One Direction's Midnight Memories has been named the best-selling global album by the BPI, the UK's recorded music industry trade association.
The boyband's latest LP sold four million copies in a mere five weeks, beating Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP 2 to top the year-end chart.
Midnight Memories earned numerous accolades throughout last year, including landing the number-one spot on 19 charts around the world.
The BPI's Gennaro Castaldo announced One Direction as Global Recording Artist of 2013, saying: "Around one in eight albums sold around the world are by British artists, and One Direction are certainly playing their part in maintaining this fantastic achievement.
"It all helps to add up to a golden decade of global success for British music, and with some huge albums out later this year, not least from the likes of Coldplay in May and a rumoured new release from Adele, there must be another good chance that a British artist will again top the global best-sellers list come the end of the 2014."
Adele's 21 topped the worldwide chart for both of the last two years, prior to One Direction reaching the summit.
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Results were culled from downloads, physical format sales and streaming services in the IFPI's Digital Music Report.
One Direction have confirmed that they will release a limited edition vinyl version of Midnight Memories on Record Store Day (April 19).
Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson were also recently named as the highest-earning members of One Direction, due to writing nearly half the songs on Midnight Memories.
Watch One Direction's 'Midnight Memories' music video below:
Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
