In her native Britain, 23-year-old singer-songwriter Adele has officially surpassed a sales record previously held by one of her idols — the late Amy Winehouse.
The Official Charts Company, the organization that tracks album sales in the U.K., announced that Adele's sophomore album, 21, is the best-selling British album of the century at 3.4 million copies sold. The record was previously held by Winehouse's own sophomore effort, Back to Black, which has sold 3.3 million copies since its release in 2006.
Adele, who has cited Winehouse as an influence, paid respect to the singer after her sudden death in June.
"Amy paved the way for artists like me and made people excited about British music again," she wrote.
21 is also the best-selling album of the year in the U.S., where it has sold over four million copies and spent more than a dozen weeks at Billboard's number-one spot.

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 (Photos from left to right: Scott Gries/PictureGroup, AP Photo/Matt Dunham)