Adele helps pop become most popular music genre

 English singer/songwriter Adele has helped pop become the top musical genre in the UK, as pop albums outsold rock ones last year.

The Official Charts Company revealed on 16 January that seven of the top ten albums of the year were classed as pop, with Adele leading the pack with her 14-times platinum album '21'.

Pop albums accounted for 33.6 per cent of all records sold in 2011 compared to rock's 29.4 per cent share.

That is despite Coldplay smashing the record for fastest-selling digital album in October with 'Mylo Xyloto'.

Folk and classical musical records also performed well in 2011, as folk acts such as Laura Marling and Bellowhead propelling the genre to a 1.6 per cent share of the market - the highest this century.

The popularity of classical singles was also boosted in 2011 with the success of 'Wherever You Are' by the Military Wives Choir, which became Christmas number one.

Geoff Taylor, chief executive of BPI, the representative voice of the British recording industry, said: "2011 was a vintage year for pop albums so it is hardly surprising that the genre has elbowed rock aside as the nation’s favourite.

"Although rock's share is the lowest for eight years, it still accounts for three in ten of every albums sold so recent reports of its demise are premature."