Daily Dirt: Adele was just swell in the 2010s

Daily Dirt for Friday, June 14, 2024

Today’s most important offering might be the Taylor Swift factoid. Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 978 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Today we reach the finish line in our week-long tribute to the top-selling musical artists decade by decade, a presentation that we began with the 1960s.

Adele, thanks to her eye-opening and first No. 1 hit in the U.S., “Rolling In the Deep,” topped the decade in a relatively close battle with the likes of Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran.

Thanks for having come along for the ride, and thanks to Far Out magazine for the listings. 

2010s

• 1. Adele – 73 million albums/CDs sold: Adele calls the late Etta James one of her inspirations.
• 2. Justin Bieber – 66 million: For the record, he has 71 tattoos.
• 3. Taylor Swift – 64 million: Did you she was named after James Taylor, one of her parents’ favorite artists?
• 4. Ed Sheeran – 61 million: Two things you need to know about Sheeran … he names all of his guitars and loves to play Monopoly.
• 5. Rihanna – 55 million: Rihanna was once the opening act on a Gwen Steani tour, back in 2005.
• 6. BTS – 55 million: BTS has a lot of meanings – the original one being “Bangtan Sonyeondan,” which means “Bulletproof Boy Scouts” in Korean. 
• 7. Bruno Mars – 52 million: His stage name, Bruno Mars, was inspired by former pro wrestler Bruno Sammartino. His real name is Peter Gene Hernandez.
• 8. Drake – 52 million: A big fan of the NBA, Drake is the official “global ambassador” for the Toronto Raptors.
• 9. One Direction – 44 million: Speaking of tattoos, Harry Styles has more than 60.
• 10. Eminem – 38 million: Remember, Slim Shady was No. 1 in the 2000s.

2. Did you know (Part 37) …

• Christian McCaffrey of the 49ers will be the cover boy for Madden 25.
• There are approximately 5 million vending machines in the United States.
• It was 41 years ago that Michael Jackson released “Billie Jean,” Bonnie Tyler gave us “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and Sting brought “Every Breath You Take” to the masses.
• Scrabble, the famous board game, has been sold in 121 countries spanning 29 different languages. Scrabble was first released in 1938.
• The WNBA has tripled its TV viewing audience from 2023 since the arrival of Caitlin Clark. To date, the league has sold out more than half of its games so far this season, and merchandise sales are up 236 percent. 

3. The best driving songs? Here are seven suggestions:

• “Born To Run,” by Bruce Springstreen: “Tramps like us, baby we were born to run … “
• “Running On Empty,” by Jackson Browne: Also a great song for NASCAR fans. 
• “Take It Easy,” by the Eagles: Literally, the only Eagles song I have ever liked.
• “Born To Be Wild,” by Steppenwolf: “Fire all of your guns at once, and explode into space … “
• “Radar Love,” by Golden Earring: “It’s half past four, and I’m shiftin’ gears …”
• “Ventura Highway,” by America: Perfect for late-night tooling down the interstate.
• “On The Road Again,” by Willie Nelson: Could you imagine traveling with Willie? You just smiled, didn’t you?

Steve Thought O’ the Day
The most underrated of those driving songs? Might just be “Radar Love.”

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. It’s difficult to imagine Steve and Willie Nelson sharing the front seats of a vehicle, isn’t it?