Jack White to beat out Adele, Nicki Minaj & Lionel Richie for first No. 1 album ever?

Jack White is a man of many hats, figuratively and literally. As a singer-songwriter, musician, producer, businessman and occasional actor, he has made his mark through many avenues, including collaborating with fellow renowned artists such as Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones and Alicia Keys, founding his successful Third Man Records label/store/venue, and even playing a role in the 2003 film Cold Mountain. Above all, though, he is most well known for being the frontman in the immensely successful rock duo The White Stripes. But somehow, even with their huge fanbase and hit singles such as “Seven Nation Army,” the Stripes never scored a No. 1 album; and neither did White’s other two bands, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather. That streak may be coming to an end, however. According to Billboard, analysts are projecting White’s long put-off, long-anticipated debut solo album, Blunderbuss, to be a ‘first time’s a charm’ sort of story. As of now, it’s looking like the LP will scan 100,000-120,000 units this week and land at the top of the company’s prestigious Top 200 albums chart. Although that isn’t more than the Stripes or Raconteurs reeled in during the first sales week of some of their albums, it just so happens that the likes of Adele, Lionel Richie and Nicki Minaj are expected to bump down enough for White to slide in. A congrats would be due, but the art of selling records is too unpredictable to set things in stone just yet. Keep an eye out for the official word when SoundScan releases its sales statistics next Wednesday.