British pop superstar Adele will debut at No. 1 worldwide with her album 25 breaking sales records

THEY said the digital era has made it impossible for artists to beat NSYNC’s 15-year-old record for first week sales. But Adele’s new album 25 is set to smash it.

ADELE is smashing sales record worldwide with her much-anticipated new album 25 and will definitely claim No. 1 here and in most major music markets.

In just three days, the British pop superstar has achieved double platinum status, selling more than 150,000 albums in Australia, helped along by the fact it was discounted to $15 by some retailers.

American pundits forecast Adele will achieve the highest first-week sales ever on the Billboard charts this week, with 1.9 million copies snapped up in two days.

CAMERON ADAMS: Reviews Adele album 25

Epic sales ... Adele’s 25 has instantly broken chart records worldwide and will debut at No. 1 this week. Picture: Supplied.

*NSYNC have held the record in the US since 2000 when their No Strings Attached album debuted with 2,416,000 sold in a week.

It has been the only album to sell two million copies in the U.S. in a single week but Adele is predicted to finish the week of sales with more than 2.5 million albums snapped up by adoring fans.

25 is guaranteed to knock Justin Bieber’s Purpose from No. 1 in Australia this week, which claimed the top spot on debut with a hefty 40,935 sold last week.

Bieber won the race for the hearts and dollars of young female music fans against One Direction, whose Made In The A.M. finished its first week of release with 34,866 sales.

Adele celebrated a fourth week at No. 1 on the ARIA singles chart with Hello also certified double platinum.

The 27-year-old singer and songwriter is one of the most successful recording artists of all time with her second album 21 also propelled back into the charts with the release of 25.

It has sold more than 30 million copies since its release in 2011, with more than one million in Australia alone.

Chart race ... Could Coldplay knock Adele off the top of the charts when they release their new album on December 4? Picture: Matt Sayles / Invision / AP

The Christmas record season is now in full swing with Coldplay expected to also prove to be chart gold with the release of their new album A Head Full Of Dreams on December 4.

The industry has also shifted some big records to drop in January, generally a lean month for new music.

Fresh tunes ... Sia leads a superstar roll call of stars dropping new albums in the usually quiet January. Picture: Rich Fury / Invision / AP

But that is when fans with Christmas gift cards and vouchers are looking for something fresh to add to their music collection.

David Bowie, Sia, Panic! At The Disco, Bloc Party, Charlie Puth and Megadeth are among the major artists putting out their latest offerings in January.

FOLLOW KATHY MCCABE ON TWITTER

2015 AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS