News Desk : Adele`s 30 has shot to number one, overtaking Abba to become the fastest-selling album of the year so far.

Its 261,000 first-week chart sales mean it sped past the Swedish pop group`s comeback album Voyage, which opened with 204,000 sales.

However, Adele`s sales figures are significantly lower than those of her previous album 25, released in 2015.

That album, her third, opened with 800,000 first-week sales, which means 30 has sold 32% of its predecessor.

The drop can be partially explained by the huge growth of streaming in the last six years. Added to which, there was a greater incentive for fans to buy 25, as it was kept off streaming platforms for its first six months of release.

Adele won out over Ed Sheeran`s = (Equals) album to claim top spot this week.

This means she has now secured a chart double, with the album`s lead single Easy On Me remaining number one for a sixth consecutive week.

Adele`s opening week success with 30 ensures all four of her albums have now reached number one - a record for a female act.

The album made up 67% of all physical sales and became the most-streamed album of the week, with 55.7 million plays across all tracks.

The numbers mark the biggest first week for an album since Sheeran`s ÷ (Divide) in 2017.

It is also strongest opening week for a female solo album since Adele`s last studio album 25, which was released in November 2015.

The London-born star has said that 30 is an attempt to explain her divorce from her husband to nine-year-old son Angelo.

The BBC`s review said it finds an "emotionally bewildered" Adele "at the top of her game".

Source: BBC