One Direction has been there before. In fact, each of the band’s four albums has gone to number one in the first week of release. Billboard Magazine says One Direction is the only group in the history of the ratings chart to do that. Not true of all performers, however. Both singer Beyoncé and rapper DMX saw the same success with their first five albums.
Last week, One Direction won the top prize, Artist of the Year, at the 2014 American Music Awards. They were also named Favorite Group, and their record “Midnight Memories” won the Favorite Pop/Rock Album award. One Direction performed at the awards ceremony in Los Angeles. But the song it performed was “Night Changes” from the new album.
“Four” sold 387,000 copies in its first week. “Steal My Girl” was the first single from the collection. It came out in September. A humorous video was also released for “Steal My Girl.” The video was shot in the desert and American actor Danny Devito plays the video director. Chimpanzees and other wild animals also perform.
One Direction had to deal with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals because of that. The group protested the use of the animals. The band answered with a letter stating that no animals were hurt in the video production.
One Direction begins an international series of concerts in 2015 to support “Four.” The tour is called “On the Road Again.” The band has shows set for Europe, the Americas, Asia, Australia and Africa.
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