’s debut, who’s to say that she can’t beat this number next time? I’m sure that people feel somewhat vindicated by this scenario after an extended period of being told their favorite artist is unworthy and not on the same level.

 

Beyond that, you have a broadly similar sentiment coming from a lot of other fans. As they say, “the bigger the target, the harder they fall.” This is the first time in over a decade that people can reasonably look at an Adele stat and interpret it as being from a normal, if massively popular, artist rather than some untouchable deity. ATRL by its very nature tends to constantly compare and contrast the artists that it stans and their commercial performance; until today, Adele has largely been an incomparable exception.

 

I personally think that these numbers are fine and that the album is a clear success. This debut is clearly strong, the biggest of the year and potentially the decade so far, and as we’ve covered in the thread, literally only Drake and Taylor have done similar in the streaming era. But I can’t deny that I totally get where other Swifties and other fanbases are coming from, here. And I can’t deny that there’s a small part of me that wonders if my own favorite artist just might be a able to beat this number with her next studio album.

No, she is not on Taylor’s level. Adele is leagues above, there is no comparison. Evermore, Taylor’s last studio album sold 329k units in Taylor’s domestic market first week. Adele will probably sell more than that in the UK, which isn’t even a fraction as big of a market. On top of this, Adele is predicted to sell in the range of 2.5 times this in the US. Even in the US, where I have heard tell that Taylor is the biggest music artist ever, Adele not only outsold Taylor’s last 3 efforts (300k more than evermore and Fearless TV combined), she is also predicted to sell at least as much as Taylor’s allegedly industry-breaking Folklore, and that album benefited from bundles.
 

This is not even to mention the magnitude with which Adele outsells globally. There is no comparison, Adele literally eats everyone else alive, not just Taylor. I know Swifties may have been caught up in this ‘Taylor is the music industry’ narrative and so to see her being so easily outsold in every market globally must be quite upsetting, but the fact remains that Adele is the biggest artist in the world by a mile.

 

I’m not making this to rag on Taylor who is actually one of my favourite artists,, but simply to silence the brave Swifties who would dare try tear down Adele.

Edited November 23, 2021 by Chika

[FAN]

1 minute ago, Chika said:

No, she is not on Taylor’s level. Adele is leagues above, there is no comparison. Evermore, Taylor’s last studio album sold 329k units in Taylor’s domestic market first week. Adele will probably sell more than that in the UK, which isn’t even a fraction as big of a market. On top of this, Adele is predicted to sell in the range of 2.5 times this in the US. Even in the US, where I have heard tell that Taylor is the biggest music artist ever, Adele not only outsold Taylor’s last 3 efforts (300k more than evermore and Fearless TV combined), she is also predicted to sell at least as much as Taylor’s allegedly industry-breaking Folklore, and that album benefited from bundles.
 

This is not even to mention the magnitude with which Adele outsells globally. There is no comparison, Adele literally eats everyone else alive,  it just Taylor. I know Swifties may have been caught up in this ‘Taylor is the music industry’ narrative and so to see her being so easily outsold in every market globally must be quite upsetting, but the fact remains that Adele is the biggest artist in the world by a mile.

 

I’m not making this to rag on Taylor who is actually one of my favourite artists,, but simply to silence the brave Swifties who would dare try tear down Adele.

I love how you chose to use Evermore but not red tv or folklore very telling 

[Pop culture]

 

[ithinkheknowsoutsold]

18 hours ago, Machete said:

Then: "EOM debut proved there's immense anticipation for Adele on streaming. +100M is in the bag."

 

Later on: "Adele isn't a streaming artist. Her base buys in pure. +1.5M is still locked"

 

Now: "SWIFTIES!!!!!"

 

Taylor is an obsession, I fear.

[Chika]

1 minute ago, FAN said:

I love how you chose to use Evermore but not red tv or folklore very telling 

Folklore was 3 releases ago and in a completely different time when you could literally sell an electric pink jockstrap and call it an album sale. Will we just compare every Taylor release to 21, or are we going to use more recent figures?

[jonapova]

5 minutes ago, Chika said:

No, she is not on Taylor’s level. Adele is leagues above, there is no comparison. Evermore, Taylor’s last studio album sold 329k units in Taylor’s domestic market first week. Adele will probably sell more than that in the UK, which isn’t even a fraction as big of a market. On top of this, Adele is predicted to sell in the range of 2.5 times this in the US. Even in the US, where I have heard tell that Taylor is the biggest music artist ever, Adele not only outsold Taylor’s last 3 efforts (300k more than evermore and Fearless TV combined), she is also predicted to sell at least as much as Taylor’s allegedly industry-breaking Folklore, and that album benefited from bundles.
 

This is not even to mention the magnitude with which Adele outsells globally. There is no comparison, Adele literally eats everyone else alive, not just Taylor. I know Swifties may have been caught up in this ‘Taylor is the music industry’ narrative and so to see her being so easily outsold in every market globally must be quite upsetting, but the fact remains that Adele is the biggest artist in the world by a mile.

 

I’m not making this to rag on Taylor who is actually one of my favourite artists,, but simply to silence the brave Swifties who would dare try tear down Adele.

[blackbeatxx]

1 minute ago, Pop culture said:

 

One of the more useless GIFs i’ve seen for lots of reasons, but have fun i guess

[Khal]

Saying that Adele is "leagues above" is clearly trolling or delusion. Her latest numbers are showing that while she's still top dog, she's certainly no longer "leagues above" Taylor and Drake. This isn't 25 where she was outselling entire eras in one week  

[Filpo]

Underperformance? Sure. Lost her untouchable aura? Maybe.

 

Still a smash and above everyone else? Absolutely. She's on par with Taylor on her main market and still sells more everywhere else. Stop the annoying USA centrism.

[FAN]

1 minute ago, Chika said:

Folklore was 3 releases ago and in a completely different time when you could literally sell an electric pink jockstrap and call it an album sale. Will we just compare every Taylor release to 21, or are we going to use more recent figures?

“completely different time” it was summer 2020 (literally last year) at the height of a global pandemic

[ithinkheknowsoutsold]

2 minutes ago, Chika said:

Folklore was 3 releases ago and in a completely different time when you could literally sell an electric pink jockstrap and call it an album sale. Will we just compare every Taylor release to 21, or are we going to use more recent figures?

What about Red TV? Why is the mighty Adele outselling a re-recording of a decade old album by merely 200,000 units?

Edited November 23, 2021 by ithinkheknowsoutsold