This week, One Direction [1] becomes the first act since 2005 to have two newly-released albums sell more than a million in a calendar year.

In other words: They have released two albums since January, and both have already sold a million before the year has closed at the end of December.

[2]

One Direction's Right Direction: The Billboard Cover Story [2]

Clearly, it's still One Direction's world, and we're just living in it.

The vocal group's latest album, "Take Me Home," sold another 127,000 in the week ending Dec. 16, bringing its to-date total to 1.04 million in the U.S. according to Nielsen SoundScan. The set, released on Nov. 13, joins One Direction's debut effort "Up All Night" in the million-sellers club. "Up All Night" arrived on March 13 and has sold 1.51 million.

The last artist to move a million of two new albums in a calendar year was Kenny Chesney [3] in 2005. That year, he sold 1.08 million of his January 2005 release "Be As You Are: Songs From an Old Blue Chair" and 1.82 million of the November 2005 set "The Road and the Radio."

Currently, "Up All Night" and "Take Me Home" are the Nos. 3 and 8 best-selling albums of 2012. Adele [4]'s "21" leads with 4.30 million while Taylor Swift [5]'s "Red" is in second place with 2.59 million.

It's slightly more common (but not by much) for an act to score multiple million-selling albums in a year with a blend of older and newer titles. For example, before One Direction, the last act to move a million of more than one album in a year was Michael Jackson [6] in 2009.

In the wake of his death, his "Number Ones" greatest hits set, first released in 2003, sold 2.36 million in 2009. His million-sellers in 2009 were followed by the then-new "This Is It" film soundtrack/compilation (1.29 million), the 1982 "Thriller" studio album (1.27 million) and 2005's "The Essential Michael Jackson" compilation (1.15 million).