On the Charts: Zayn Malik Makes History With ‘Mind of Mine’

Zayn Malik’s risky endeavor to break away from the global phenomenon known as One Direction paid huge dividends as the now-solo singer’s debut LP Mind of Mine set Billboard 200 history after debuting at Number One in its first week of release.

Bolstered by 157,000 total album sales, Malik became the first U.K. male solo artist in history to debut atop the Billboard 200 with their first album. Malik also became the first U.K. male singer to top the Billboard 200 since George Michael achieved the feat with Faith in 1988, Billboard reports.

Mind of Mine bested even Sam Smith’s In the Lonely Hour, which topped out at Number Two. Malik became the first British solo artist since Susan Boyle in 2009 to debut at Number One with their debut album, and the first U.K. act in general since his former crew One Direction did it in 2012 with Up All Night.

To rub further salt in 1D fans’ wounds, Mind of Mine topped the Billboard 200 while Malik’s former One Direction bandmates peaked at Number Two with their first Zayn-less LP Made in the A.M. That album lost a heated sales battle against Justin Bieber’s Purpose in November.

There was a huge Top 10 drop-off after Malik as the week’s Number Two album was K. Michelle’s More Issues Than Vogue, which sold 59,000 total albums in its debut week. Rihanna’s Anti (Number Three), Justin Bieber’s Purpose (Number Four) and Adele’s 25 (Number Five) filled out the Top Five, selling 48,500 copies.

Young Thug nabbed his first Top 10 album as Slime Season 3, the final chapter in his trilogy of retail mixtapes, debuted at Number Seven. After Chris Stapleton’s Traveller at Eight, Asking Alexandria’s The Black entered the charts at Number Nine, followed by the Weeknd’s Beauty Behind the Madness.