Is an epic One Direction vs. Justin Bieber showdown brewing for mid-November?
On Tuesday (Sept. 22), One Direction announced that its fifth studio album, Made In the A.M., will be released worldwide on Nov. 13. The best-selling boy band’s first full-length without Zayn Malik has been preceded by the top 5 hit “Drag Me Down,” and will be followed by a hiatus of unknown length.
One Direction’s previous four studio albums — Up All Night, Take Me Home, Midnight Memories and Four — have all debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart upon release. Surely Made In the A.M. is on track for another No. 1, right? Well, a new Justin Bieber album might complicate things.
Bieber — who has five No. 1 albums of his own — has a new album due out this fall, and sources told Billboard last month that the release date was… you guessed it… November 13. Team Bieber has never refuted that rumored date, but it has yet to officially announce it either. So Bieber’s next album, which will include the Top 10 hits “Where Are U Now” and “What Do You Mean?,” could theoretically have its release date shifted before or after Nov. 13. (A rep for Bieber did not immediately respond to request for comment).
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For argument’s sake, however, let’s assume that Bieber’s album release stays at Nov. 13, setting up a duel for No. 1 with 1D. Which album would be your top priority that week: Made In the A.M., or Bieber’s comeback album? Sound off in the poll below!