One Direction crowned Recording Artists '13

One Direction have been named Global Recording Artists of 2013.

The popular British boyband is made up of Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne and has become a worldwide music sensation.

Now the IFPI, which promotes the international recording industry, has named them the biggest success of last year.

The boys proved the most popular in terms of streaming, downloads and CD sales over the last 12 months.

One Direction are the first band in US Billboard history to have hit the number one spot with all three of their albums so far.

Their third album, Midnight Memories, which was released last year, also went straight to the top of the charts in the UK.

Spotify also showed that the boys were streamed frequently, while their music videos have garnered millions of hits on YouTube.

The clip that accompanies track Best Song Ever has racked up almost 200 million views on the site.

"Incredible news! It's great to have a chart that includes everything from iTunes and record stores, to YouTube and Spotify," Niall, 20, gushed in a statement.

"Again a huge thank you to all of our fans for such an amazing 2013."

Eminem came in second place according to IFPI, after releasing The Marshall Mathers LP 2 last year.

Justin Timberlake followed in third place thanks to his big musical comeback in 2013.

Bruno Mars and Katy Perry were in fourth and fifth place.

One Direction will support their Midnight Memories record with the Where We Are Tour this year.