Will smashes singles records

Will Young's single will be the biggest-selling UK debut ever. The Pop Idol winner's version of Anything Is Possible/Evergreen sold 300,000 yesterday and should shift well over a million by the week's end.

Previous record-holders Hear'Say sold 160,000 copies of their debut Pure and Simple on its first day of release, and 550,000 copies over the first week. Young's record label, BMG/S Records, is due to release Pop Idol rival Gareth Gates's debut, Unchained Melody, on 18 March.

That would risk a chart clash, hitting sales, but today a spokesman for both singers said Gates's release date would not change: "That might mean Gareth knocks Will off number one. Some might think it's bad business but it makes great sense - for a couple of months, Pop Idols will top the charts."