*NSYNC are on track to score the second-largest first-week sales in history with their new album ‘CELEBRITY’ set to notch up sales of two million, according to predictions in the US.
The group’s ‘No Strings Attached’ is the fastest-selling album of all time, having scored 2.4 million sales in its first week in March 2000 and going on to sell 14 million copies worldwide.
Eminem currently holds second-place in the first-week sales lists, with his ‘Marshall Mathers LP’ selling 1.8 million.
According to reports in the US, the album’s first day sales indicated that *NSYNC, who are currently on an extensive tour of North America, are on target to exceed that.
Sam Melicia, vice president of Music Purchasing at the Handleman chain which includes Wal-Mart and Kmart told Hits Daily Double website that they had to increase their first-week sales predictions from 450,000 to 525,000, adding: “We’ve sold more of this album than we did of the last one for the same period of time.”
Speaking prior to the album’s release, Justin Timberlake hit back at critics, telling billboard.com: “The truth is that it can be tiresome to be continually blasted by critics because we don’t fit their preconceived notion of what a ‘credible’ group is. I wonder if they listen to our music before venturing an opinion.”
Ten of the 13 tracks on ‘Celebrity’ were written by band members Timberlake and JC Chasez, with the pair collaborating on production with BT, Rodney Jerkins and The Neptunes, among others.