I’m a big chart watcher and album sales figures fascinate me. What fascinates me the most is the fact that an artist can so unanimously appeal to the social conscious that people will go out on mass to purchase their album and even more fascinating, in the album’s first weeks of release. In order to attain this level of success an act really needs to be in tune with what is happening on society, what audiences want, whilst remaining true to their brand and music. It’s a tough juggling act.
After having observed the charts for many years, I have noticed a few trends regarding the way in which people buy albums. There are a few times in which album sales spike:
The first few weeks after the initial release of an album (that’s obvious);
Christmas time: in the lead up to Christmas album sales increase exponentially;
Grammy time: in the week after the Grammy ceremony album sales increase;
After the death of a major celebrity, people seem to go out in droves to purchase an artist’s past catalogue, almost as a way to show respect to the artist or maybe as a way to hold on to something from their past.
For me, one of the things I really forward to is seeing how an album fares, with regards to sales, in its first week. After observing sales trends for many years I started noticing that some artists shift such large quantities of albums in their first week, that they attract an immediate certification. Normal artists will usually take a protracted time before their albums are certified, gold, platinum or diamond, but the sales of these mega albums are so large that they obtain instantaneous certifications. In order for an album to attract a certification, they need to sell a certain number of units. In the USA, for example, there are three major categories:
Gold: 500,000
Platinum: 1,000,000
Diamond: 10,000,000
It is clear, therefore, that all of the artists, in the list that follows attain Platinum status in their first week of sales in the USA alone, if sales were limited to the USA. With album sales dropping, fewer artists are achieving these targets. That being said, there are still some artists that attain the USA platinum benchmark in the first week of release. This just goes to prove that if one produces something people want, audiences will go out and buy it, in droves.
Without further ado, here are the Top38 biggest opening weeks, for an album, in music history (the focus of this article):
1. Michael Jackson: Bad (1987) 7 million (global sales)
“Bad” followed “Thriller”, the world’s biggest selling album, so it was highly anticipated, especially considering it had been 5 years since the release of the latter album. Over 2million albums were bought on pre-order and it went on to ship over 7million units worldwide in its first week. Making it the biggest first week sales in history. Although “Bad” did not match “Thriller’s” 66million units, it did manage to ship 35million units worldwide. It was a major disappointment for Michael Jackson
2. Adele: 25 (2015) 5,706,000 (global sales)
The album has to date sold over 22million units and was the biggest selling album in the world in 2015 and 2016, making Adele one of the most powerful artists in the world of music. This was Adele’a third studio album and followed her immensely successful “21” album which shipped 31million units globally. Just like “Bad” it took Adele 4 years to release this album, so the fans were chomping at the bit for new Adele content after the success of “21”.
3. Michael Jackson: Dangerous (1992) 5 million (global sales)
This was Michael Jackson’s 8th solo studio album and 4th after signing with Sony. It was his first, whilst at Sony, to not contain production work by Quincy Jones, opting to work with Teddy Riley on this project, for a more New Jack Swing sound. The album was marred by the child abuse allegations, but still managed to ship a total of 32million units worldwide, with a reported 5million in its first week.
4. The Backstreet Boys: Black and Blue (2000) 5 million (global sales)
The Backstreet Boys shipped over 100million albums in their career and even though they are not as big as they once were, at one stage they were the darlings of the music world. This album holds the record for the biggest first week sales by a band. It went on to ship over 24million units internationally.
5. Elvis Presley: Elv1s 30 #1 Hits (2002) 4.7 million (global sales)
This album followed the immense success of the “A Little Less Conversation” (featuring JXL) single, which had been released earlier in 2002, was featured in a Nike Soccer World Cup commercial and was an international smash hit. The compilation album, which contained 30 of Elvis’ No1 singles, went on to ship over 10million units globally. Who would have thought this album would have been a success considering over 100 Elvis compilation albums have been released since his passing in 1977.
6. John Fitzgerald Kennedy: A Memorial Album (1963) 4.7 million (global sales)
This album was released less than a month after the assassination of President John F Kennedy on the 12th of December 1963 (he was assassinated on the 22nd of November). It is a spoken word album containing recordings of JFK’s most famous speeches. It is reputed that the album shifted 4.7million units in its first 6 days of release.
