Adele is officially best-selling female album artist of the century in UK

Adele is the best-selling female album artist of the century in the UK, according to the British Phonographic Institute (BPI).

The record labels association said her album 21 – which has sold just under six million copies in the UK – was also the best-selling album by a female artist.

P!nk was second in the overall female artist rankings, followed by Madonna, while Rihanna was fourth, with Dido in fifth and Amy Winehouse in sixth.

The rankings were revealed by BPI to coincide with the announcement that the theme for this year’s National Album Day, which is being held on October 16, is ‘celebrating women in music’.

Back in January, the Set Fire to the Rain hitmaker marked the 10th anniversary of her seminal second studio album, and confessed that her memory of making the record and how she felt at the time is blurry.

She captioned the artwork on Instagram: ‘Well I never! Happy 10 years old friend! It’s crazy how little I remember of what it was like and how I felt a decade ago.

‘But Thank You from the bottom of my heart for letting us into your lives and letting me be a soundtrack to some of it x (sic)’

The 2011 LP – which featured hit singles such as Rolling in the Deep and Someone Like You – was written after the 32-year-old singer’s separation from her then-partner.

Meanwhile, London-born Adele has not released an album since 2015’s 25 – but she has confirmed she is working on a new record.

Hosting Saturday Night Live in October 2020, she revealed why she was only on hosting duties, with singer-songwriter HER appearing as musical guest.

She said: ‘My album is not finished and I’m also too scared to do both. I would rather just put on some wigs – and this is all mine by the way – have a glass of wine or six and just see what happens.’

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