Adele’s “25” has done what many thought impossible by selling more than 3 million copies in the US in less than a week.

Nielsen Music confirmed the new record for an album after processing sales reports through Nov. 25. And since its domestic release was on Nov. 20, “25” still had a day to go before its full week’s sales could be tallied.

By crossing the 3 million mark, Adele’s third studio album surpassed *NSYNC’s “No Strings Attached,” which sold 2.42 million copies during its first week of release in 2000.

It also eclipsed the standing single-week album sales record for a female artist, held by Britney Spears for selling 1.32 million copies of “Oops!… I Did It Again” in the first seven days of its 2000 release.

Final results for “25” are due out Sunday after Nielsen completes its weekly tabulations.