One Direction is four for four with Four, becoming the first group to have its first four albums debut at the number one spot on the Billboard charts with the album Four, kicking Taylor Swift’s 1989 down to the number two spot. One Direction is the only group in the 58-year-long history of Billboard to have its first four albums accomplish this feat.
Though One Direction is the first group to have its first four album debut at the number one spot, other groups, like The Monkees and The Kingston Trio, have had four number one albums in a row, but not four that have debuted in the number one spot. Their albums gradually rose to the number one spot.
Also, there have been numerous solo acts that debuted four or five albums in a row in the number one spot on the Billboard charts. For instance, Britney Spears had her first four albums debut at the number one spot, while Beyonce and DMX had their first five records also debut at number one.
Also, though One Direction’s feat of debuting four albums in a row at the number one Billboard spot is incredible, the group did not come close to selling as many copies of Four to achieve this milestone as Taylor Swift did when 1989 debuted, selling 1.287 million copies units in just a week. One Direction, instead, sold a mere 387,000 copies. Still, this was enough for Four to come in as the second-highest selling debut album of the year.
Midnight Memories was the third album of One Direction’s which hit number one, setting a record with that accomplishment. With the album Four, the hot boy band has beaten that record by now having its first four albums debut at the number one spot.
The other albums in this week’s Billboard Top Five are Taylor Swift’s 1989 in the second spot, Pentatonix’s That’s Christmas to Me coming in at number three, Nickelback’s No Fixed Address debuting at number four,and Garth Brooks’ Man Against Machine now in the number five position. The second five, rounding out the Billboard Top 10, are The Endless River by Pink Floyd coming in at number six, the Foo Fighters’ Sonic Highways coming in at number seven, Black Widow by In This Moment coming in at number eight, Christmas by Michael Buble at the number nine spot, and coming in at number 10, Idina Menzel’s Holiday Wishes.
This week, One Direction kicked Taylor Swift’s best-selling album 1989 to the second place on the Billboard Top 200 chart with the debut of their fourth album title Four. By doing this, One Direction became the only group in the history of the Billboard charts to have had four consecutive albums debuting at number one. The group also broke its own record of having had three albums debut in the number three position.
The debut of Four by One Direction at number one on the Billboard charts ended Taylor Swift’s three-week reign at the number one spot. One Direction certainly has solidified it reputation as being the most popular boy band around with the success of Four. Four has sold far fewer albums its first week out than did Taylor Swift’s 1989, but it still confirms that One Direction is the most popular group around and has millions of fans around the world.
By Douglas Cobb
Sources:
Reality TV World
Contactmusic.com
The Straits Times
Photo by Fiona McKinlay – Flickr License
