Justin Timberlake's '20/20 Experience' Is 2013's Best-Selling Album
The final sales numbers of 2013 are in, revealing top honors for two blue-eyed soul dudes who had killer years: Justin Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience is the year's biggest-selling album while Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" is the best-selling song. Let's get into how much they owned the year, shall we?
After a seven-year hiatus, JT announced his return to music on Jan. 10, dropping his much-anticipated third solo LP on March 19. After earning the highest sales week of the year—968,000 units!—he moved 2.43 million copies, staying ahead of new LPs by Eminem, Drake and Beyonce to come out on top.
Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines," featuring Pharrell and T.I., was 2013's biggest-selling single with 6.5 million copies sold. The R&B-pop joint beats out big hits like Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' "Thrift Shop," Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive" and Katy Perry's "Roar."
While it's certainly an accomplishment for both, industry folk might look wearily at the totals. Billboard reports that 20/20's numbers marks the lowest sales ever for the year's top album. To compare, last year's No. 1 seller was Adele's 21 that sold 4.41 million copies—even after moving 5.82 million copies in its release year of 2011. Furthermore, 2013 was the first year download sales declined after nine years of positive growth. 1.26 billion songs were downloaded last year compared to the 1.34 billion sold in 2012.
#Prayforthemusicindustry
Maybe Fuse can inspire you to use those new iTunes gift cards you got for Christmas on an album or two from our 41 favorite albums of the year or a track from our 41 top songs of 2013?
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