One Direction

One Direction is a British-Irish pop boyband consisting of Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Niall Horan. Former member Zayn Malik left the band in March 2015. They were contestants on the seventh season of The X Factor UK in 2010, and finished third. Despite losing, the group was subsequently signed to Simon Cowell's record label, Syco Music.

Background[]

The X Factor (2010-11)[]

In early 2010, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik auditioned as solo performers for the seventh season of The X Factor (UK).

For Liam Payne, it was his second audition process. Payne first auditioned in 2008, but was eliminated during the judge's houses portion, due to inexperience.

For Louis Tomlinson, it was also his second audition process, though his first to qualify past the initial producer's auditions, which took place in April 2010. Each soloist succeeded through to the bootcamp stage, but all were eliminated at its conclusion. Simon Cowell and three other judges decided the groups were not evenly split that year, and decided to call back ten eliminated solo contestants. These contestants were placed into two groups, allowing them all to continue competing.

In August 2010, all five members of One Direction spent two weeks living at Harry's dad's bungalow in Cheshire. One Direction were the favorite act to win throughout the 2010 season of X Factor, generating massive and unprecedented fan/media hype. Ultimately, they finished in third place behind runner up Rebecca Ferguson and winner Matt Cardle. Simon Cowell signed One Direction to his record label, Syco Music, on December 13, 2010.

Musical Career[]

Up All Night[]

One Direction's debut single, "What Makes You Beautiful" was released on September 11, 2011 and debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number one on September 18, 2011. It became the third fastest selling single of 2011, selling 153,965 copies. It is one of the best selling singles of all time, with 7 million copies sold worldwide. Their debut studio album Up All Night was released on November 18, 2011 and became one of the best-selling albums of the year. Three more singles were released - "Gotta Be You", "One Thing" and "More Than This" - with "One Thing" becoming a worldwide top ten hit. One Direction embarked on their first headlining tour, the Up All Night Tour, on December 18, 2011.

Take Me Home[]

The band's second studio album Take Me Home was released on November 12, 2012. The singles "Live While We're Young", "Kiss You" and "Little Things" all found immense success, with "Live While We're Young" debuting at #3 on the United States Billboard Hot 100, and "Little Things" being certified platinum after shipping 1,000,000 copies. One Direction embarked on their second headlining tour, the Take Me Home Tour, on February 23, 2013.

On August 20, 2013, One Direction's debut concert film, This Is Us, premiered worldwide.

Midnight Memories[]

Their third studio album, Midnight Memories, was released on November 25, 2013, and presented a rockier sound from the band, as well as a departure from the bubblegum pop sound and lyrics. The album also saw the band contributing creatively with Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne each co-writing ten tracks, Harry Styles co-writing five tracks, Niall Horan co-writing three tracks and Zayn Malik co-writing two. Four singles were released - "Best Song Ever", "Story of My Life", "Midnight Memories" and "You & I" - with "Best Song Ever" and "Story Of My Life" becoming worldwide hits. One Direction's third headlining tour, the Where We Are Tour, began on April 25, 2014.

Four[]

Their fourth studio album, Four, was released on November 17, 2014. The album further established the band's transition into mainstream rock, and again featured each member contributing to the majority of the album's writing. Tomlinson and Payne both co-wrote nine tracks, Styles co-wrote five songs, while Horan and Malik both co-wrote three. Two singles were released - "Steal My Girl" and "Night Changes" - and both found considerable success. The band embarked on their fourth headlining tour, On The Road Again, on February 7, 2015.

Zayn exited the band permanently the following month, however, the tour continued and eventually concluded on October 31.

Made in the A.M.[]

One Direction released their fifth album, Made in the A.M., on November 13, 2015. The album saw the most creative contribution from the band members so far, with Tomlinson contributing ten co-writes, Styles contributing seven, Payne contributing six co-writes, and composing two tracks, and Horan contributing four co-writes. Three singles were released - "Drag Me Down", "Perfect" and "History" - with "Drag Me Down" becoming one of the highest selling songs of 2015.

In the seven years since becoming a band, One Direction have sold over 50 million albums worldwide, and were the first band to ever have four albums debut at #1 on the US Billboard 200. Four of One Direction's albums have sold over a million copies in the USA. As of 2015, they were the 2nd highest earning celebrities of the year, earning $130 million. Their fourth world tour, On The Road Again, acquired over $188 million and saw the most concert tickets sold in 2015. One Direction was named Artist Of The Year by Billboard in 2014, and by the American Music Awards in both 2014 and 2015.

