These 7 Female Artists Just Busted The Music Industry's Longstanding Sales Slump

The incredible success of 'Bridesmaids' has 2011 looking like the year of the female-driven movie.
But let's not forget about the music-business ladies.
Recent numbers show that, for the first time in seven years, music sales for the first half of the year are up.  Not surprisingly the ticket sales for these women are high on the list as well.
And it's largely thanks to the most-purchased 10 albums and tracks 2011 has yielded thus far -- many of which happen to be from women.


With 4,120,000 units sold, Katy Perry's "E.T." is the top digital single of 2011 thus far. Her album "Teenage Dream" was the tenth-biggest seller.  Katy Perry's concerts have also been selling out all across the country.

Adele's "21" is the year's highest-selling album, with 2,517,000 copies sold. Her single "Rolling in the Deep" has been purchased 4,089,000 times this year.  Adele often pops up on the top ten ticket sales for her tour this summer.

Lady Gaga obviously had a hand in the success: with 1,540,000 copies sold, "Born This Way" is the year's number-two album to date.  Try finding tickets to a Lady Gaga concert, not so easy.

Nicki Minaj's album "Pink Friday" is the ninth-biggest seller of the year so far -- and the most successful female hip-hop debut since 1999's "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill."

We're giving this win to Fergie: "Just Can't Get Enough," by the Black Eyed Peas, is one of the year's top-10 single sellers.  Get a ticket to her concert and hear it live!

Jennifer Lopez also cracked the top 10 with "On the Floor."

Rihanna's "S&M," another top-ten track, helped move units.