One Direction have been named the world’s most powerful young stars.
The British boyband have topped Billboard magazine’s 21 under 21 list, which ranks music”s most influential minors each year. The young group beat artists such as Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus to the coveted position.
Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson topped the list thanks to their huge achievements over the last year. One Direction’s first album Up All Night hit stores in 2011 and was a runaway success in 35 countries. They are also the only UK group to have their first two albums debut at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart ‘ their follow-up record Take Me Home came out last year.
The band have also enjoyed huge success in the movie world, with their concert film This is Us grossing over $62 million so far internationally.
Justin Bieber was number one on the list last year but slipped down to second place in 2013. This was mainly due to negative press focusing on the 20-year-old’s personal life, rather than his career.
Although he faced immense criticism for his partying and choice of friends, Justin still had an incredible year music-wise. His album Believe Acoustic broke records and hit the top of the Billboard 200. Justin made history by being the first artist to have five number one albums before he was 19 years old.
Miley Cyrus made number three on the list this year, while Ariana Grande came in fourth place.
Billboard magazine’s 21 under 21 list:
1. One Direction
2. Justin Bieber
3. Miley Cyrus
4. Ariana Grande
5. Earl Sweatshirt
6. Lorde
7. Austin Mahone
8. Scotty McCreery
9. Cody Simpson
10. Emblem3
11. Cher Lloyd
12. Chief Keef
13. Bridgit Mendler
14. Miguelito
15. Joey Bada$$
16. Tori Kelly
17. Martin Garrix
18. Mindless Behavior
19. Matty B.
20. Lee Hi
21.Fifth Harmony
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