Look for ‘N Sync to flirt with the 2 million mark in the first week of its Jive album “Celebrity,” Billboard Bulletin reports. That’s what industry pundits are projecting after first-day sales Tuesday exceeded 900,000 units, according to a poll of major national accounts.
Pete Cline, president/COO of Handleman Co., reports that stores serviced by the distributor scanned in excess of 235,000 units of the album, making it the biggest opening day in the history of the company. He points out that for the last ‘N Sync album, the record-breaking “No Strings Attached,” Handleman rang up first day sales of 215,000 units.
While Handleman topped itself this time, “Celebrity” is expected to fall short of the 2.4 million units “No Strings Attached” moved in its debut week. On the other hand, based on first-day sales, BMG and Jive executives say they believe “Celebrity” will surpass Eminem’s “The Marshall Mathers LP” (Web/Aftermath/Interscope), which holds the distinction of having the second-largest debut week in the history of SoundScan, at 1.8 million units.
