One Direction make American pop history

One Direction have become the first UK pop group to debut at number one on the US album chart - and called it "a dream come true".

Their first release Up All Night has rocketed into the top spot on the Billboard chart.

The boy band - Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson - was formed by TV's The X Factor and signed to Simon Cowell's label Syco.

They are still coming to terms with the success and Styles said today: "We simply cannot believe that we are number one in America.

"It's beyond a dream come true for us. We want to thank each and every one of our fans in the US who bought our album and we would also like to thank the American public for being so supportive of us."

The previous highest entry for a UK group's first album was number six, when the Spice Girls entered the US charts with their album Spice in 1997. It eventually climbed to the top spot after 14 weeks.
One Direction have been conquering the US with a promotional tour in recent weeks.
More than 10,000 fans are estimated to have turned up to see the teen stars' first live TV performance in the US when they appeared on NBC's Today Show in Rockefeller Plaza, New York. They have also been mobbed at album signings during their jaunt round the US.
The group sold 176,000 copies of the album in the US in the space of a week. It topped the digital charts within minutes of its release last week.
Horan said: "We just found out that we are number one in America and as you can imagine, we are over the moon.
"When we got put together as a group, we couldn't imagine ourselves coming to America, let alone releasing our album here, so for us to be sitting at the top of the US album charts is unbelievable.
"We are so grateful to everyone who has supported us in the US."
One Direction have already found huge fame among teen fans in the UK after starring in the 2010 X Factor series and finishing third.
Up All Night went straight to number one at home and in 12 other countries with global sales of more than 4.2 million.
Last month they picked up a best single Brit award for the track What Makes You Beautiful, which led to a brief spat with award sponsor Capital radio after the band thanked Radio 1 when they collected the prize.
Another UK boy band The Wanted have also been experiencing success in the US this year. The group have taken advantage of the promotional opportunities of social networking, amassing 12 million followers on Twitter and 3.6 million on Facebook.
They have also had more than 204 million YouTube views.
Cowell said today: "I couldn't be happier for One Direction, it is an incredible achievement. They deserve it. They have the best fans in the world."
They will continue to reach a bigger audience in the US next week when they appear at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards performing What Makes You Beautiful.
And they will appear on Saturday Night Live on April 7 with guest host Sofia Vergara.
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/9157558/One-Direction-make-American-pop-history.html