7. Stray Kids: 5-Star (2023) 4.62 million (global sales)
Stray Kids are a South Korean K-Pop boy band consisting of 8 members. This is their 4th studio album and it was released on the 2nd of June 2023. It became the most pre-ordered album in K-Pop history, when it shipped over 4,6million units in its debut week. It peaked at No1 in the USA, South Korea, Greece, Hungary, Belgium, Poland and France.
8. SEVENTEEN: FML (2023) 4.55 million
“FML” (F*ck My Life) by the South Korean band Seventeen is their 10th EP consisting of 6 songs. The album peaked at No1 in Japan, South Korea and No2 in the USA. The boy band was formed by Pledis Entertainment and consists of 13 members. The album shipped over 4.55 million in the first week, making it the 2nd biggest first week sales inSouth Korean history.
9. BTS: Map of the Soul 7 (2020) 3,707 million (global sales)
The album was released in March 2020 and beat all the group’s previous sales records. It shipped over 400,000 units in its first week in the USA and over 3,37million units in South Korea. It was their 13th No1 album in South Korea and peaked at No1 in over 20 countries worldwide, shipping over 3,7million units internationally.
10. Taylor Swift: 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (2023) 3,5million (global sales)
After a very public fallout with her former manager Taylor Swift decided to go back into the studio and re-record her first 6 albums, effectively giving her control over her original recordings. This is the 4th of the 6 releases, which peaked at No1 in 18 countries and was the No1 album in the world in its opening week, bettering the original release from 2014. Her record label, Republic reported that the album shipped over 3,5million units in its opening week. Two versions of this album appear on this list, with the other at No38.
11. Taylor Swift: The Tortured Poets Department (2024) 3,353,000 (global sales)
“The Tortured Poets Department” is Taylor Swift’s 11th studio album and was produced by Jack Antonoff. The album peaked at No1 in the USA/UK and 23 countries. Fourteen of the 16 singles from the album peaked in the Top 14 of the Billboard Hot 100 breaking a record Taylor had set with her previous album “Midnights” (2022). Overall 31 songs entered the Billboard Hot 100. She now has the record for a female artist with the most simultaneous entries on the Hot 100 and the most Top 10 songs (more than 50).
Hikaru is an American singer, who now resides in Japan. She initially started off as an English language singer and eventually converted to J-Pop. This was her second J-Pop album. This album shifted over 3million units in one week. Hikaru held the record for biggest first week sales in one territory for 14 years, until Adele released ‘25'. This album went on to ship over 4million units in Japan.
13. Ayumi Hamasaki: A Best (2001) 2,874,870 (Japanese Sales)
Ayumi is the biggest selling Japanese artist of all time. She is another J-Pop artist. This was Ayumi’s first greatest hits album, which was released after her second studio album. This album ship nearly 3million units in its first week and eventually shifted over 7million units in Asia.
14. Eminem: The Marshal Mathews LP (2000) 2.8 million (global sales)
Eminem holds the record for the biggest first-week sales by a rap artist in the world. “The Marshall Mathers LP” is considered one of the biggest selling albums in history, having shipped over 32 million units internationally and having earned Eminem 2 Grammy Awards. This is a landmark album in music and Rap history.
15. BTS: Proof (2022) 2,752,000 (South Korean Sales)
This is the boy bands first anthology retrospective album and includes some previously unreleased tracks and demos. It spans three discs and when releases topped the charts in 18 countries. The album was released after their management company announced that the members would be dedicating more time to solo projects.
16. B’z: The Best “Pleasure” (1998) 2,709,530 (Japanese Sales)
B’z is a Japanese rock band, that has been together since 1988. This was their first greatest hits compilations. This album eventually went on to ship over 5million units in Asia. The band is one of the biggest selling acts in Japanese history and even has a star on the Hollywood RockWalk. They have had 10 albums that have had opening weeks in which they have shipped over 1million units.
17. BTS (Bangtan Boys): Map Of The Soul-Persona (2019) 2,514,000 (global sales)
With this album the South Korean boy band became the first band in history to have three albums peak at No1 in the USA in a 12 month period. The only other band to do this were The Beatles. This is actually an EP and not a full album (only 7 songs). The album also peaked at No1 in the UK, South Korea, Scotland, New Zealand, Canada and Australia.
