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Justin Bieber’s Acclaimed ‘Purpose’ Album Crosses One Million Sales In U.S.

By Page Mackinley
Published on: 08:10 PST, Dec 21, 2015

What a year for Justin Bieber! The record-breaking superstar’s Purpose album is now his fifth million-selling record in the U.S.

According to Billboard via Nielsen Music, the pop prince’s new album sold 100,000 copies in the latest tracking week, pushing his pure album sales total to 1.01 million sold to date.

While it’s impossible to predict what Purpose‘s future sales figures will be from this point, if Bieber’s other million plus-selling albums are any indication, his latest album hasn’t yet reached its ceiling.

Bieber’s 2010 album, My World 2.0 — his highest-selling record to date — punched in 3.33 million sales. At some distance behind, 2009’s My World racked up 2.08 million sales, 2012’s Believe hit 1.61 million, 2011’s Under the Mistletoe drew 1.51 million, but 2013’s low-fi Journals didn’t make the 1-million milestone.

Purpose is only the third album released in 2015 to sell one million copies. Consequently, the Biebs now breathes rarefied air with Adele, whose 25 has sold 5.98 million copies — and counting, and Drake’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, which has sold 1.12 million.

Billboard reports Bieber’s latest record needed only five weeks to reach one million sold, making it the fastest of the superstar’s albums to reach that benchmark. Previously, the Biebs’ Under the Mistletoe was the quickest to go platinum.

As Justin Bieber fans know only too well, Purpose was released on November 13 on Def Jam/Schoolboy Records. The Canadian was forced into a face-off with One Direction’s Made in the A.M. album, after the boy band jumped on the same release date nearly a month after Bieber announced his drop date.

Upon release, the “Sorry” singer’s comeback album racked up 649,000 in equivalent album units (522,000 of this were traditional album sales) within its first week. Purpose debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s 200 Albums chart (for the week ending December 5), and become Bieber’s sixth chart-topping album.

Amid many other record-breaking feats before and to come, Bieber’s No. 1 launch with Purpose saw the heartthrob dance into the history books as the youngest artist to have six No. 1 Billboard debuts. The LP has since gone to garner widespread critical acclaim, and notably expanded the singer’s fan base beyond his (mostly) young female demographic to older women and males, according to the Associated Press.

Earlier this year, Bieber became only the third artist in history to hit three top five positions on Billboard’s Hot 100 with “Sorry,” “Love Yourself,” and “What Do You Mean?” Only The Beatles and the rapper 50 Cent have done this before the Biebs. 50 achieved the feat ten years ago, while the Beatles did it back in 1964, on two separate occasions.

Bieber also smashed another Beatles record, and Drake’s, when 17 of the 18 tracks on the deluxe edition of Purpose entered the Hot 100 (dated December 5) a week after its release. Drake tied with the Beatles’ 1964 record of 14 songs on the Hot 100 chart, on March 7 and again on October 17. However, the Biebs’ 17 song count on the Hot 100 broke both those records.

Post-November 13, the album broke streaming records on Spotify, with over 36 million streams on day one, 77 million in the U.S. and 205 million global streams in its debut week, and was the fastest album to hit a billion streams on Spotify.

From the album, lead single “What Do You Mean?” is certified double-platinum in the States, while “Sorry” is platinum in the U.S. Bieber’s double-platinum Jack Ü collaboration, “Where Are Ü Now?,” was promoted as a single from the Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack Ü album, but also appears on Purpose.

This past week, Bieber has smashed another Beatles record by logging in a third week at No. 1 on the U.K.’s official Top 40 chart with “Love Yourself, “while his previous No. 1 single, “Sorry,” remains at No. 2.

That achievement means Bieber becomes the “first act in chart history to hold a lock on the Top 2 places for four weeks in a row,” the U.K.’s Official Charts Company reported Friday, (December 18).

The feat means Bieber sets a new Official Singles Chart record as the first artist ever to log four weeks at No. 1 and 2 in a row. The previous record holder was The Beatles, who notched three consecutive weeks at No. 1 and 2 in 1967-68 with “Hello Goodbye” and “Magical Mystery Tour” (EP).

Adele’s “Hello,” Grace and G-Eazy’s “You Don’t Own Me,” and Bieber’s “What Do You Mean,” round out the rest of the U.K’s current top 5 singles.

Bieber co-penned “Love Yourself” with Brit artist and pal Ed Sheeran. The track, which is now certified gold in the U.K., racked up 102,084 combined sales (54,538 from streaming) this past week, compared to sales of 46,451 for “Sorry.”

The track is officially double-platinum in Canada, and remains atop Australia’s ARIA singles chart for a second week, and will be the Christmas No. 1 down under. The British Xmas No. 1 will be announced on Christmas Day on Radio 1.

Somewhat staggeringly, as of this week, Bieber became the first solo artist in history to have three songs in the Top five on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart and the U.K. official singles chart for three weeks.

Of Bieber’s stunning comeback, Hits Daily Double writes: “This fall, Scooter Braun drew up the blueprint for music marketing in the digital age, transforming Justin Bieber from damaged goods to full-fledged adult superstar and the biggest artist in the streaming sector by a mile.”

In short: the boy done great.

[Photos by Jason Merritt/Getty Images]

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