female musician Taylor Swift’s mega-selling 1989 album has now surpassed 5 million in U.S. sales, according to Nielsen Music, making it the fastest seller to reach that plateau in more than 10 years.
1989 crossed the 5 million mark in the week ending July 5, with another 26,000 sold (its total now stands at 5.015 million). The album reaches the milestone in only its 36th week of release – the speediest climb to 5 million since the week ending Aug. 1, 2004, when Usher’s Confessions hit 5 million in only its 19th week on sale.
1989 is Swift’s third album to sell 5 million copies, following Fearless (released in 2008) and her self-titled debut (released in 2006). They’ve sold 6.95 million and 5.52 million, respectively, to-date.
This is also the most recently released album to sell 5 million since Adele’s 21 powered through 5 million in its 42nd week (Dec. 11, 2011); 21 has sold 11.1 million.
On the latest Billboard 200 albums chart (dated July 18), 1989 spends its 36th consecutive week in the top 10 (rising 4-3). The last album to rack up its first 36 chart weeks in the top 10 was Adele’s 21, which didn’t vacate the region until its 79th chart week (dated Sept. 8, 2012).