**Jay-Z’s new album is on course to top the US chart, making him the most successful solo artist since Elvis Presley, according to mid week sales.**The Blueprint 3 will be the rap star’s 11th number one on the Billboard 200 chart, giving him more number one albums than Presley, who died in 1976.
Billboard said the 39-year-old has shifted 476,000 copies of the LP.
Meanwhile, Madonna has just notched up her 40th number one single in the US dance charts with Celebration.
Despite overtaking Presley, Jay-Z still lags behind The Beatles, who have 19 number one albums in the US.
Remastered hits
They also feature heavily in the US charts this week, following the release of their remastered back catalogue, which have shifted 626,000 units in the US.
Since tracking company SoundScan began counting music sales in 1991, The Beatles have never sold less than 1 million albums in a year.
The biggest seller of the reissue series last week was 1969’s Abbey Road, which sold 89,000 copies.