18. B’z: The Best “Treasure” (1998) 2,500,120 (Japanese sales)
This album contains the band’s biggest hits, as selected by their fans. This album eventually went on to ship over 4million units in Asia. It is the 5th biggest selling album in Japanese history.
19. BTS: Be (2020) 2,444,000 (global sales)
This is BTS’ 5th studio album and their 5th No1 album the USA. With this album they became the fastest group to achieve 5 No1 albums in the USA since the Beatles. The album peaked at No1 in 12 countries around the world. It was their second No1 album for the 2020 year. Combined first week sales of these two 2020 album was just over 6million units.
20. *Nsync: No Strings Attached (2000) 2,416,000 (US sales)
21. Britney Spears: Oops!…I Did It Again (2000) 2.4million (global sales)
Britney Spears was the Queen of the teen music revolution of the late 1990s/early 2000s. She has to date shipped over 100,000,000 units in her career. This was her second studio album and eventually went on to ship over 24million units internationally.
22. Hikaru Utada: Deep River (2002) 2,350,710 (Japanese Sales)
This is the star’s third studio album and her second of three appearances on this current chart. Utada has more entries on this chart, than any other artist. This album went on to ship over 3million units in Japan alone. This is also 8th biggest selling album in Japanese history.
23. Mai Kuraki: Delicious Way (2000) 2,218,640 (Japanese sales)
Mai is a Japanese pop/R&B singer. She was inspired by the Music of Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston. This was Mai’s debut album. The album went on to ship over 3,5million units in Japan, making it the 9th biggest selling Japanese album of all time.
24. Stray Kids: Maxident (2022) 2,185,000 (South Korean Sales)
The 8 member K-Pop boy band shifted 2,185,000 units of their 7th EP “Maxident” in its first week. The band is managed by JYP Entertainment with the music mainly written and produced by 3Racha. The band has so far released 2 full length album.
25. Blackpink: Born Pink (2022) 2,141,000 (global figures)
Blackpink is a K-Pop all girl group consisting of 4 members. This is their sophomore album released through Interscope Records in association with their management company YG Entertainment. The album contains elements of Hip-Hop, Pop, Rock and EDM. When released it became the best selling album by an all-girl group in South Korea and the first to surpass 2million units.
26. Taylor Swift: Midnights (2022) 2,125,000 (global figures)
This is Taylor Swift’s 10th studio album and it broke many record. Taylor now has as many No1 albums in the USA as Barbra Streisand, which is the most by a female in history. She also has the most consecutive No1 debuts in music history, in the USA, surpassing Kanye West and Eminem. Furthermore, she took over the Top10 of the Billboard Hot 100, the most songs in the Top10 by one artist in history. Taylor has probably had the most 1million starting weeks than any other artist in history.
27. SEVENTEEN: Face The Sun (2022) 2,067,000
“Face The Sun” is the 4th studio album by the 13 member K-Pop boy band. The group is managed by Pledis Entertainment and unlike other boy bands are integrally involved in the songwriting and choreographing processes, as well as other aspects of their performances. The repackaged version of this album was titled “Sector 17”.
28. Hikaru Utada: First Love (1999) 2,026,870 (Japanese sales)
This was Utada’s first album and her third appearance on my chart. This album eventually shipped over 11 million units internationally and holds the record for being the biggest-selling album in Japanese recording history.
Glay is a Japanese Rock band, who have been together since 1988. The band has shipped over 51 million units in their career. This was their first greatest hits album. The album has shipped over 4,8 million units internationally, making it the 3rd biggest-selling Japanese album of all time.
30. Taylor Swift: Folklore (2020) 2 million (global sales)
This is Taylor Swift’s 8th studio album and 6th consecutive album to have an opening week greater than 1million units. It is also her 6th consecutive album to ship over 800,000 units in its first week in the USA. It is reported that the album shipped over 2million units worldwide in its opening week and that it shipped over 1.3million units in its opening day.
31. Taylor Swift: Reputation (2017) 2 million (global sales)
This is Taylor’s 6th studio album and her 4th album to sell over 1million units in its first week. She is the only artist in history to have 4 albums sell over 1million units in its first week. Out of Taylor’s 6 studio albums, 5 have peaked at No1 in the USA.
