Susan Boyle set for biggest UK album of 2009: HMV

LONDON (Reuters) - Scottish singer Susan Boyle, who shot to fame after her audition for "Britain's Got Talent" was aired in April, appears set to have the biggest album in Britain this year, music retailer HMV said on Monday.

"I Dreamed A Dream," Boyle's debut album released by Sony Music, went on sale in Britain on Monday and hits stores in the key U.S. market on Tuesday.

HMV spokesman Gennaro Castaldo said the 48-year-old was on course for first-day sales of nearly 150,000 copies in Britain, including online pre-orders.

"HMV is now revising significantly its estimate for the total weekly sales upward from the 300,000 that we initially projected to a figure closer to 400,000," Castaldo said.

"This would easily make the album the biggest and fastest-selling release of 2009.

"You would have to go back a year to the release of Take That's 'The Circus' in December last year, which sold 432,490 copies in its week of release, to find anything comparable during the past 12 months."

"The Circus" went on to sell more than two million copies and was the 27th best-selling album worldwide last year, according to industry figures.

Boyle's record arguably has stronger commercial potential than Take That's, given her media exposure in the United States.

Boyle won over the public with her rendition of "Les Miserables" song I Dreamed a Dream in April, and footage of the performance has been viewed more than 300 million times over the Internet.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)