One
Direction are a British-Irish boy band formed in London in
2010, consisting of members Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne,
Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson. They signed with Simon Cowell's
record label Syco Records after being formed and finishing third in
the seventh series of British television music competition The X
Factor. They subsequently signed in North America with Columbia
Records. One Direction came to international prominence with the
global release of their debut album Up All Night in early 2012.
Buoyed by the international hit "What Makes You Beautiful", the
album topped charts worldwide and saw One Direction inducted into
the Guinness World Records, by debuting at number one on the US
Billboard 200 chart, making One Direction the first British group
in US chart history to debut at number one with their first album.
Preceded by record-breaking lead single, "Live While We're Young",
the group's second studio album Take Me Home is scheduled for
release on 12 November 2012. A follow-up world tour is set to run
for most of 2013, with tickets grossing US$15.7 million for their
Australian and New Zealand dates. Besides their musical endeavours,
One Direction have supported various charities and foundations, and
have commercial endorsements with Pokémon, Nokia, HarperCollins and
Hasbro. One Direction have been described as sparking a resurgence
in the boy band concept, and of forming part of a new "British
Invasion" in the United States. Generating millions in combined
music, merchandising and touring sales, as of June 2012, according
to Nick Gatfield, the chairman and chief executive of Sony Music
Entertainment UK, One Direction represent an US$50 million business
empire. By August 2012, One Direction have sold 12 million records.
Their achievements include a BRIT Award and 3 MTV Video Music
Awards. The Huffington Post proclaimed 2012 "The Year of One
Direction". History: The X Factor, formation and record deal
(2010-11): In 2010, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry
Styles and Louis Tomlinson auditioned as solo candidates for the
seventh series of British television music competition The X
Factor. Failing to progress to the "Boys" category at "judges'
houses", after a suggestion by guest judge Nicole Scherzinger, they
were put together to form a five-piece boy band at Wembley Arena,
London, England, 23 July 2010, during the "bootcamp" stage of the
competition, thus qualifying for the "Groups" category.
Subsequently, the group got together for two weeks to get to know
each other and to practise. Styles came up with the name One
Direction as he thought it would sound good when The X Factor
announcer read their name out on the live shows. For their
qualifying song at "judges' houses", and their first song as a
group, One Direction sang an acoustic version of "Torn". In the
live shows, after the elimination of F.Y.D., Diva Fever and Belle
Amie within four weeks, they were Simon Cowell's last act in the
competition. The group quickly gained popularity in the UK. One
Direction finished in third place behind runner-up Rebecca Ferguson
and winner Matt Cardle. Immediately after the final, their song
"Forever Young", which would have been released if they had won The
X Factor, was leaked onto the internet. Shortly afterwards it was
confirmed, One Direction had been signed by Cowell to a £2 million
Syco Records record contract. Recording for their debut album began
in January 2011, as they flew to Los Angeles to work with producer
RedOne. In February, One Direction and nine other contestants from
the series participated in the X Factor Live Tour. The tour saw the
group performing for 500,000 people throughout the UK. After the
tour concluded that April, the group continued working on their
début album, recording took place in Sweden, UK, and the United
States, as One Direction worked with producers Carl Falk, Savan
Kotecha, Steve Mac, and Rami Yacoub, among others. Up All Night and
international breakthrough (2011-12): Released in September 2011,
One Direction's debut single "What Makes You Beautiful" debuted at
number one on the UK Singles Chart, after becoming the most
pre-ordered Sony Music Entertainment single in history. Subsequent
singles "Gotta Be You" and "One Thing" both peaked within the UK
Singles Chart top ten. In November 2011, they signed a record deal
with Columbia Records in North America. "What Makes You Beautiful"
was released in the United States in February 2012, where it
debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 28, becoming the highest
debut for a British act since 1998. It peaked at number 4 and has
sold over 3 million units in the US. Upon arrival in the US in
February 2012, One Direction embarked on a radio promotion spree,
as well as their first American concert tour as an opening act for
Big Time Rush. They made their first television appearance in the
US on The Today Show on 12 March at the Rockefeller Center, an
estimated 15,000 fans descended on the plaza. Critically commended
for its appeal to the teenage audience, One Direction's debut
studio album, Up All Night, was released globally in early 2012. It
became the UK's fastest-selling debut album of 2011, and topped the
charts in sixteen countries. Garnering One Direction a place in the
Guinness World Records, it debuted at number one on the US
Billboard 200 chart, making One Direction the first British group
in US chart history to debut at number one with their debut album.
