Adele’s ’25’ is officially the top-selling album of 2015

“25” sold 7.44 million copies in the United States by the end of December 31 – the most in a year since R&B star Usher’s album “Confessions” sold 7.98 million copies in 2004.

The numbers are in, and in case there was any doubt, it’s now official – Adele’s album 25 is the biggest seller of 2015.

According to Billboard, Adele’s “25” has scored a sixth consecutive week at number 1 this week, ending the week with 363,000 equivalent album sales – 307,000 were pure sales.

“25”, full of ballads that touch on heartache and childhood nostalgia, was Adele’s first album in four years and benefited from massive pent-up demand. Justin Bieber‘s goal held steady at Number Two with 217,000 copies sold, closing the seemingly insurmountable gap between his new album and 25. Blurryface from Twenty One Pilots vaults to #3, due to a sale on the iTunes Store, as well as the current strength of their latest single “Stressed Out”.

The upper echelon of the charts featured mostly familiar faces: One Direction’s Made in the A.M. The lone surprise this week was Bryson Tiller’s Trapsoul, released in early October, infiltrating the Top 10 for the first time.