Best-selling women singers in UK

Published by The Official Charts Company in June 2012 to coincide with both the 60th anniversary of the UK Official Singles Chart and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. There were twelve artists with more than ten million UK singles sales with Sir Paul McCartney the only artist to achieve this both as part of a group and as a solo artist. Artists with references have been updated since the 2012 list was published based on more recent information sources. This means that positions in the list may not be accurately reflected.

As part As part of National Album Day, BBC Radio 2 calculated the best-selling LPs released by female artists. Adele took the first and fifth slots, with 21 and 25 respectively. Amy Winehouse, Madonna and Shania Twain made up the rest of the top five.

The singer-songwriter's second album topped more than five million sales, according to the Official Charts Company.

And Adele, 33, was also in the fifth slot, with her third album 25, which had more than 3.3 million sales.

In second place was Amy Winehouse's Back to Black, with 3.9 million sales.

Madonna's The Immaculate Collection was in third with 3.8 million sales, and Shania Twain's Come On Over was in fourth with 3.4 million.

1. Adele – 21 (5,007,000 sales)

Photo: Billboard

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins MBE (born 5 May 1988) is an English singer and songwriter. She is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 120 million records. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a record deal with XL Recordings. In 2007, she received the Brit Award for Rising Star and won the BBC Sound of 2008 poll. Her debut album, 19, was released in 2008. It is certified 8× platinum in the UK and triple platinum in the US. The album contains her first song, "Hometown Glory", written when she was just 16, which is based on her home suburb of West Norwood in London. An appearance she made on Saturday Night Live in late 2008 boosted her career in the US. At the 2009 Grammy Awards, Adele won the awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

21 is the second studio album by English singer and songwriter Adele. It was released on 24 January 2011 in Europe by XL Recordings and on 22 February 2011 in North America by Columbia Records. The album was named after the age of the singer during its production. 21 shares the Motown/soul influences of her 2008 debut album 19, but was further inspired by the American country and Southern blues music to which she had been exposed during the North American leg of her 2008–09 tour An Evening with Adele. Composed in the aftermath of the singer's separation from her then partner, the album typifies the near dormant tradition of the confessional singer-songwriter in its exploration of heartbreak, introspection, and forgiveness.

2. Amy Winehouse – Back to Black (3,912,000)

Photo: Rolling Stone

Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz.

A member of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra during her youth, Winehouse signed to Simon Fuller's 19 Management in 2002 and soon recorded a number of songs before signing a publishing deal with EMI. She also formed a working relationship with producer Salaam Remi through these record publishers. Winehouse's debut album, Frank, was released in 2003. Many of the album's songs were influenced by jazz and, apart from two covers, were co-written by Winehouse. Frank was a critical success in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize. The song "Stronger Than Me" won her the Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors.

Back to Black is the second and final studio album by English singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse, released on 27 October 2006 by Island Records. Winehouse predominantly based the album on her tumultuous relationship with then-ex-boyfriend and future husband Blake Fielder-Civil, who temporarily left her to pursue his previous ex-girlfriend. Their short-lived separation spurred her to create an album that explores themes of guilt, grief, infidelity and heartbreak in a relationship.

3. Madonna – The Immaculate Collection (3,771,000)

Photo: MARCA

Madonna Louise Ciccone (born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She is one of the most influential figures in popular culture and has often been referred to as the "Queen of Pop". Madonna is noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, and visual presentation. She is also known for pushing the boundaries of artistic expression in mainstream music, while maintaining control over every aspect of her career. Her works, which incorporate social, political, sexual, and religious themes, have generated both controversy and critical acclaim.

The Immaculate Collection is the first greatest hits album by American singer Madonna, released on November 9, 1990, by Sire Records. It contains new remixes of fifteen of her hit singles from 1983 to 1990, as well as two new songs. Its title is a pun on the Immaculate Conception, the conception of the Virgin Mary without the stain of original sin. An extended play titled The Holiday Collection was released in Europe to accompany the compilation and the re-release of "Holiday" which included three hits not included on the main compilation. It is the first album ever to use the audio technology QSound.

4. Shania Twain – Come On Over (3,411,000)

Photo: Shutterstock

Eilleen "Shania" Twain OC (born Eilleen Regina Edwards; August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Her success garnered her several honorific titles including the "Queen of Country Pop". Billboard named her as the leader of the '90s country-pop crossover stars.

Come On Over is the third studio album recorded by Canadian country music singer Shania Twain. It was released on November 4, 1997, and became the best-selling country album, best-selling studio album by a female artist and best selling album by a Canadian. It is the ninth all-time best-selling album in the United States, and worldwide. It is also the sixteenth best-selling album in the United Kingdom.

The album was nominated for six awards at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Best Country Album. "You're Still the One", which peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 2, was nominated for four awards, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Country Song and Best Female Country Vocal Performance, winning the latter two. The album received a further three nominations at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year for "You've Got a Way", Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" and Best Country Song for "Come On Over", winning the latter two.

5. Adele – 25 (3,364,000)

Photo: Pinterest

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins MBE (born 5 May 1988) is an English singer and songwriter. She is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 120 million records. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a record deal with XL Recordings. In 2007, she received the Brit Award for Rising Star and won the BBC Sound of 2008 poll. Her debut album, 19, was released in 2008. It is certified 8× platinum in the UK and triple platinum in the US. The album contains her first song, "Hometown Glory", written when she was just 16, which is based on her home suburb of West Norwood in London. An appearance she made on Saturday Night Live in late 2008 boosted her career in the US. At the 2009 Grammy Awards, Adele won the awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

25 is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter Adele, released on 20 November 2015 by XL Recordings and Columbia Records. The album is titled as a reflection of her life and frame of mind at 25 years old and is termed a "make-up record". Its lyrical content features themes of Adele "yearning for her old self, her nostalgia", and "melancholia about the passage of time" according to an interview with the singer by Rolling Stone, as well as themes of motherhood and regret. In contrast to Adele's previous works, the production of 25 incorporated the use of electronic elements and creative rhythmic patterns, with elements of 1980s R&B and organs. Like when recording 21, Adele worked with producer and songwriter Paul Epworth and Ryan Tedder, along with new collaborations with Max Martin and Shellback, Greg Kurstin, Danger Mouse, the Smeezingtons, Samuel Dixon, and Tobias Jesso Jr.

Four singles were released to promote the album, with "Hello" becoming an international number one song and the fastest selling digital single in the US, with over a million copies sold within a week of its release, "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)" charted within the top 10 and "When We Were Young" and "Water Under the Bridge" charted within the top 20 across Europe and North America. Credited for impacting the music industry by encouraging a renewed interest in buying physical releases rather than downloading or streaming and much like 21, for saving the dwindling sales of the global music industry, 25 won the 2016 Brit Award for British Album of the Year, and the 2017 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. To promote the album, Adele embarked on her third worldwide concert tour, Adele Live 2016. It started on 29 February 2016 and ended on 30 June 2017. The concert broke numerous attendance records across the globe and grossed $167.7 million.

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