32. Eminem: The Eminem Show (2002) 2 million (global sales)
Eminem is the only rapper to have two albums on this list. This album went on to ship over 12 million units in the USA alone, an additional 5 million units in Europe and over 20 million units worldwide. Eminem is the biggest selling rapper of all time and “The Eminem Show” shipped 2million units worldwide in its debut week.
33. *Nsync: Celebrity (2001) 1,983,000 (US, UK, Canada and Japan first-week sales)
This is the band’s third and last studio release and the second entry on my chart. The album included productions by some of the music business’ best producers at the time. It went on to ship over 6.5 million units in the USA alone.
34. Namie Amuro: Sweet 19 Blues (1996) 1,921,850 (Japanese sales)
Namie is one of the biggest-selling Japanese artists of all time. She is famous for being one of the leaders in the J-Pop movement. This was her second studio album release. The album went on to ship over 4 million units. This album previously held the record for being the biggest-selling album by a female artist in Japan.
35. Lady Gaga: Born This Way (2012) 1,921,000 (global sales)
This was Lady Gaga’s second studio release. This album shipped over 1,9 million units internationally in its first week. Although this album wasn’t as big a seller as her first album, The Fame, it did go on to ship over 6 million units internationally.
36. Ed Sheeran:➗(2017) 1,789,000 (global sales)
Ed Sheeran is a British Folk/Pop musician. This is his third studio album and latest entry on this chart. Ed Sheeran now holds the record for the biggest first-week sales by a male artist in history. He also holds the record for the most entries on the U.K. Top 20 single’s chart: 16.
37. Ayumi Hamasaki: I Am (2002) 1,751,360 (Japanese sales)
This is Ayumi’s second entry on my chart and her 4th studio album. All-in-all Ayumi has now released 17 studio albums and although she doesn’t ship as many units as she once did, she is still considered to be a major icon in Japan. This album went on to ship over 2,3million units in Japan.
38. Led Zeppelin: In Through The Outdoor (1979) 1.7million (global sales)
Led Zeppelin’s 8th and final album shipped a total of 1.7million units in its first week. The album was released prior to the untimely passing of the drummer, John Bonham. The album peaked at No1 in the USA and U.K. and went on to ship over 6million units in the USA alone.
39. Taylor Swift: 1989 (2014) 1,681,000 (global sales)
Taylor Swift started off initially as a Country singer, but this album has more of a Pop flavor. This is Taylor’s 5th studio album. This album has shipped over 9,5million units internationally. She also won 3 Grammy Awards for the work done on this album.
So these are the 39 biggest first weeks in the rock era. It has now reached a point that if an artist wants to be eligible for the Top 20 they need to have shipped over 2.4 million units in one week. To break into the Top 10 an act needs to ship at least 3,5million units. At one stage a 2million debut week would have been a tall ask, but now 32 albums have achieved this feat, most of them in the new millennium. It is also interesting to note that female artists dominate the Top 39, with 16 positions occupied by solo female artists. Seven solo male artists occupy placements and the remaining 16 positions are occupied by bands.
Taylor Swift has placed 6 albums in the Top 39, BTS have placed 4, whilst Utada Hikaru has placed 3. Michael Jackson, *Nsync, Eminem, SEVENTEEN, Ayumi Hamasaki and B’z have each placed two albums on the list. Another interesting fact is that Asian artists, mainly from Japan and South Korea, have placed 19 albums on the list, indicating a growing worldwide appetite for Asian music and exhibiting their dominance on the list. Additionally, 16 acts are from the USA, whilst three positions are occupied by British artists. It will be interesting to see if anyone will be able to challenge the records that currently stand. I for one would be interested to see who would be able to beat Michael Jackson’s astounding 7 million unit achievement. All we can now do is wait and see…
Disclaimer: Whilst all attempts were made to secure worldwide first-week sales for all the albums listed in this article, sometimes only first-week sales figures from one country were available at the time this article was published. Whilst this is not ideal, the albums for which I could not obtain worldwide figures, after further investigation, were not really big outside their country of origin, therefore, the quoted sales accounted for the majority of their worldwide sales in their debut week. This also goes to prove how overwhelmingly popular these albums were, that they were able to make it onto this list, based purely on the sales from one country, whilst other albums needed worldwide figures to qualify for the list
