Britney Spears’ Memoir Becomes a Million-Seller in its First Week

Britney Spears’ memoir “The Woman in Me” has achieved remarkable success, selling 1.1 million copies in the U.S. alone during its first week. The sales figures include pre-orders, print sales, e-books, and audiobooks. Released on October 24, the memoir has been praised by critics for providing a compelling account of Spears’ rise to global fame and her ongoing struggles, including her conservatorship and her revelation about having an abortion while dating Justin Timberlake over 20 years ago.

Expressing her gratitude, Spears said in a statement released by Gallery Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, “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.”

Although Spears claimed that her book became the highest-selling celebrity memoir in history, it is not the highest-selling memoir of 2023. “The Woman in Me” did, however, become the top-selling book of last week, surpassing other titles. Prince Harry’s memoir “Spare,” released in January, sold 1.6 million copies in the U.S. during its first week.

Notably, Spears’ memoir not only achieved success in book sales but also gave a significant boost to streams and sales across her music catalog. According to Luminate, a music and entertainment analytics company, Spears’ on-demand streams increased by 18.2% in one day, and her album sales jumped by 36.8%. In the following days, these numbers continued to climb, with a 24% increase in U.S. streams, a 61.4% increase in album sales, and a 49% increase in digital sales.

The audio edition of “The Woman in Me,” narrated by Oscar-nominated actor Michelle Williams, played a crucial role in the book’s initial popularity. Williams’ reading received high acclaim and became the fastest-selling audio release in Gallery’s history. Specific audio sales figures have not been announced yet.

However, when comparing print sales, “The Woman in Me” sold just under 418,000 copies, according to Circana, which tracks around 85% of the print market. This number falls significantly below the first-week sales figures for notable memoirs like former President Barack Obama’s “A Promised Land” and former First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Becoming.”

While Spears’ memoir has achieved great success, it is important to note that no nonfiction release has come close to the scale of J.K. Rowling’s final Harry Potter book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” which sold over 8 million copies within its first 24 hours of release.

*AP Music Writer Maria Sherman contributed to this report.