Highest debut by UK group on US singles chart

One Direction (UK/Ireland) debuted at No.3 on the US singles chart on 20 October 2012 with “Live While We’re Young” – the highest bow by an all- or predominantly British group in the 55-year history of the Billboard Hot 100. Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson amassed first-week digital sales of 341,000 to eclipse the Spice Girls (UK) and their No.5 debut with “Say You’ll Be There” in May 1997. The only British act to debut higher than One Direction on the Hot 100 is Sir Elton John, whose tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales, “Candle in the Wind 1997”/”Something About the Way You Look Tonight”, landed at No.1 in October 1997 with first-week sales of almost 3.5 million.

Only 12 songs by UK acts have debuted in the Top 10 of the Hot 100. They are:

1. “Candle in the Wind 1997”/”Something About the Way You Look Tonight” (Elton John), No.1, 11 October 1997;

2. “Live While We’re Young” (One Direction), No.3, 20 October 2012;

3. “Say You’ll Be There” (Spice Girls), No.5, 24 May 1997;

4. “Let It Be” (The Beatles), No.6, 21 March 1970;

5. “2 Become 1” (Spice Girls), No.6, 16 August 1997;

6. “Jesus to a Child” (George Michael), No.8, 24 February 1996;

7. “Speed of Sound” (Coldplay), No.8, 7 May 2005;

8. “Skyfall” (Adele), No.8, 20 October 2012;

9. “Hey Jude” (The Beatles), No.10, 14 September 1968;

10. “Get Back” (The Beatles), No.10, 10 May 1969;

11. “Free as a Bird” (The Beatles), No.10, 30 December 1995;

12. “Come with Me” (Puff Daddy feat. Jimmy Page), No.10, 27 June 1998.

On the chart dated 20 October 2012, two British acts debuted in the Top 10 of the Hot 100 for the first time: One Direction at No.3 and Adele (“Skyfall”) at No.8. The previous Top 10 debut by a UK act was Coldplay (“Speed of Sound”) in May 2005.

“Live While We’re Young”’s first-week digital sales of 341,000 was the third biggest debut ever for a download by a group, eclipsed only by Maroon 5’s 2012 single “Payphone” (493,000) and The Black Eyed Peas’ 2009 single “Boom Boom Pow” (465,000). Therefore, One Direction now have the fastest-selling download by a UK act.

“Live While We’re Young” instantly became One Direction’s biggest hit on the Hot 100, beating the No.4 peak of their 2012 debut single “What Makes You Beautiful”.

The video for “Live While We’re Young” was the most viewed music video on YouTube in a 24-hour period after it was uploaded to the video-sharing website on 20 September 2012. By 11 October 2012, it had been viewed 53,481,056 times.