BY MELISSA RUGGIERI

Adele might single-handedly save the music industry.

Not only has her superb "25" album bypassed previous sales records set by Britney Spears and 'N Sync – and in a completely different era of music-buying (emphasis on buying) – but it's set a new record.

As of Thursday, with a full week of sales tracking yet to be completed, “25” has already sold more than 3 million copies according to new music analytics company Buzz Angle Music (chart stalwart Nielsen Soundscan is reporting those same numbers).

Clearly, Adele’s long-awaited return has been greeted more rapturously than any industry pundit could have predicted.

‘N Sync’s record of 2.42 million in one-week sales (for “No Strings Attached) has held since March 2000, and Spears’ single-week sales record for a female artist of 1.32 million (for “Oops…I Did it Again”) was achieved in May 2000.

In addition to the jaw-dropping sales of “25,” renewed interest in the British pop-soul singer has resulted in the re-appearance of her “21” and “19” albums, which re-entered the charts and sold 28,000 and 17,000 copies this week, respectively.

In other Adele news sure to send fans into a frenzy, she confirmed on Thursday that she will indeed tour in 2016 and announced a set of sporadic dates in the U.K. and Europe between the end of February and June. We can assume/hope that U.S. dates are soon to come.

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