Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Hugh McIntyre covers music, with a focus on the global charts. Adele’s latest blockbuster was responsible for 3% of all albums sold in 2015.

In 2015, Adele released her “25” album. It sold 3.38 million copies in its first week of release in the U.S., setting a record for first-week 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 ...