Adele breaks Whitney Houston's chart record

By Piya Sinha-Roy

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The late Whitney Houston was unable to oust Adele from the top spot on the Billboard 200 album chart, and the British singer's "21" replaced "The Bodyguard" as the longest running No. 1 album by a woman.

Boosted by her six Grammy awards and performance comeback, Adele's "21" saw its biggest sales week yet in 52 weeks on the U.S. chart, selling 730,000 copies according to Nielsen SoundScan.

That gave Adele her 21st week at the top spot, beating the record held by Houston with her 1992 "Bodyguard" album. "21" which features hits like "Rolling in the Deep" and "Someone Like You" has now sold more than 18 million copies worldwide since its release in February 2011, Adele's Columbia Record label said.

The 23 year-old singer and songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album, "19," which sold 87,000 copies.

Houston's songs also saw a huge sales rise following her death in a Beverly Hills hotel on February 11 and a touching tribute by Jennifer Hudson at the Grammy awards on February 12.

Seven of Houston's albums re-entered the Billboard chart this week, led by "Whitney: The Greatest Hits" compilation at No. 2, selling 175,000 copies. Her self-titled album sold 17,000 to take the 37th spot.

Houston's "I Will Always Love You" single took the No. 2 spot in the Billboard Digital Songs Chart.

GRAMMY BOOST

The Billboard 200 album chart reflected a Grammy-influenced boost for other artists.

Pop singer Bruno Mars, who was nominated for six Grammys but went home empty-handed, still saw his album "Doo-Wops & Hooligans" notch the No. 8 position, boosted by his retro-inspired uptempo performance of "Runaway Baby" at the Los Angeles awards show.

His album was followed by Grammy's best country album winners Lady Antebellum's "Own The Night" at No. 9 and newcomers The Civil Wars, who picked up two Grammy awards, rounded out the top 10 with "Barton Hollow."

Country singer Jason Aldean, Rihanna, British band Coldplay and country group The Band Perry all saw their albums climb the top 20.

Katy Perry, who stormed back defiantly in her first big public performance at the Grammys after husband Russell Brand filed for divorce in December, saw her new single "Part of Me" notch the top spot on the Billboard Digital Songs chart, with 411,000 downloads.

Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" and "Set Fire to the Rain" took No. 3 and No. 4 on the Digital Songs chart respectively.

(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy)