NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 14: (L-R) Musicians Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, and Harry Styles of One Direction attend the 2012 Nickelodeon Upfront presentation at Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center on March 14, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images)
Two weeks ago, Vulture’s own Amanda Dobbins deconstructed two stars of the latest British Boy Band Invasion: edgy and hot bod-totting the Wanted versus the mother-approved, iCarly-cameo-ing One Direction. While the Wanted’s U.S. debut is still several weeks off, One Direction’s album What Makes You Beautiful, which dropped Stateside last week, has already outstripped Bruce Springsteen’s Wrecking Ball on the Billboard charts and is now running neck-and-neck with Adele’s 21. Will the teenyboppers pull out an upset? The official Billboard 200’s top ten will be revealed this coming Wednesday, so stay tuned.