Sam breaks a record

INSIDE BASEBALL DEPT.: On a closely related subject, Sam Smith has an interesting distinction, according to the statisticians at UMG. Domestically, In the Lonely Hour moved more units in its first week of release than any other debut album by a male British artist in the modern chart era. The Capitol album finished at #2 with 167k, only 12k behind the chart-topper from established star Lana Del Rey. Concurrently, lead single “Stay With Me” has just passed the 1 million mark. Dude’s also selling tickets; his upcoming North American tour, which begins in September, has completely sold out (aside from a few tickets in Portland, OR), including the Greek Theatre in L.A., the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York and the Riviera Theater in Chicago. Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming. (6/25a)