Zayn's Departure[]

On March 25, 2015, it was confirmed via a statement on One Direction's official Facebook page, that Zayn had officially and permanently exited the band. His sudden departure made worldwide headlines, as One Direction were in the process of completing their fourth world tour at the time. Zayn would later reveal he never felt he fitted into the band musically, as his preferred R&B sound was different from the group's overall pop-rock sound. He also cited anxiety and introversion as constant struggles. Zayn released his debut single on January 29, 2016, and his debut album, Mind of Mine, on 25 March 2015. Niall, Harry, Liam and Louis continued One Direction as a four piece.

Zayn would later reveal a combination of anxiety, exhaustion and introversion as primary reasons for his exit. He also revealed the band's pop-rock sound was never his preferred taste in music. Zayn released his debut single, "Pillowtalk", on January 29, 2016, and his debut album, Mind of Mine, on March 25, 2015. The band's relationship with Zayn was initially strained. Louis and Zayn clashed on Twitter in April 2015, and Harry has made several underhanded comments suggesting continued tension. In 2017, Zayn claimed he and Harry rarely spoke during their time as bandmates. Louis would eventually make up with Zayn in early 2017, partially to fulfill his mother's dying wish for them to repair their friendship. Liam has said he and Zayn keep in contact.

Band Hiatus[]

One Direction have been on hiatus since December 13, 2015, when they last performed as a group on The X Factor (UK)'s grand final episode.

On August 23, 2015, tabloid publication, The Sun, reported One Direction would be taking a break the following year, but used the tagline "This Is The End", which caused worldwide media outlets to report the band was splitting up. On August 25, Niall confirmed the band would take a break from touring on Twitter, but said they had no plans to split up. Louis added by tweeting, "we're not going anywhere". The hiatus is the band's first, and only, break from touring and collaborating together since 2010.

All four members define the hiatus as a "well-deserved" break they will eventually return from as a group. Niall stated, "It seems like no matter how many times we say that we are not breaking up, the more people are convinced we are breaking up, so I have given up trying to explain it. It will be good to be able to get home a bit more, because that really is the only downside of the gig." All four members acknowledged their six year annniversary as a band on social media on July 23, 2016. An exact time frame for the hiatus is not confirmed, as the band want to be able to decide together when they're ready to return. On July 21, 2016, Liam's sister Ruth Payne said she believed the hiatus would be two years.

In the September 2016 issue of AnOther Man Magazine, Harry stated "I would never say we'll never do anything again, but it's good for us to be exploring different things. Maybe at some point everyone will want to do something again but it's better if it happens naturally, like, "Hey we all really want to do this again". If that were to happen, it'd be amazing. I would never rule that out. It's the most important, greatest thing that ever happened to me, being in that band. It completely changed my life". On September 29, Niall told Capital FM a reunion was inevitable, stating "For the foreseeable, we're doing our own thing. We still talk all the time. It could be one year, could be two, but it'll definitely happen there's no doubt about that." He elaborated further in a November interview, stating "We just felt like it was the right time. I can’t really put anything to it. It wasn’t something we delved into and thought ‘is this the right time to do this?’. We just thought ‘let’s take a break’ and we will get back into it in a couple of years or something. I am sure once everyone starts getting bored again, we will be like ‘Hey, are you ready?'"

In April 2017, Harry elaborated on One Direction's reason for their hiatus in a Rolling Stone interview, stating: "I didn't want to exhaust our fan base. If you're shortsighted, you can think, 'Let's just keep touring'. But we all thought too much of the group than to let that happen. You realize you're exhausted and you don't want to drain people's belief in you. I love the band, and would never rule out anything in the future. The band changed my life, gave me everything". Interviewer Cameron Crowe stated in a subsequent interview that Harry "defended the future of the band". Harry further elaborated on French TV show Quotidien, stating "It’s been a lot of fun. We were very lucky to get to do some amazing things at the moment in our lives. We’re in a time where everyone’s trying their own thing and having a good time. It’s been amazing to see everyone do so well. If I can do as well as the other boys, that’d be amazing.

As both Niall and Harry will be on solo world tours throughout 2018, and Louis has confirmed his own touring plans for 2018, it is unlikely the band will be reuniting before 2019.

Solo Careers[]

Liam: In January 2016, Liam began re-working on several collaborations with rapper Juicy J, and previewed a self-written rap song on Instagram. Liam and Louis provided their voices for a One Direction cameo on animated TV series "Family Guy", which aired May 15. On July 21, Liam announced he had signed a solo record deal with Capitol Records UK. He also tweeted "One Direction will always be my home and family", while his sister Ruth clarified on Twitter that he is not leaving the band.

Liam is currently working on his debut solo album, and has shared photos on social media of his various collaborators, including Pharrell Williams, TM88, Intensi-t and Jean Malvo Baptiste. On October 17, Liam announced his US record label would be Republic Records. In February 2017, he accepted One Direction's Brit Award for Best British Video for "History", stating "One Direction is who we are and who we'll always be". In March 2017, Liam revealed his second solo magazine cover, for Rollacoaster Magazine.

In May 2017, Liam premiered his debut solo single, "Strip That Down", featuring Migos rapper, Quavo. It became a top 10 hit worldwide. On July 5, producer Zedd released "Get Low", a dance-pop single featuring Liam on vocals. Liam released his second single, "Bedroom Floor", on October 20, 2017. He released a collaboration single with UK singer Rita Ora, titled "For You", on January 5 2018, for the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack. He went on to release his single, "Familiar", featuring Colombian reggaeton singer, J Balvin.

Harry: On January 26, 2016, Harry signed with DawBell PR. He officially parted ways with Modest Management on February 1, 2016. He is now managed by music mogul Irving Azoff's son, Jeff. Reports of an $80 million dollar Columbia Records deal for Harry surfaced in June 2016, and, while the price tag went unconfirmed, Harry eventually released his debut album via Columbia. On September 27, 2016 Harry revealed three separate covers for the 23rd issue of AnOther Man Magazine and on September 29th, his 34+ photo fashion spread, as well as two exclusive interviews conducted by Sir Paul McCartney and Chelsea Handler, and a feature written by Harry's sister, Gemma, were released.

On March 25, 2017 a promotional advert aired on UK television, announcing Harry's debut single would premiere April 7, 2017. On 7 April 2017, Harry premiered "Sign Of The Times" on BBC Radio 1. It went to #1 on iTunes in 82 countries, and debuted at #1 on the United Kingdom's and Australia's official charts, as well as #4 on the United States Billboard Hot 100. On 15 April 2017, Harry appeared as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live, where he performed "Sign Of The Times" and album track "Ever Since New York". In May 2017, Harry covered Rolling Stone magazine for the first time, and released "Sweet Creature" as a promotional single. In mid May 2017, he co-hosted The Late Late Show With James Corden for an entire week.

Harry staged spontaneous concerts in the UK and US throughout May, and announced a world tour beginning in September 2017, followed by an arena tour in 2018. His self-titled album debuted at #1 in 20 countries, including the United States, making him only the second UK male artist, after former bandmate Zayn Malik, to debut atop the US album chart. On July 21, Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk, which features Harry in his debut acting role, premiered worldwide.

On October 31, "Kiwi" was released as the second official single from Harry Styles. The music video premiered on November 08 and featured schoolchildren engaging in a food fight with Harry, who brings puppies along to help. On November 02, 2017, Nick Grimshaw hosted a variety special about Harry on BBC. Also in November 2017, Harry performed live on The X Factor UK and the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. During his arena world tour, Harry performed two previously unreleased songs live: "Anna" and "Medicine". "Medicine" received worldwide media attention after lyrics in the song were found to be strongly implying bisexuality.

Louis: In March 2015, Louis began scouting talent for his record label imprint, and throughout 2016, helped establish a girl band believed to be named Did Alice Call. In May 2016, Louis and Liam's voices were featured in a One Direction cameo skit on Family Guy. On May 31, Louis parted ways with Modest Management, and is now represented by James Grant Group. On June 5, Louis competed against Niall in the Soccer Aid All Stars charity match, playing for England, who won. On 20 July 2016, Louis appeared alongside Simon Cowell on America's Got Talent, as a guest judge.

Louis released his debut single, "Just Hold On", a collaboration with DJ Steve Aoki on December 10, 2016. The duo performed it live the same day, on the 2016 X Factor (UK) grand final. The song went to #1 on iTunes in 36 countries upon release and acquired over 200 million Spotify streams. It would eventually go platinum in Canada. Louis and Steve performed and promoted the single throughout January and February 2017. The music video was released on March 8, 2017. Louis and Steve performed together at the Ultra Festival on March 25, 2017, marking Louis's first solo festival performance. On July 21, Louis released his second single, "Back To You" featuring Bebe Rexha. It was a top 20 hit worldwide and reached #1 on iTunes in 50 countries.

On October 11, Louis surprise released a promo single, "Just Like You", as a gift for fans. In November, Louis won his first solo award for Best UK/Ireland Act at the 2017 MTV EMAs, and performed live at the Royal Variety Performance, where he met Prince William and Kate Middleton. On 1 December 2017, Louis released the second official single from his forthcoming album, "Miss You". The music video premiered on December 8 and featured Louis's real life friends. In March 2018, Louis won his second solo award, iHeartRadio's Best Breakthrough Solo Artist award.

