Boy band One Direction makes chart history

(CBS News) Move over Spice Girls. There's a new English pop group on the scene, and it's already making chart history.

U.K. pop vocal group One Direction became the first U.K. group to shoot straight to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with its debut album. "Up All Night."  It reached the top slot with 176,000 copies sold after its March 13 release.

Prior to One Direction, the highest debut for a U.K. group came on Feb. 22, 1997, when the Spice Girls' "Spice" album entered at No. 6.

"We simply cannot believe that we are No.1 in America," One Direction's Harry Styles said in a statement. "It's beyond a dream come true for us. We want to thank each and every one of our fans in the US who bought our album and we would also like to thank the American public for being so supportive of us."

If you haven't already heard of One Direction, you soon will. These guys have a massive following, and with their good looks, it's no surprise a lot of it is coming in the form of American teenage girls. Plus, it's been a while since a new pop boy band has emerged.

One Direction formed on Britain's "The X Factor" in 2010. The current members originally competed on their own until music mastermind Simon Cowell suggested they team up to form a group. One Direction, which finished in third place on the show, features five members ranging from ages 18-20: Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson.

Since then, One Direction has made its way over to the U.S., performing in front of thousands of fans on NBC's "Today" show. One Direction has 2 million followers on Twitter and 3.6 million Facebook fans.

The group's popularity in the U.K. has also grown. One Direction's debut single "What Makes You Beautiful" scored a BRIT Award this year, the equivalent to America's Grammys.

And there's more. The group will go out on a North America tour and will soon have its own show on Nickelodeon.