One Direction Make History And Are #1 In The U.S. With 546,000 Units Sold

NEW YORK, Dec. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- One Direction's new album MIDNIGHT MEMORIES debuts at #1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with over 546,000 copies sold this week. Once again, One Direction make U.S. chart history as the first group to ever have their first three albums debut at #1. This amazing U.S. debut comes hot off the heels of One Direction's massive international success, with  MIDNIGHT MEMORIES becoming the UK's fastest selling album of 2013 and over the past three years. Around the world, the album entered the charts at #1 in over 26 countries including the UK, Canada, Australia, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Ireland, Sweden, Turkey, Croatia, Czech Republic, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Japan, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Middle East, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131204/NY27617)

MIDNIGHT MEMORIES, which includes the #1 single "Best Song Ever" and the breakout hit "Story Of My Life," sees the boys taking on a greater creative role. The band has co-written 15 of the 18 tracks on the deluxe album and has reunited with long time collaborators Julian Bunetta, John Ryan, and Jamie Scott on the majority of the album.

One Direction's unprecedented and unique worldwide event, "1D Day," received a total of 3.5 million views and has been named the biggest YouTube music live stream ever. #1DDayLive dominated Twitter and trended for 8 hours, and 1.2 million people watched additional 1D content through Zapper. "1D Day" gave fans around the world a rare opportunity to enter into One Direction's world through a seven-hour live broadcast with the band, including special guests Robbie Williams, Celine Dion, Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan, The Muppets and many more. The highlights of 1D Day can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSkUsrLQDrc&feature=youtu.be

One Direction fans took over Central Park on November 26 to celebrate the release of MIDNIGHT MEMORIES with a special performance on ABC's GOOD MORNING AMERICA, which aired across 3 days and earned the shows biggest crowd ever. Other release week activities included the performance debut of "Story Of My Life" on FOX's THE XFACTOR and an electrifying performance at the 2013 American Music Awards, where the band took home 2 awards including Best Pop/Rock Album and Best Pop/Rock Group. Fans can catch One Direction as the performance guests on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, Dec. 7 on NBC and on December 9 as their MIDNIGHT MEMORIES album release party with iHeartRadio will be televised on The CW Network at 9 p.m. ET with an additional airing Christmas Day.

2013 has been an astonishing year for One Direction as they've sold over 35 million records worldwide, achieved 64 number ones and played over 100 shows in 21 countries on their first ever world tour. They won a BRIT Award for Global Success, and in August "Best Song Ever" was awarded "Song Of The Summer" at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. They also received the "Best Pop" award at the MTV EMAs and garnered two awards at the 2013 American Music Awards. This summer, One Direction made their cinema debut with their massive hit 3D concert movie and documentary 'One Direction: This Is Us.' The film has been a phenomenal success, topping the UK and U.S. box offices and grossing an incredible $68 million to date.

In early 2014, One Direction will embark on their global WHERE WE ARE 2014 stadium tour, which includes eleven sold out dates in the UK and Ireland. The 21-city tour hits North America next summer, kicking off August 1, 2014 in Toronto, ON at the Rogers Centre and includes stops in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Dallas and Miami, among others. Additional dates will be announced. Tickets will go on sale December 7 at www.livenation.com.

One Direction are Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson.

MIDNIGHT MEMORIES buylink: http://smarturl.it/MidnightMemoriesiT

For more info visit
http://www.onedirectionmusic.com   
http://www.columbiarecords.com

About COLUMBIA RECORDS
One of the most respected and successful record labels in the world, Columbia Records is home to established superstars and exciting new talent. Columbia Records is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. Sony Music Entertainment is a global recorded music company with a roster of current artists that includes a broad array of both local artists and international superstars. The company boasts a vast catalog that comprises some of the most important recordings in history. Sony Music Entertainment is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America.

Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment is a global recorded music company with a current roster that includes a broad array of both local artists and international superstars. The company boasts a vast catalog that comprises some of the most important recordings in history. It is home to premier record labels representing music from every genre, including Arista Nashville, Beach Street Records, Bystorm Entertainment, Columbia Nashville, Columbia Records, Day 1, Epic Records, Essential Records, Flicker Records, Kemosabe Records, Legacy Recordings, MASTERWORKS, Polo Grounds, RCA Inspiration, RCA Nashville, RCA Records, Reunion Records, Roc Nation, Sony Classical, Sony Music Latin, Star Time International, Syco Music and Volcano. Sony Music Entertainment is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. 

SYCO ENTERTAINMENT
Syco Entertainment is a joint venture between Simon Cowell and Sony Music and is one of the world¹s leading global music, film and television production companies responsible for some of the world¹s most successful global TV and music franchises.
Syco Entertainment is also the world¹s most successful producer of international talent with Syco Music being the record label home for such diverse international recording artists as Labrinth, One Direction, Leona Lewis, Susan Boyle, Little Mix, IL Divo, Jonathan and Charlotte, Tate Stevens, Emblem3, Fifth Harmony, James Arthur, Ella Henderson and the Loveable Rogues. Syco¹s television assets include the global franchises The X Factor and Got Talent. The X Factor was created by Syco Television and is produced by Syco Television and Fremantle Media. Local versions of The X Factor are produced in more than 42 territories and the U.S. version of The X Factor airs in over 191 countries. In 2012 Got Talent became the world¹s biggest selling TV format and is now commissioned in 56 countries as a local format.  In 2013 Syco continues to capitalize on the ongoing success of its established global hit TV formats and a number of new projects including two feature films - One Direction¹s 3D movie This Is Us with Sony Pictures and One Chance¹, a film based on the success story of Britain¹s Got Talent¹s first winner, Paul Potts, in association with the Weinstein Company.

SOURCE Columbia Records