Adele’s new power ballad ‘Hello‘ has the best weekly U.S. digital sales ever selling 1.11 million. No one expected her new single to break a record. Adele disappeared for nearly three years and came back like a nuclear bomb.

It should come to no surprise that Max Martin is the most prolific pop songwriter of today having penned hits for Britney Spears, Katy Perry, & Taylor Swift. Some claim that he is behind the whole modern pop sound.

He’s since topped the charts with 18 signature songs performed by N’Sync, P!nk, Kelly Clarkson, Maroon 5, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift. Max Martin has the third most No. 1 singles, trailing behind Paul McCartney, with 32, and John Lennon, with 26.

Would you put Max Martin, the man behind Britney Spears “Hit Me Baby One More Time” in the same league as John Lennon & McCartney?

Many choose to stream songs rather than download and purchase, but not the case with Adele. To the surprise of many, Adele’s ‘Hello’ sold 1 million US downloads on its first week. This is a case of an artist connecting with an audience on a emotional level. Adele’s new single ‘Hello’ deals with redemption, a universal theme.

Just when you think Taylor Swift leads the pack, think again. Adele’s “Hello” music video overcame Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood“ for most-viewed video in 24 Hours. Putting a dent into Swifts million dollar marketing machine is an impressive win for Adele and of course a good headline.

Taylor’s “Bad Blood” peaked at a 20.1 million views in its first 24 hours whereas Adele’s ‘Hello’ garnered 27.7 million views.

“There is some darkness on it just because I like to do dramatic, I’m a bit of a drama queen,” she said. “It’s not as themed as my last record. The reason I labeled it a ‘make-up record,’ it sounds super cliché, but my last record was labeled a ‘break-up record,’ and rightly so, because it was a break-up record.