One Direction

One Direction was an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010, consisting of Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson. All five auditioned separately for the seventh series of The X Factor UK, but judge Simon Cowell and guest judge Nicole Scherzinger placed them into a group after their solo eliminations. They finished third in the competition, and Cowell signed them to his label Syco Records, with distribution through Sony Music.

Their debut single, “What Makes You Beautiful,” arrived in September 2011. It became their first UK number-one single and introduced the group with a bright pop-rock sound and an instantly recognizable guitar riff. The song led the album Up All Night, released in November 2011. It topped charts in sixteen countries and made One Direction the first British group to debut at number-one on the US Billboard 200 with a debut album.

Their rapid rise continued through the Up All Night Tour, which began in December 2011, and their second album, Take Me Home, released in November 2012. It included “Live While We’re Young” and “Little Things,” the latter written by Ed Sheeran and Fiona Bevan. The group documented its early fame in the 2013 3-D concert film This Is Us, directed by Morgan Spurlock. During 2013, One Direction undertook the Take Me Home Tour and announced its third album, Midnight Memories.

Released in November 2013, it contained “Story of My Life” and “Best Song Ever,” while its title track reflected a somewhat more guitar-led direction. The accompanying Where We Are Tour became the highest-grossing concert tour of 2014, according to Pollstar, and included two performances at Milan’s San Siro Stadium filmed for a concert release.

Their fourth studio album, Four, followed in November 2014. “Steal My Girl” and “Night Changes” were prominent singles, and Four also became their fourth consecutive album to debut at number one in the US. In March 2015, Malik left the band, citing stress and a desire to be a normal twenty-two-year-old.

One Direction continued as a quartet, releasing Made in the A.M. in November 2015. The album produced “Drag Me Down,” their first single without Malik, and “Perfect,” co-written by Styles. Made in the A.M. was supported by the extensive 2015 On the Road Again Tour, but the band announced an indefinite hiatus after completing scheduled touring commitments. Their final televised performance as a group took place on The X Factor UK in December 2015.

The group’s five-album run and stadium tours helped make it one of pop’s defining acts of the 2010s worldwide and beyond today.