Adele’s 2011 holdover ’21’ still tops in US album sales in 2012; Taylor Swift next

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FILE - In this Feb. 12, 2012 file photo, Adele performs during the 54th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. The British singer\'s "21" was the highest-selling album in the U.S. for the second consecutive year, according to 2012 sales figures released by Nielsen SoundScan on Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013. That\'s a first in the SoundScan era. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Turns out Adele ruled 2012, too — and set a record while she was at it.

The British singer’s “21” was the highest-selling album in the U.S. for the second consecutive year, according to 2012 sales figures released by Nielsen SoundScan on Thursday. That’s a first in the SoundScan era.

Adele sold 4.4 million copies of the album in 2012 after selling 5.8 million in 2011. She crossed the 10 million threshold in November and was only rivaled by Taylor Swift, whose “Red” was second on the list with 3.1 million albums sold. Swift led a record five country artists into the top 10 last year.

Gotye scored the year’s top-selling song with “Somebody That I Used To Know” featuring Kimbra. The song was downloaded a record 6.8 million times.

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