As of July 2012, Up All Night is 2012's second biggest-selling
album in the US. By August 2012, the album has sold over 3 million
units worldwide. One Direction attended the 2012 Brit Awards at
which "What Makes You Beautiful" won the BRIT Award for Best
British Single. In April 2012, an American band from California,
who went by the same name, filed a trademark infringement lawsuit.
One Direction were sued in the United States by a group of the same
name for $1 million in damages and asked for a share of the group's
royalties; the latter claimed they had received hate mail and death
threats from fans of the UK group. Syco Records counter-sued,
suggesting the US group was trying to make money from One
Direction's success and that the boy band was the first to use the
name in US interstate commerce. The BBC reported in September 2012
that the UK group won the legal dispute over the right to keep
using their band name; the US band changed its name to Uncharted
Shores while One Direction will keep their name. The name change
was announced in a joint statement that also noted both groups were
happy with the outcome. In December 2011, One Direction embarked on
their first headlining UK concert tour, the Up All Night Tour. In
early 2012, they announced Australasian and North American legs of
the concert tour, with dates from April to July 2012. The tour,
resulting in 62 shows, was met with positivity both critically and
commercially. A recording of a concert from the tour, Up All Night:
The Live Tour, was released in May 2012. In addition to the DVD
topping the charts in twenty-five countries, as of August 2012, its
global sales had exceeded 1 million copies. In June 2012, Nick
Gatfield, chairman and chief executive officer of Sony Music
Entertainment UK, stated how he expects One Direction to represent
a $100 million business empire over 2013. "What you might not know
about One Direction is that they already represent a $50 million
business and that's a figure we expect to double next year". On 1
August 2012, with sales of 8 million singles, 3 million albums and
1 million DVDs, One Direction were presented with discs by Syco and
Sony Music. On 12 August 2012, One Direction performed "What Makes
You Beautiful" at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in
London, which represented the handover to Rio de Janeiro as the
host of the 2016 Summer Olympics. On 6 September 2012, One
Direction performed "One Thing" at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards.
They won Best New Artist, Best Pop Video and Most Share-Worthy
Video for "What Makes You Beautiful". Take Me Home and world tour
(2012): In May 2012, One Direction began recording their second
studio album Take Me Home, in Stockholm, Sweden. In April 2012, The
Independent reported that Cowell challenged music's "most
successful" songwriters to compete for space on One Direction's
second studio album, after the global success of their debut
album.Dee Demirbag, responsible for international artists and
repertoire at music publisher, BMG Rights Management in
Scandinavia, said: "Breaking a boy band in the US is about as big
as it gets in the music industry, so you can imagine the
competition to get cuts on the next One Direction album is
immense." The same month, Styles stated, "we're always writing on
the road and in hotels and airports. We don't ever want our music
to sound like a 40-year-old man in an office has written it and
given it to us to perform."Take Me Home is scheduled for release on
12 November 2012, and was preceded by lead single, "Live While
We're Young", which was released on 28 September 2012. One
Direction are due to headline New York City's Madison Square Garden
on 3 December 2012. One Direction are also set to embark on their
second concert tour, the 2013 World Tour, in February 2013. The
concert tour thus far consists of 101 shows in the UK, Ireland,
North America and Australasia. In the UK and Ireland, ticket sales
reached 300,000 within a day of release, which included a six date
sell out at London's The O2 Arena. In North America, the group
added additional shows due to "overwhelming demand". In Australian
and New Zealand markets, tickets grossed US$15.7 million, with all
190,000 tickets being sold for eighteen shows to be held in
Australia and New Zealand. Musical style: One Direction's debut
studio album, Up All Night (2011), is predominantly a pop music
record, containing elements of teen pop, dance pop, pop rock and
power pop, with electropop and rock influences.Digital Spy's Robert
Copsey described the album as a "collection of pg pop rock with
killer choruses", while The New York Times considered it "full of
easy rock-inflected pop, blithe and sometimes clever." Jason
Lipshutz of Billboard opined that the album demonstrates an
originality in sound that was "necessary for the revitalization of
the boy band movement", comparing their "pop harmonies" to those of
boy bands 'N Sync, Backstreet Boys and 98 Degrees. Songs "One
Thing" and "What Makes You Beautiful" were particularly noted for
the genres of power pop and pop rock, for their "powerhouse" guitar
riffs and "forceful" choruses. Vocally, in live settings, Erica
Futterman, writing in Rolling Stone, asserted their acoustic
performances as both showing off "Horan's ability to play guitar,
as well as One Direction's admirable live vocals. There was no need
to worry about a backing track or a bum note, a pleasant
realization at a pop show."Herald Sun's Cameron Adams opined that
One Direction contain "strong pop voices", Melody Lau of National
Post wrote similar commentary, "It's easy to get lost in inherent
appeal of their perfectly coiffed dos and almost-too-put-together
preppy style but somewhere in the midst of all the love-struck
