Over in the States, unless one of George Bush's mates is put in charge of the count at the last minute, it seems unlikely anyone will outsell Usher's album 'Confessions' in what remains of 2004. That album sold more than 8 million units in the US in the last year, 3 million more than the second best selling album from country superstar George Strait.
Other albums likely to appear in the US top ten of 2004 are Eminem's 'Encore', Norah Jones' 'Feels Like Home', Gretchen Wilson's 'Here For The Party' and Outkast's 'Speakerboxxx/The Love Inside' (the fact OutKast sold 4 million copies in 2004 is particularly impressive given that album was released in Sep 2003!).