Adele Prince

British chanteuse Adele finally lost at something. Prince Rogers Nelson was crowned America’s top-selling album artist in 2016.

In the months following the music icon’s untimely death in April 2016, the “Purple Rain” star’s albums and songs sold a combined 7.7 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music.

via WENN.com

The bulk of this sales rush came in the month following his death, and he sold more albums than any other artist – even Adele – with 2.23 million copies sold.

The Very Best Of Prince was the top seller, with 668,000 copies, followed by the Purple Rain soundtrack (498,000) and 1999 (169,000). Meanwhile, Purple Rain was the late superstar’s bestselling single last year, with 621,000 downloads.

Photos by Adriana M. Barraza/WENN.com, Prince photo provided by WENN.com