Leona's album likely to set UK sales record
Leona Lewis is outselling the Spice Girls by four to one on day one of their album battle - and challenging for the fastest-selling UK debut of all time. Copies of Spirit are flying off the shelves across the UK. The X Factor winner is on course to sell around 100,000 copies by the end of Monday, according to industry estimates. The Spice Girls are managing just a quarter of that figure with their Greatest Hits. At HMV stores, Leona is outselling the rest of the top 10 combined. If sales continue at this rate, she's on target to shift around 350,000 copies by the end of the week. That will put her within touching distance of the record for a UK debut. Arctic Monkeys currently hold that record with Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, which sold 363,735 copies in its first week of release in January 2006. Leona, 22, winner of last year's X Factor, is already celebrating after her single, Bleeding Love, became the biggest selling song of the year on Sunday. It's sold 111,978 copies over the last seven days. HMV's Gennaro Castaldo said: "There has been a growing feeling over the past few weeks that this album would be huge, particularly following the success of Bleeding Love and the impact of Leona's appearance on X Factor. "But, if anything, Spirit may even go on to exceed these high expectations."
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