'NSYNC Shatters Sales Record
To steal a phrase originally coined for Frank Sinatra: it's 'NSYNC's world, we just live in it.
When SoundScan sales figures were released on Wednesday, the boy band cemented its full-blown phenom status as the group sold a whopping 2.4 million copies of its "No Strings Attached" album in just one week in stores. The mark sets a new record for best one-week sales and more than doubles the previous record set by the Backstreet Boys' "Millennium," which sold 1.13 million its first week out in May 1999.
[article id="1448542"]"I don't think we ever felt like we were in their shadow,"[/article] 'NSYNC's Justin Timberlake told MTV News' Brian McFayden of overtaking Backstreet's record. [article id="1448542"]"We have our own thing going on. It's just that with this album title, we took such a bold approach that people started to recognize it," [RealVideo][/article] Justin added while speaking via satellite from Japan Wednesday morning.'NSYNC'smonster sales figures are also almost ten times greater than that of the number two record album in the country, Santana's "Supernatural," which sold 265,000 copies last week. And for even more perspective, ponder this: "No Strings Attached" sold more copies last week than the rest of the "Billboard" top 20 combined.
'NSYNC's record week may not have been simply the result of a wide fan base and effective marketing. Many 'NSYNC fans were spotted buying numerous copies of "No Strings Attached," some simply to have more than one, and others to specifically help the group break the Backstreet Boys' sales record.Believe it or not, there's more happening on next week's "Billboard" album chart than 'NSYNC. In the realm of artists who were never Mousketeers, veteran rapper Ice Cube posted the highest debut of the week as his "War & Peace Vol. 2 (The Peace Disc)" sold more than 185,000 copies to come in at number three. Close behind were the modern metal diehards of Pantera, whose"Reinventing The Steel" sold more than 161,000 copies to debut at number four.
The latest musical offering from the WWF also cracks next week's top ten as the wrestling outfit's hip-hop tie-in album "WWF Aggression" (featuring Method Man, Run-D.M.C., Ol' Dirty Bastard, and others) sold more than 109,000 copies to land at number eight. The week's other notable debuts include The Murderers at number 15, Trina at 33, Led Zeppelin at 81, Aqua at 82, Joni Mitchell at 89, Tamar at 127, Patti Smith at 178, and Fatboy Slim at 195.
