Britney Spears’ memoir sells 1.4 million copies but Prince Harry still holds the record for first-week sales
Britney Spears has topped a new chart with her hotly anticipated memoir, but she hasn’t taken the throne from Prince Harry.
The 41-year-old pop icon’s hotly-anticipated autobiography “The Woman in Me” has sold a whopping 1.1 million copies in its first week across multiple formats in the United States.
And although she boasted that the book — released Oct. 24 through Simon & Schuster imprint Gallery Books — is “the highest selling celebrity memoir in history,” she hasn’t moved as many copies as Prince Harry did earlier this year with the release of his tell-all, “Spare.” The runaway royal’s much-hyped tome sold more than 3.2 million copies worldwide after just one week of publication.
Publisher Penguin Random House announced that attention-grabbing memoir’s numbers are comparable to first week sales for blockbusters such from former President Barack Obama’s “A Promised Land” and former first lady Michelle Obama’s “Becoming.” The latter holds the record as the bestselling memoir of all time — selling more than 17 million copies since coming out in 2018.
But Spears, who barely did any traditional publicity to promote the book, is no slouch with her first foray into the book business. The title’s publisher said “The Woman in Me” is already in its fourth printing. On Amazon, it ranked No. 1 on its list of most read and sold nonfiction books.
“I poured my heart and soul into my memoir, and I am grateful to my fans and readers around the world for their unwavering support,” the Grammy Award winner said in a statement.
Five-time Oscar-nominated actress Michelle Williams narrates the audio version of the book, which rounds up to 275 pages in its print format.
Offering up unknown details about her career, family, 13-year conservatorship and high-wattage relationships, Spears’ memoir has been rife with bombshell revelations. Among them, she writes about ex-beau Justin Timberlake impregnating her and the abortion that followed. The “Toxic” singer claimed the NSYNC frontman cheated on her with unnamed celebrities. She also reflected on losing out on the lead role in “The Notebook” to Rachel McAdams.
Simon & Schuster reportedly ponied upwards to $15 million for “The Woman in Me,” which retails online for $20.93 in hardcover.
Spears will earn 25% of the net profits from her explosive memoir, insiders with direct knowledge told TMZ.
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