More Than A Feeling - A Record

Teen heartthrobs 'N Sync didn't just break the record for album sales in one week. They lapped it.

In a remarkable display of teen-age buying power, 'N Sync sold 2.4 million copies of their new disc, No Strings Attached, in seven days - more than double the previous record of 1.13 million set by the Backstreet Boys last year.

Executives at 'N Sync's label, Jive Records, suspect the sales record was broken in just one day, March 21, when No Strings Attached first appeared in stores. But they have no figures to confirm this.

"This is really what the music business needs. It's getting young people interested in music again," Barry Weiss, Jive Records president, said Wednesday.

A burgeoning teen population and a booming economy combined to trigger the explosion of sales, said Alan Light, editor of Spin magazine.

'N Sync has also practically camped out at MTV over the past few months. Times Square was mobbed during an appearance a week ago.

Besides the Backstreet Boys' Millennium, only two other albums are known to have sold more than 1 million copies in a week: Garth Brooks' Double Live album and the soundtrack to The Bodyguard, according to Soundscan.

The company has been measuring album sales in the U.S. since 1991; precise sales figures before then are considered somewhat unreliable.

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