squeals of teenage girls are guys who can actually sing and, to a
certain extent, entertain."The Washington Post writer Chris
Richards dissented, "As the five traded couplets, it was tough to
imagine a future Justin Timberlake, Ricky Martin or Bobby Brown
emerging from the pack. No one voice stood out." Jane Stevenson of
portal site Canoe wrote, "What I didn't really prepare myself for
was that they all can actually sing in concert." Mike Wass of
Idolator felt One Direction's "surprisingly accomplished effort" of
King of Leon's "Use Somebody" proved that One Direction are "more
than capable" of evolving their sound in the future. Image: Neil
McCormick from The Daily Telegraph published an article on the
nature of One Direction's success in North America, noting that
Americans had left a gap in the market, writing that it took the
prominence of Justin Bieber to demonstrate that there was still a
market for "clean cut, wholesome, whiter- than-white, middle class
parent friendly pop: cute boys advocating puppy love. It is safe
sex for dangerous times. And what could be better than one cute
boy, if not five?" One Direction have been described as sparking
the resurgence in the boy band concept, and as forming part of a
new "British Invasion" in the United States. Bill Werde, a
representative of Billboard magazine commented, "There's a lot of
possibility here, there's a lot of upside, that level of talent
with those kinds of looks, it's really a perfect storm for a
massive, massive successful phenomenon." Sonny Takhar, the chief
executive officer of Syco Records, attributes the breakthrough to
the power of social media. "Sometimes you feel the song's the star,
but it's not like that here - it's the act," he said. "It's a real
moment. Social media has become the new radio, it's never broken an
act globally like this before." Will Bloomfield, the group's
manager, added, "These guys live online, and so do their fans."
Their management employs a social media team and the members all
tweet themselves, "which helps create the illusion that they
couldn't be any closer to their fans." One Direction's Twitter
account had amassed 5 million followers as of July 2012, with the
account gaining followers at an average of 20,000 per day. Each
member is known for his feature; Horan is "the cute one", Malik is
"the quiet and mysterious one", Payne is "the sensible one", Styles
is "the charming one" and Tomlinson is "the funny one". Horan
commented on One Direction as a boy band, "People think that a boy
band is air-grabs and being dressed in all one colour. We're boys
in a band. We're trying to do something different from what people
would think is the typical kind of boy band. We're trying to do
different kinds of music and we're just trying to be ourselves, not
squeaky clean." Leah Collins, writing for the National Post,
remarked that One Direction had succeeded on the latter front, "For
the most part, that just means the group presents themselves as
typical, goofy and uncensored teenage boys - posting jokey YouTube
videos, for instance, or boozing at awards shows." Writing for The
Observer, Kitty Empire opined, "Dance routines are fundamental to
the boy band - or at least, to 90s Take That and late-00s JLS. One
Direction fulfil a great many boy band prerequisites (looks, soppy
lyrics, tune-grasp, fame-lust) but their lack of routines points to
the subtle digressions afoot here." Jon Caramanica of The New York
Times noted, "The story of boy bands is inevitably the story of
disbandment", although he felt, "Given that the band has built some
dissonance into its act, it may take awhile for that to happen to
One Direction." Other ventures: One Direction have released three
books, published by HarperCollins, the books contains personal
snaps, unseen photographs, as well as written accounts of every
member of One Direction. The first One Direction-licensed book, One
Direction: Forever Young (Our Official X Factor Story), was
released on 17 February 2011. The book reached the number one spot
on The Sunday Times Best Seller list. Their second book, One
Direction: The Official Annual 2012, was published on 1 September
2011. On 15 September 2011, One Direction released their third book
Dare to Dream: Life as One Direction. The book was also able to
secure the top spot in The Sunday Times Non Fiction Hardback
Bestseller list.Dare to Dream: Life as One Direction was published
in the United States on 22 May 2012, subsequently topping The New
York Times Best Seller list. In 2011, One Direction released their
first calendar for 2012, the One Direction 2012 Calendar. In
December 2011, amazon.com revealed that One Direction have achieved
the top selling celebrity calendar of all time in the UK. One
Direction became the brand ambassadors for Pokémon Black and White
since April 2011. They starred in a series of television ads, as
well as special events performing for and meeting fans. They also
launched limited edition Nokia C2-02 and Nokia C3-00 phones, which
contain exclusive content such as One Direction wallpapers,
ringtones, and behind the scenes videos of the band. In April 2012,
Hasbro announced an agreement with One Direction to produce a new
line of toys and games based on the group. The range will be sold
globally in the autumn of 2012, with the exception of the UK and
Ireland. Philanthropy: In 2010, when One Direction were contestants
on The X Factor, they and their fellow series seven contestants
released a cover of David Bowie's "Heroes" in aid of Help for
Heroes. The song, said to have been recorded in the week beginning
18 October 2010, was released as a charity single in aid of Help
for Heroes, a charity which supports injured servicemen and women.
