Zayn's 'Mind Of Mine' A Success

It would appear Ex-Directioner Zayn Malik has succeeded triumphantly in crossing over to both solo work and making R&B music.

His new album, Mind of Mine, was released to critical acclaim and now the awaited sales results are in. The English star has debuted at #1 in the USA, making him the first male British artist to have their first ever record debut at the top spot.

Zayn debuts straight in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with his debut solo effort, Mind of Mine. The album, released on March 25 through RCA Records, earned 157,000 equivalent album units in the week ending March 31 in the U.S. Of that amount, it sold 112,000 in pure album sales. The US charts are famously difficult to conquer so an achievement like this is not to be underestimated.

In the age of illegal downloading, getting fans to buy an artist’s record takes real dedication. The good news for Zayn comes just a day after it was confirmed his album also entered the UK charts at #1, as well. And while some may choose to undermine his former band with these stellar results, we’d rather point this out: Zayn is also the first U.K. act (solo or otherwise) to debut at No. 1 with their first album since his former group, One Direction, launched atop the list in 2012 with Up All Night (on the March 31, 2012-dated chart).

Congratulations Zayn! The Jam can't stop playing the record!