One Direction’s “Live While We’re Young” debuts at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, marking the highest bow by a U.K. group in the 54-year history of the chart.
It’s the second-highest debut among all U.K. acts, outpaced only by Elton John’s No. 1 arrival in 1997 with “Candle in the Wind 1997/Something About the Way You Look Tonight.” The Princess Diana tribute single spent 14 weeks at No. 1.
This week also marks the first time two U.K. artists have simultaneously started in the top 10, as Adele’s “Skyfall” debuts at No. 8 (her highest bow).
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“Live While We’re Young” sold 341,000 downloads in its first week (according to Nielsen SoundScan), marking the third-biggest debut for a download by a group. Only the arrivals of Maroon 5’s “Payphone” earlier this year (493,000) and the Black Eyed Peas’ “Boom Boom Pow” in 2009 (465,000) were larger.
On the Hot 100, “Live While We’re Young” also becomes the act’s biggest hit, passing the No. 4 peak of “What Makes You Beautiful” earlier this year. “Live While We’re Young” is the lead single from the group’s second album, “Take Me Home”, due Nov. 13.