Timberlake sets record this year for fastest-selling album
Justin Timberlake's new album is the fastest-selling in the US in 2013.
The 'Suit & Tie' hitmaker's third solo LP, 'The 20/20 Experience', has sold 968,000 copies in its first week of release, with Taylor Swift's 'Red' album from October 2012 the last record to match the feat.
Despite sales being short of the forecast one million, the figure is still impressive for a male solo artist. The best debut in recent history being Lil Wayne, whose 'Tha Carter III' clocked 1.01 million during its first week of release in 2008.
Keith Caulfield of US chart company Billboard said: "When you have arguably the biggest male pop star take a vacation for several years, there's a lot of demand for new music, and that demand never went away."
In the last 20 years, only 18 albums have generated sales greater than 900,000 in the first week.
The two highest-selling records were by boy band 'N Sync, of which Justin is a former member.
However, Keith added: "There has to be hope that other artists can rack up these kind of superstar sales.
"You have to have across-the-board saturation visibility, where you're a pop culture phenomenon that people of all ages like. An obvious possibility is Adele."