Niall: Niall staged the Horan and Rose charity golfing event, alongside golfer Justin Rose on May 29, 2016 where over $1 million USD was raised for cancer research. He was assistant coach for the Rest Of The World team for the Soccer Aid All Stars match on June 5, opposing Louis, who played for England. Niall helped launch Modest Golf, a golf management company, alongside One Direction's former management team, Modest Management.

Niall released his debut single "This Town" and announced a solo record deal with Capitol Records on September 29, 2016. The song went to #1 on iTunes in 50 countries and became a platinum-selling top 10 hit worldwide. Niall heavily promoted the single in the United States, performing it on late night chat shows, the KISS FM Jingle Ball tour in December, and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. He has won the 2017 People's Choice Award for Favourite Breakout Artist and the Radio Disney Music Award for Best Male Artist. On 2 May 2017, Niall released his second single, "Slow Hands", which became a top 5 hit worldwide. He announced his first solo tour, "Flicker Sessions", would begin in August 2017, followed by an arena tour in 2018.

Niall released a third single "Too Much To Ask" on September 15, 2017. His debut album, Flicker, was released on October 20, 2017 and debuted at #1 in five countries, including the United States, making him the third consecutive member of One Direction to debut atop the US charts as a solo artist. Flicker's fourth single "On The Loose" was released on February 20, 2018.

Group: On July 1, 2016 One Direction won Best Live Act at the Silver Cleft Awards. The band's statement read "Thank you to all our fans for voting. Our live show is so important and it is amazing for this to be recognized for the second time." They were announced as Forbes second Top Earners of 2016 with $110 million to their name. On September 4, it was announced One Direction currently held six 2016 Guinness World Records. On October 24 2016, a song titled 'Something That Scares Me About Love', co-written by Liam and Louis, was registered to ASCAP.

On November 23, One Direction won Best International Artist at the 2016 ARIA Awards. On November 30, Forbes Magazine announced One Direction were the #2 highest paid musicians of the year, despite being on hiatus. All four members of One Direction were reunited on December 10, at the 2016 X Factor (UK) grand final, where Louis Tomlinson performed his debut solo single "Just Hold On", with DJ Steve Aoki, in tribute to Louis's mother, Johannah Deakin, who passed away after a battle with cancer on December 7.

On December 29, One Direction were named the top earning celebrities in Europe for 2016, earning $110 million. This also made them the top earning band of the year and second highest amongst all celebrities. In February 2017, One Direction's "History" music video won Best British Video at the 2017 BRIT Awards. When Liam's debut single entered at #3 on the UK charts, One Direction became the second group in UK chart history from which all members made the top 10, after The Beatles.

In August 2017, One Direction became the first band to have all current and former members achieve a Top 40 solo hit. They achieved this in 18 months, while previous record holders The Beatles achieved the same in 21. One Direction are now tied with The Eagles for most members achieving a solo Top 40 hit (5). When Liam's single reached #1 on US pop radio, One Direction became the only group to have three members achieve this, and the only group to have two members of the same group hold both the #1 and #2 spots, as Liam's single dethroned Niall's single from number one. On May 11, 2018, The Sunday Times Rich List 2018 revealed Harry was the third wealthiest UK musician under 30, followed by Niall at #4, while Liam and Louis tied for fifth.

Albums[]

Up All Night (2011-12)[]

One Direciton released their debut album, Up All Night on November 18, 2011. The singles released were "What Makes You Beautiful", "One Thing", "Gotta Be You", and "More Than This". Up All Night sold more than 4.5 million copies worldwide and "What Makes You Beautiful" became one of the best selling songs of all time.

Take Me Home (2012-13)[]

In November 2012, One Direction released their second album Take Me Home, which includes the singles "Live While We're Young", "Little Things" and "Kiss You". The album r

eached number one in 35 countries.

Midnight Memories (2013)[]

In November 2013, One Direction released their third album Midnight Memories, which includes the singles "Best Song Ever", "Story of My Life", "Midnight Memories" and "You & I". Midnight Memories was the best selling album of 2013, selling four million copies.

Four (2014)[]

One Direction's fourth studio album, Four, was released on November 17, 2014. The album was announced on September 8 along with a free download of promotional single, "Fireproof". The song acquired over a million downloads in 24 hours.

