Wednesday, March 21, 2012

One Direction makes US chart history with #1 debut


One Direction have made US chart history.

Billboard reports the group makes history this week on the Billboard 200 albums chart as the first U.K. group to debut at #1 with their debut album.

One Direction’s "Up All Night" enters at the top of the list with 176,000 copies sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Previously, the highest debut for a U.K. group's first album came on February 22, 1997, when Spice Girls' "Spice" started at #6; that album eventually climbed to #1 in its 14th week on the list.

"Up All Night's" lead single, "What Makes You Beautiful," debuted at No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 a month ago - that marked the highest entry by a U.K. group's debut single since Spice Girls' "Wannabe" entered at #11 on January 25, 1997.

Formed on the 2010 edition of the U.K.'s "X Factor" TV program, One Direction comprises Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson. All of the group members hail from the U.K., save for Horan, who is from Ireland. The act has nabbed three top three U.K. singles and its debut album hit #2 in November 2011.


One Direction One Direction

One Direction – What Makes You Beautiful (live)