One Direction have achieved what no other band before them could have possibly imagined. The Beatles couldn't do it, The Rolling Stones couldn't do it; but One Direction have become the first group to have all of their first four albums debut at the top of the Billboard Top 200 with their new album, aptly titled Four.
On its first week of release, Four managed to rack up the second largest first-week sales of the year with 387,000 copies sold in just seven days. Although, they don't come close to Taylor Swift's mammoth 1.287 million from earlier this month which we still can't quite get our heads around. Ignoring Taylor's 1989 for a sec though, Four also becomes the highest sales debut for a group in 2014.
"They are the only group in the 58-year history of the chart to see their first four albums debut at No. 1," a music industry news source said. "A year ago, they became the first group to enter at No. 1 with their first three studio sets, when Midnight Memories bowed atop the chart." Billboard added: "With 387,000 sold in the week ending Nov. 23, according to Nielsen SoundScan, Four earns the second-largest sales debut of the year, and the biggest week overall for a group.”
But don't crack open the champagne just yet. Four failed to reach its predicted targets of 420,000 and saw a huge drop in fist week sales from their third chart-topper, Midnight Memories which opened with first week sales of 546,000 las year. In the UK, the group's album sales saw a similar drop, selling 142,000 copies of Four compared to the 237,000 copies shifted by Midnight Memories.
Of course, they're still huge figures for any band, but with sales dwindling, could the future of One Direction be in jeopardy? Should the boys get out while they're still on top? Rolling Stone suggested: “Maybe One Direction is preparing to pass the boy-band baton to 5 Seconds of Summer - conspicuously, 1D has zero singles on the Digital Songs chart or iTunes' Top Songs." With four albums in four years, the boys could certainly do with a break.
One Direction make Billboard history (Syco)
Whatevs, One Direction have still made chart history and that is definitely a cause for celebration. The only two other bands to have seen their first four albums even reach the top of the chart were The Monkees and The Kingston Trio. And last weekend the Steal My Girl hitmakers walked away with three American Music Awards including the biggest prize of the night for Artist Of The Year.
So their sales my not be as bright as they were a year a go, but really, we're still talking about the brightest sales for any band on the planet. One Direction just never cease to amaze us. Well done guys!
