One Direction’s New CD Hits No. 1

"Take Me Home", the new CD by One Direction, debuted at No. 1 on SoundScan this week, with first-week sales of 540,000 copies.

It's the third biggest debut this year, behind Taylor Swift's "Red", which sold 1.2 million uinits in its first week, and "Babel" by Sons of Mumford, with 600,000 sold.

"We just want to say a massive thanks to all the fans who have supported us," group member Harry Styles said in an interview from London. "We can send tweets and thank them, but 140 characters is never going be enough to say how much it means."

Columbia Records said Wednesday that the album is also No. 1 in more than 30 countries, including the United Kingdom.