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Adele smashes records as new album '25' sells 2.3 million US copies in first 3 days

In a sign of confidence in sales, “25” is a rare album that is not available through online streaming services, the booming sector that allows unlimited on-demand music

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British singer Adele. Her new album “25” is her first full-length work in four years. Photo: AFP

British singer Adele's new album “25” has sold a record 2.3 million copies in the United States in the first three days of its release, Nielsen Music said on Monday.

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The monster sales for the first three days mean Adele will break the first week sales record currently held by boy band NSync's 2000 album “No Strings Attached” which opened with 2.4 million copies.

Adele's independent UK label XL Recordings last week decided to withhold “25” from online streaming platforms such as Apple Inc's Apple Music service, privately owned Spotify and Google Play.

The strong three-day sales indicate the lack of streaming availability did not hurt the album, which was released on Friday, and is the first since her 2011 release “21”, which won six Grammys and sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.

The new album “25” by British singer-songwriter Adele. Photo: AFP
The new album “25” by British singer-songwriter Adele. Photo: AFP
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“25” racked up more than 900,000 sales in Apple's US iTunes store on its first day, Billboard said.

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