Adele ‘25’ heading for record first sales week, Aus to air TV special

All indications are that Adele’s 25 album, released today (Friday November 20) is going to set a new record for first week sales in the United States.

Columbia Records will ship 3.6 million physical copies, sources told Billboard. That would be the largest shipment of a new-release CD in the past decade. The last big shipment was 2.4 million by *NSYNC’s No Strings Attached in 2000.

Billboard also was told that Columbia’s parent company Sony Music Entertainment is projecting first-week CD sales of 1.5 million and hit 4 million by Christmas. Downloads are tipped to be 1 million, with 900,000 through Apple. Her last album 21 shifted 11.2 million.

Lead off single Hello is already the fastest single to reach 1 million downloads in the US, and the fastest selling single in 18 years. Interestingly, 25 hasn’t been made available on any streaming service. Hellohas been made available on Apple Musictoday, while the album is now out on iTunes.

“We are thrilled to offer Adele’s new album, 25, for purchase on iTunes,” said an Apple representative. “Her soulful new single, Hello, is available to stream on Apple Music along with her entire catalog and her revealing interviewwith Zane Lowe on Beats 1.”

In Australia, where 25 is out through XL Recordings / Remote Control Records, Hello has hit double platinum and this week remained at #1 on the ARIA chart for a third week.

In the UK, her Live At The BBC special is broadcast tonight at prime time. Nine Network has the Australian rights to the special, and TV3 for New Zealand.

Filmed in London on November 2, the hour-long show sees her perform the new songs and her past hits as well as no-holds-barred interview with host Graham Norton about her life and career.

Nine is airing the BBC show this Sunday (November 22) after60 Minutesairs an exclusive interview with Adele.

Live At The BBC is also syndicated to France (on France2), Ireland (RTE), Finland (YLE), Norway (NRK), Sweden (SVT), Belgium (VRT), Italy (Mediaset), Spain (Canal+), Canada (CTV/VRAK) and Netherlands (NPO3).

Earlier this week, the 27-year old played a wildly acclaimed show at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The show, kicking off with Hello, was sheer perfection with Adele in top vocal form. Aside from previews as Water Under the Bridge , When We Were Young and All I Ask from the album – which leaked online on Wednesday – she performed the Oscar-winning Skyfall and dedicated Hometown Glory to “the people of Paris”, bathing the stage in red, white and blue.

It immediately put the pressure on the British singer to follow up with a world tour.