London
- Scottish singer Susan Boyle, who shot to fame after her audition for Britain's Got Talent
was aired in April, appears set to have the biggest album in Britain
this year, music retailer HMV said on Monday.
I
Dreamed A Dream,
Boyle's debut album released by Sony Music, went on sale in Britain
on Monday and hits stores in the key US market on Tuesday.
HMV
spokesperson Gennaro Castaldo said the 48-year-old was on course for
first-day sales of nearly 150 000 copies in Britain,
including online pre-orders.
"HMV
is now revising significantly its estimate for the total weekly sales
upward from the 300 000 that we initially projected to a figure closer
to 400 000," Castaldo said.
"This
would easily make the album the biggest and fastest-selling release of
2009.
"You
would have to go back a year to the release of Take That's The Circus
in December last year, which sold 432 490 copies in its week of
release, to find anything comparable during the past 12 months."
The
Circus
went on to sell more than two million copies and was the 27th
best-selling album worldwide last year, according to industry figures.
Boyle's
record arguably has stronger commercial potential than Take That's,
given her media exposure in the US.
Boyle
won over the public with her rendition of the Les Miserables
song I Dreamed a Dream
in April, and footage of the performance has been viewed more than 300
million times over the internet.
