One Direction Nab Second-Biggest Album Opening Of 2014 With ‘Four’

One Direction have narrowly edged Coldplay out of the runner-up spot, as far as biggest album openings of the year go. We all know that Taylor Swift is tops in 2014 with 1989 , which debuted earlier this month with 1.287 copies sold out of the gate. That left Coldplay in second place, after Ghost Stories opened with 383,000 in May. But 1D have crashed into the top spot on the Billboard 200 after selling 387,000 copies of Four last week.

That’s impressive by 2014 standards, but it’s a far cry from the 546,000 One Direction’s previous LP, Midnight Memories, started with last December. Still, the boy band now have the distinction of being the only group to have their first four albums debut at #1. Another noteworthy item: Four will be the final chart-topping album on the Billboard 200 based soley on sales. Starting next week, streams will also factor into the chart.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Top 10 is looking extra-festive, as music buyers, clearly in the spirit, plunked down cash for Pentatonix‘s That’s Christmas To Me (up five positions to #3), Michael Buble‘s 2011 album Christmas (up four to #9) and Idina Menzel‘s new yuletide offering Holiday Wishes (up six to #10). This marks the second Top 10 album Menzel has appeared on in 2014, following Disney’s juggernaut soundtrack for Frozen — which, sorry, Taylor, still remains the top-selling album of the year…for now.

The Top 10 of the Billboard 200:

1. One Direction, Four *new* *1 week*
2. Taylor Swift, 1989
3. Pentatonix, That’s Christmas To Me
4. Nickelback, No Fixed Address *new*
5. Garth Brooks, Man Against Machine
6. Pink Floyd, The Endless River
7. Foo Fighers, Sonic Highways
8. In This Moment, Black Widow *new*
9. Michael Buble, Christmas
10. Idina Menzel, Holiday Wishes

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