Seven Phenomenal Music Albums Throughout 2022, There Are 30 Belonging To Adele

Adele (Photo: ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The year 2021 is coming to an end in the next few days. It seems that the end of 2021 will not be complete if music fans don't remember what songs were popular this time of year, even some of them became everyday "anthems" played by many people everywhere.

The following are seven popular music albums that managed to attract thousands to millions of listeners in the first days of release. Quoted from ANTARA, this list is arranged in order of release date, not by popularity level.

1. “Hot Sauce” – NCT Dream

On May 10, K-pop group NCT Dream released their first studio album titled "Hot Sauce". This album was released after SM Entertainment decided to return member Mark to NCT Dream again and discontinue the concept of graduation based on age.

The album “Hot Sauce” consists of ten songs with the lead single of the same name. The rest of the lineup includes five of them “Dive into you”, “Be There For You”, “ANL”, “Rainbow”, and “Irreplaceable”.

The debut album and the song "Hot Sauce" managed to occupy the top positions on the Gaon Digital Chart. Before it was officially released, even the pre-orders of this album penetrated around 1.7 million copies. As of the end of May, the album “Hot Sauce” has sold more than 2 million copies.

2. “Sour” – Olivia Rodrigo

“Sour” is Olivia Rodrigo's debut album released on May 21. This album explores many feelings experienced by teenagers, ranging from heartbreak, failure, unhappiness, to anger.

The debut of "Sour" managed to occupy number one on the Billboard 200 chart with 295,000 album-equivalent units. In addition, this album also made a new history as the first debut album to enter the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart for "Drivers License" and "Good 4 U".

The lead single "Drivers License" even managed to maintain its position on the Billboard 100 for eight weeks. While the debut single "Déjà vu" managed to get the eighth position on the Billboard 100.

3. "Butter" – BTS

​The album, which was released as a digital single on May 21, has managed to dominate the Gaon Digital Chart in South Korea since its debut. As of July, the physical album has sold approximately 2.5 million copies, making it one of the best-selling albums in the country.

In the US, the debut song "Butter" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in June and remained on the Hot 100 list through September. The song garnered at least 32.2 million streams and sold 242,800 downloads in its first week of debut.

The Guinness World Record recognizes the achievement of "Butter" which broke a record 11,042 million streams on Spotify on its first day of debut, beating the song "I Don't Care" by Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber which previously earned 10,977 million streams on its debut day.

4. “Happier Than Ever” – Billie Eilish

Billie Eilish's second studio album was released on July 30. This debut album topped the Billboard 200 for three consecutive weeks and managed to penetrate 238,000 equivalent album units in the US. While in the UK, the album topped the UK Albums Chart with 39,000 units.

The album "Happier Than Ever" contains seven singles, including three of which made it into the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. The song "Therefore I Am" peaked at number two on the chart, followed by "My Future" at number 6 and "Your Power". at number 10.

At the annual Grammy Awards, the album and song "Happier Than Ever" received seven nominations, including the categories for best album, best pop vocal album, best song, and best record.

5. “Certified Lover Boy” – Drake

The album, which debuted on September 3, was a commercial success, occupying the first number one spot on the Billboard 200 with 613,000 album-equivalent units or consisting of 46,000 album sales and 562,000 streaming units.

Drake's sixth album was also successful in the UK. “Certified Lover Boy” topped the UK Albums Chart and sold 46,000 album units in its first week of debut. The songs were played 70.4 million times or almost equivalent to 96 percent of sales in the first week. This achievement is the fourth time Drake has mastered the top of the UK charts with his album.

6. “Stickers” – NCT 127

The album, which debuted on September 17, managed to penetrate the Billboard 200 by occupying number three and has sold 58,000 copies in its first week. Although it didn't top the number one spot, it was the first K-pop album to chart on the chart for 12 consecutive weeks this year.

In his home country, the pre-selling album “Sticker” surpassed 1 million orders and doubled on the day of its debut selling around 2.15 million copies in a week.

Following the success of this album, NCT 127 released a repackaged version entitled “Favorite” by adding three new songs, including the title single “Favorite (Vampire)”. This repackaged album sold around 1.1 million copies after a week of release.

7. “30” – Adele

After 6 years of releasing the album "25", Adele, who is a British soloist, made a comeback by releasing her fourth album titled "30" on November 19. This album was one of the most anticipated albums of 2021 and was a commercial success.

In the UK, the debut album "30" peaked at number one on the UK Albums Chart and sold 261,000 copies. This achievement makes it the fastest selling album in the first week of its debut in 2021.

In the US, debut "30" also peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 with sales of 839,000 album-equivalent units, including 692,000 pure copies and 185.39 million streams.