All sixteen finalists performed the song on 20 November 2010's
results show. The single entered both the Irish Singles Chart on 25
November 2010 and the UK Singles Chart on 28 November 2010 at
number one. In 2012, One Direction contributed to the fundraiser
cookbook Dish for a Wish. The proceeds from sales of the book
benefit the Rays of Sunshine Children's Charity, an organisation
that grants the wishes of sick children in the UK. On 9 May 2012,
One Direction visited the ill children of the charity. In April
2012, One Direction teamed up with Charitybuzz to help raise money
in aid for the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity. VIP
tickets to meet the band in person on their North American leg of
their Up All Night Tour were made available with the proceeds going
to the children's charity. In April 2012, they also aided the
California Earthquake Authority (CEA) through bidding auctions to
meet the band. In July 2012, One Direction teamed up with British
Airways in a 'text-to-win' competition, which was launched on
social networking websites, giving eight fans the chance to fly
with the band on an one hour flight organised by British Airways.
Money raised from the competition went to Flying Start, British
Airways' global charity partnership with Comic Relief, to help
children in the UK and some of the world's poorest countries.
Members: Niall Horan: Niall James Horan, born (1993-09-13) 13
September 1993 (age 19), is from Mullingar, County Westmeath,
Republic of Ireland. Born to mother Maura Gallagher and father
Bobby Horan, he has an older brother named Greg. Their parents
divorced when he was five. He and his brother lived between each of
their homes for a few years before eventually deciding to live with
their father in Mullingar. Horan was a pupil at Coláiste Mhuire, a
boys' Christian Brothers school. He was in the school choir,
performing seasonally around Christmas. Prior to participating in
The X Factor, he performed around his homeland, including as a
support act for Lloyd Daniels in Dublin. Horan has been playing
guitar since his childhood. Horan has also stated that he is a "big
swing" fan, citing favourite artists Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and
Michael Bublé. Horan also cites rock music favourably and is a fan
of The Eagles, Bon Jovi and The Script. Zayn Malik: Zain Javadd
"Zayn" Malik, born (1993-01-12) 12 January 1993 (age 19) in St.
Luke's Hospital, is from Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Born to
British Pakistani father Yaser and an English mother, Tricia Malik
(née Brannan), he has one older sister Doniya, and two younger
sisters Waliyha and Safaa. He grew up in East Bowling, and was a
pupil at Lower Fields Primary School and went to Tong High School,
a state comprehensive school. Malik did not fit in at his first two
schools due to his mixed heritage, revealing that when he and his
older sister moved schools he felt he fitted in better. After
moving schools at the age twelve, Malik, states he started taking
pride in his appearance. On auditioning for The X Factor, Malik
said "I was looking for an experience". He cites urban music as his
main musical influence, growing up, he was into R&B and rap.
For his X Factor audition, he performed the Mario R&B song,
"Let Me Love You". He as well as other members of One Direction
further notes artists such as Bruno Mars, as a "dream
collaborator." Malik is addicted to smoking cigarettes; in late
2011, he expressed his desire to quit. Malik once wrote on Twitter,
"La ila ha ill lalla ho muhammed door rasoolalah", the message is
regarded as a common declaration of faith among Muslims meaning:
"There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the prophet of Allah."
