One of the biggest unanswered questions in today’s music world is exactly how many albums did Beyoncé sell? Well! According to Nielsen SoundScan report for the week of Nov 3rd, Beyoncé has sold 17.7 million albums in the US (pure sales). Once stream & track equivalent album are factored in, this brings her US album sales to 26.1 million albums. Here is a breakdown of each album:
Beyonce: Dangerously in Love (2003)Billboard 200, Peak Position: #1US Sales: 5.1 millionUS Sales w/ SEA & TEA: 6 million Worldwide Sales: 16 million
Beyonce: B’day (2006)Billboard 200, Peak Position: #1US Sales: 3.8 millionUS Sales w/ SEA & TEA: 4.3 million Worldwide Sales: 12 million
Beyonce: I Am…Sasha Fierce (2008)Billboard 200, Peak Position: #1US Sales: 3.4 millionUS Sales w/ SEA & TEA: 6.4 millionWorldwide Sales: 16 million
Beyonce: ‘4’ (2011)Billboard 200, Peak Position: #1US Sales: 1.5 millionUS Sales w/ SEA & TEA: 3.4 million Worldwide Sales: 5 million
Beyonce: BEYONCE (2013)Billboard 200, Peak Position: #1US Sales: 2.4 millionUS Sales w/ SEA & TEA: 4.5 million Worldwide Sales: 8 million
Beyonce: LEMONADE (2016)Billboard 200, Peak Position: #1US Sales: 1.5 millionUS Sales w/ SEA & TEA: 2.1 million Worldwide Sales: 4 million
Beyonce has sold over 26.1 million albums in the US and approximately 60 million albums worldwide. This total does not include Destiny’s Child album sales (18.6 million albums in the US & 40 million albums worldwide). RIAA hasn’t updated the certifications for Beyonce and other artist. In order for a record to be certified, it has to be requested by the artist, someone on the artist team, or the record label. Nielsen Soundscan is the only source that counts record sales in the US. Billboard ranks albums according to record sales.
Source: Nielsen SoundScan Report (Week of Nov 3rd). Writer submitted record sale data report of official numbers obtained directly from Nielsen Soundscan and submitted it to the Huffington post for the validity of this article.