Taiwanese Music Star Jay Chou Scores The Bestselling Album Of 2022 Globally

The definitive list of the bestselling albums globally in 2022 has been released, and the No. 1 title is owned by an act that might surprise many…at least those who don’t reside in Asia.

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has announced the world’s top-selling albums of 2022 in an annual rundown released on social media by the organization. Sitting pretty atop the ranking is Jay Chou’s Greatest Works of Art.

Although actual sales figures were not released by the IFPI, online sources indicate that the album sold over 7.2 million copies. That’s a serious accomplishment in a world where streaming dominates and sales have largely fallen by the wayside as platforms like Spotify and Apple
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Music make accessing music easier than ever.

Unlike many album charts, the IFPI’s list only takes into account pure purchases, as opposed to those releases that were the most consumed, which would also take streaming sums into consideration. However, those albums that perform exceptionally in one metric often do fairly well in others as well.

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Greatest Works of Art was especially popular in Chou’s home country of Taiwan, where the vast majority of purchases came from. Although the CD charted internationally, it didn’t achieve the same level of success as it did in the Asian nation.

Chou had been promoting the album for years, releasing occasional singles leading up to its release. Greatest Works of Art is Chou’s first full-length release in six years.

For those who don’t know, Chou is a major star in Asia and has been releasing music since 2000. In addition to his singles and albums, he has also worked in TV and film as a judge and an actor.

Ranking just below Chou’s global success were nine other blockbuster sellers present on the IFPI’s list. K-pop groups BTS, Seventeen, and Blackpink all made the list, as well as Taylor Swift. Greatest Works of Art outperformed them all, but by exactly how much isn’t clear.

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