One Direction's Up All Night Poised To Best Adele, Springsteen

Boy band's debut album is amping up for a #1 debut on Billboard albums chart next week.
By Jocelyn Vena

One Direction
Photo: Larry Busacca/ Getty Images

Adele lost the top spot on the Billboard chart this week to Bruce Springsteen, and it seems that five British boy-banders are also eyeing the crown for next week's chart. One Direction's U.S. debut, Up All Night, is looking to sell big and give the big-voiced British songstress and the Boss a run for their money.

"There didn't seem to be much hype until all of a sudden it sort of exploded," Keith Caulfield, associate director of charts at Billboard, told MTV News about the tween phenomenon hitting the mainstream. "The album should do somewhere in the range of 160,000 to 180,000, that's what we're projecting right now. It's a little hard to gauge just because they're so youth-appealing and because they're basically a boy band, it's hard to project how consumers will react to the album. It could go higher; it could go a little lower. So, it has a definite shot at #1. And if it does debut at #1, [we're reporting that] it would mark the first time a British group's first album has debuted at #1.

"But Adele could still pull it out and block them. It's kind of up in the air right now," Caulfield added. "It's kind of a race."

What may help them keep that longevity alive is the onslaught of American love they have been receiving lately. Nickelodeon confirmed that the guys now have a development deal with the network and are set to appear on one of its biggest shows, "iCarly," next season.

"One Direction really worked social media and were really active at getting their fanbase energized," Caulfield said. "It really depends on how far they can reach outside of their core base [to continue selling records and sustain that momentum]. Will they be able to be accepted on radio? Will they become a pop culture phenomenon outside of [teen girls]? With all the right moves, they can do it."

But as soon as the 1D wave washes over the charts and a Boy-band bonanza continues, another, brasher group of lads is also eyeing chart domination. The Wanted will drop their self-titled U.S. debut on April 24. So, can they sell just as big?

"The Wanted skew older. Their music is more mature in its content, so naturally they are going to skew a little older," Caulfield told us, noting that One Direction's tweened-out fandom won't be replicated with the Wanted.

"Does that mean they won't sell as much? Well, no, they're going to appeal to a different group of people. So, it's too early to tell what the Wanted will do, but considering the single ['Glad You Came' is] doing so well, that at least gives positive energy towards what the album will do," he said. "We didn't know what One Direction was going to do until this week. One Direction has that [tween] appeal that makes people want to invest in that phenomenon."

Who do you think will take the #1 spot next week: One Direction, Adele or Bruce Springsteen? Leave your prediction in the comments section below!

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• One Direction

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1681183/one-direction-up-all-night-billboard.jhtml

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