The album only featured two singles, "Steal My Girl" and "Night Changes". The album sold over a million copies in the United States, and became their fourth to reach #1 on the US Billboard 200. Fans organised a significantly successful online project to promote album track "No Control" as if it were a single, which saw the song added to radio station playlists, featured in interactive video game Just Dance and eventually won a Teen Choice Award.

Four was Zayn Malik's final album as a member of One Direction.

Made In The A.M. (2015)[]

One Direction's fifth studio album, Made in the A.M., was released on November 13, 2015. It was their first album without Zayn Malik. "Drag Me Down" was the first single from the album, released on July 31, 2015. It sold more than 300,000 digital copies on the first day of release and was #1 in 90 countries on iTunes. Two more singles, "Perfect" and "History" were released, and reached the top 10 worldwide. In January 2016, the album went platinum in the United Kingdom. As was the case with "No Control" on the band's previous album, fans organized a successful online campaign to promote "Home", a song which did not appear on Made In The A.M., but was released on the Perfect EP, a short collection of remixes and acoustics. The campaign saw "Home" added to radio playlists and winning a Teen Choice Award. In April 2016, Made In The A.M. went platinum in the United States.

Film[]

This Is Us[]

"This Is Us" was the first theatrical concert film about One Direction, detailing what life is like for the band as they tour the world. It was shot in 3D. Filming started in January 2013. It was released in most countries at the end of August 2013. This Is Us is currently the fourth highest grossing concert movie, grossing over six times the film's budget. The band's music video for "Best Song Ever" featured preview clips from the film, and the plot of the video centered around One Direction being asked by a Hollywood production company to film a movie. The band has made suggestive comments in interviews about the documentary being heavily scripted.

Where We Are[]

"One Direction: Where We Are - The Concert Film" was the second theatrical concert film of One Direction, showcasing one concert at San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy, during the band's 2014 Where We Are world tour. The film was exclusively released to cinema for two days from October 11, 2014. While mostly centered around the concert, the DVD featured behind the scenes footage of the band rehearsing songs, while discussing their success so far and recording their fourth album. The footage also showed the band visiting Christ The Redeemer in Rio De Janeiro on a day off. The film broke the record for the highest grossing event cinema production with a net total of $15 million.

Filmography[]

Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	The X Factor (UK)	Contestant	Seventh series, group formed, placed third
2011	One Direction: A Year in the Making	Self	ITV2 special, documentry The X Factor to the present
2012	I'm in a Boy Band!	Self	Part 1 of a BBC series, 1D were interviewed/appeared
	Kids' Choice Awards	Self	Attended, performed "What Makes You Beautiful"
	iCarly	Guest star	"iGo One Direction"; guest role and performed
	Saturday Night Live	Self	"Sofia Vergara/One Direction ", musical guest
2013	Big Time Invasion	Self	Cameo
2013	Ant & Dec Saturday Night Takeaway	Self	Got pranked
Film
2012	Up All Night: The Live Tour	Self	DVD, concert filmed during the Up All Night Tour
2013	This Is Us	Self	Theatrical 3D concert film
2014	Where We Are	Self	Concert film that took place in San Siro, Milan during the Where We Are Tour

Band Members[]

Current members[]

Former member[]

Zayn Malik (2010-2015)

Backing band[]

2010-2015[]

Josh Devine – drums
Dan Richards – guitar
Jon Shone – keyboard, percussion
Sandy Beales – bass

Discography[]

Up All Night (2011)
Take Me Home (2012)
Midnight Memories (2013)
Four (2014)
Made in the A.M. (2015)
Perfect EP (2015)

Concert tours[]

Headlining[]

Opening act[]

X Factor Live Tour (2011)
Better With U Tour (2012)

Awards and Nominations[]

Since 2011, One Direction has won a total of 245 awards and has been nominated for 366. Some of the more significant awards include two consecutive American Music Awards for Artist Of The Year, won in 2014 and 2015. The band also won four BRIT Awards and four World Music Awards.

Publications[]

One Direction: Forever Young, HarperCollins (February 17, 2011)
One Direction: The Official Annual 2012, HarperCollins (September 1, 2011)
Dare to Dream: Life as One Direction, HarperCollins (September 15, 2011)
One Direction: The Official Annual 2013, HarperCollins (August 30, 2012)
One Direction: Where We Are: Our Band, Our Story, HarperCollins (August 27, 2013)
One Direction: The Official Annual 2014, HarperCollins (August 29, 2013)
Who We Are: Our Autobiography, HarperCollins (September 25, 2014)
One Direction: The Official Annual 2015, HarperCollins (October 21, 2014)
One Direction: The Official Annual 2016, HarperCollins (October 2, 2015)

References[]

One Direction on One Direction Wiki.