There aren’t any real surprises on the newly released list by Soundscan of the bestselling albums and singles of 2012. The list, which includes all of January through June, shows Gotye easily in first for his addictive “Somebody That I Used to Know” while Adele captured the top spot on the albums chart with 21. However, album sales overall are down, with Billboard reporting this is the first year in which six months in only one artist has sold over 1 million albums.
The Top 10 Bestselling Singles:
1. Gotye featuring Kimbra – “Somebody That I Used To Know” (5,501,000)
2. fun. featuring Janelle Monae – “We Are Young” (5,087,000)
3. Carly Rae Jepsen – “Call Me Maybe” (4,064,000)
4. Kelly Clarkson – “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill Me)” (3,324,000)
5. Nicki Minaj – “Starships” (3,158,000)
6. Maroon 5 featuring Wiz Khalifa – “Payphone” (3,075,000)
7. The Wanted – “Glad You Came” (2,892,000)
8. One Direction – “What Makes You Beautiful” (2,885,000)
9. Flo Rida featuring Sia – “Wild Ones” (2,790,000)
10. Justin Bieber – “Boyfriend” (2,599,000)
The Top 10 Bestselling Albums:
1. Adele – 21 (3,668,000)
2. Lionel Richie – Tuskegee (912,000)
3. One Direction – Up All Night (899,000)
4. Whitney Houston – Whitney: The Greatest Hits (818,000)
5. Various Artists – Now 41 (714,000)
6. Carrie Underwood – Blown Away (602,000)
7. Luke Bryan – Tailgates and Tanlines (574,000)
8. Nicki Minaj – Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (557,000)
9. Drake – Take Care (549,000)
10. Adele – 19 (539,000)
Sources: Soundscan, Billboard