In May 2012, Malik confirmed he is dating Little Mix member Perrie
Edwards. Liam Payne: Liam James Payne, born (1993-08-29) 29 August
1993 (age 19), is from Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. Born
three weeks early to mother Karen and father Geoff, he has two
older sisters, Ruth and Nicola. Until the age of four, Payne had
regular tests done in hospital as doctors noticed one of his
kidneys was scarred and dysfunctional. To help cope with the pain,
he had 32 injections in his arm in the morning and evening as a
child. As a student, Payne was heavily involved in sports. Payne
was bullied in secondary school and took up boxing lessons at the
age of twelve. He was a music technology student at City of
Wolverhampton College. Payne had once performed in front of a
26,000 crowd at a Wolverhampton Wanderers' football match. Payne
first auditioned in 2008 to The X Factor's fifth series when he was
fourteen. He made it to the judges' houses, but Cowell thought he
was not ready for the competition and asked him to come back in two
years. Payne cites Justin Timberlake as one of his biggest
influences. He also says he draws inspiration from Take That member
Gary Barlow when performing. He is currently in a relationship with
dancer Danielle Peazer, who has performed with acts such as The
Saturdays and Jessie J. They met on The X Factor in 2010 and have
been in a relationship ever since. Peazer has received death
threats and other forms of cyber bullying on social networking
website Twitter, due to her relationship with Payne. Harry Styles:
Harry Edward Styles, born (1994-02-01) 1 February 1994 (age 18) is
from the village of Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, England. He is a
former pupil at Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School, a state
comprehensive school. Born to mother Anne Cox and father Des
Styles, he has an older sister, Gemma. He was seven when their
parents divorced, his mother later getting remarried. Following the
divorce, Styles, his older sister and mother moved further out into
the Cheshire countryside. At the age of twelve he moved back to
Holmes Chapel. Styles was the lead singer for the band White Eskimo
with band members lead guitarist Haydn Morris, bass guitarist Nick
Clough and drummer Will Sweeny. They had once entered a Battle of
the Bands competition, which they won. Prior to participating in
The X Factor, the then sixteen-year old Styles had a part-time job
at the W. Mandeville Bakery in Holmes Chapel. As a child, Styles
loved singing, noting Elvis Presley as one of his influences. He
also cites Presley for his musical beginnings. Styles also cites
contemporaries, Foster the People, Coldplay and Kings of Leon among
his influences. Styles states that The X Factor gave him "a lot
more" confidence as a performer and singer. Styles says that he
often looks to Coldplay front man Chris Martin for inspiration when
performing on stage. Styles also states that The Beatles had a
profound influence on him growing up, as his father would play
their music. He briefly dated English television presenter Caroline
Flack, which caused widespread media controversy over their
fifteen-year age gap. Louis Tomlinson: Louis William Tomlinson,
born Louis Troy Austin,(1991-12-24) 24 December 1991 (age 20), is
from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. Born to mother Johannah
Poulston and father Troy Austin, his parents split when he was
young and he took on his stepfather Mark Tomlinson's name. He has
five younger half-sisters, and two of them had roles as babies on
television series Fat Friends, on which he would go along and serve
as an extra. After Fat Friends, he attended an acting school in
Barnsley. He had small parts in an ITV1 drama film If I Had You and
BBC's Waterloo Road. He was a sixth form student at Hall Cross
School, a state comprehensive school, and a former pupil of the
Hayfield School. He revealed that he failed his first year of A
levels at the Hayfield School. He ended up going back to Hall Cross
and started A levels over again. As a student at Hall Cross,
Tomlinson starred in several musical productions. He had a number
of jobs, including at a Vue cinema and at Doncaster Rovers football
stadium as a waiter in their hospitality suites. Tomlinson revealed
that landing the lead role of Danny Zuko in a high school musical
production of Grease motivated him to audition for The X Factor.
Tomlinson cites Robbie Williams as his biggest influence and idol.
In an interview with Now Magazine, he stated: "I've always loved
Robbie. He's just so cheeky, he can get away with anything. His
performances are unbelievable." He also admires recording artist Ed
Sheeran, describing him as "phenomenal." Tomlinson is currently in
a relationship with Manchester University politics and sociology
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