One Direction

One Direction
Information
Origin	United Kingdom, Ireland
Genres	Pop, Rock
Years active	2010 - 2016
Labels	Syco Music; Columbia Records; Capitol Records;
Website	onedirectionmusic.com
Members
	Louis Tomlinson; Niall Horan; Harry Styles; Liam Payne †; Zayn Malik (formerly);

One Direction (1D) were a British + Irish pop boy band consisting of Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and Niall Horan. Zayn Malik exited the band on March 25, 2015. Liam Payne died on October 16, 2024. The group were active from 2010 to 2016.

They were solo contestants placed into a group during the seventh season of The X Factor UK in 2010, where they finished in third place. The group was subsequently signed to Simon Cowell's record label, Syco Music.

After releasing five best-selling albums between 2011 and 2015, the band announced an indefinite hiatus, beginning January 2016. By May 2017, all members had released solo material, and by January 2020, all band members had released solo albums.

Background

In early 2010, teenagers Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik auditioned as solo performers for the seventh season of British reality/talent show, The X Factor (UK). For Liam Payne, it was his second audition process. Payne had first auditioned in 2008, but was eliminated during the judge's houses portion, due to his age and inexperience. For Louis Tomlinson, it was his third audition process and 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 father's bungalow in Cheshire, England^[1]. One Direction were the favorite act to win throughout the 2010 season of X Factor, generating massiv,e unprecedented fan and 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 13th, 2010.

Musical Career

One Direction's debut single, "What Makes You Beautiful" was released on 11 September 2011, and debuted on the United Kingdom Singles Chart at #1 on September 18, 2011. It became the third fastest selling single of 2011, selling 153,965 copies. The song also reached #1 in Ireland, Mexico and Scotland. It peaked at #4 in the United States, but reached #1 on the US Dance Club Songs chart. It is one of the best selling singles of all time, with over 7 million copies sold worldwide. Their debut 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.

The band's second 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.

One Direction's third 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 creative contributions increase 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.

Their fourth 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 Malik exited the band permanently on March 25, 2015, citing exhaustion and a desire to live a more normal life. The band continued the world tour and it eventually concluded as intended on October 31, 2015.

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 debuting at #1 in 13 countries, and eventually becoming one of the highest selling songs of 2015. Perfect was also successful, reaching #1 in 4 countries, and peaking at #2 in the UK, #4 in Australia and #10 in the US. History peaked at #6 in the United Kingdom and #3 in Scotland.

In the nine years since becoming a band, One Direction 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. In 2016, they were the second highest earning celebrities of the year, earning over $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 Malik's Departure

On 25 March 2015, a statement posted on One Direction's official Facebook page confirmed that Zayn Malik had officially and permanently exited the band^[2]. His sudden departure made worldwide headlines, as One Direction were in the process of completing their fourth world tour at the time. Malik had previously been signed off from the tour a week before, but had been expected to return after a short trip back to his hometown in London. It was speculated at the time Malik was signed off due to relationship troubles with then-fiancée Perrie Edwards. Malik was photographed holding hands with and embracing another woman days before he was signed off, and angrily denied claims of infidelity on Twitter.

One Direction's last picture as a group of 5

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 on January 29, 2016, and his debut album, Mind of Mine, on March 25, 2016. Niall, Harry, Liam and Louis continued One Direction as a four piece. The band's relationship with Zayn was initially strained, with Louis and Zayn clashing on Twitter in April 2015 and Harry making several underhanded comments suggesting continued tension. In 2017, Zayn claimed he and Harry rarely spoke during their time as bandmates. Louis and Liam would suggest over the next several years that they fell in and out of contact with Zayn numerous times.

Band Hiatus

One Direction went on indefinite hiatus in January 2016, allowing all members to pursue other projects. The band's final performance as a group was on The X Factor (UK)'s 2015 grand final episode. Their final televised performance as a group took place on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve on 31 December 2015.

On 23 August 2015, UK tabloid publication The Sun reported One Direction would be taking a break in 2016^[3]. On August 25, Niall confirmed on Twitter that the band would take a break from touring^[4]. The hiatus was the band's first, and only, break from touring and collaborating together since 2010.

All four members defined the hiatus as a "well-deserved" break^[5]. 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.^[6]"

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".

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^[7]". 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^[8]. As of 2020, they had 7 year-end singles, solo and band, on Billboard.

Solo Careers

Liam: In 2016, Liam signed with Capitol Records. A year later, Liam premiered his debut solo single, "Strip That Down", co-written by Ed Sheeran and featuring American rapper Quavo. It was a worldwide top 10 hit. He spent 2017 conducting American promotional radio tours and performing at music festivals worldwide. Liam released four more singles; "Bedroom Floor" (co-written by US singer Charlie Puth), "For You" (a duet with UK singer Rita Ora, for the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack), "Get Low" (a collaboration with German-Russian dance producer Zedd) and "Familiar" (a duet with Colombian singer J Balvin). Of the four, the most successful was "For You", peaking in the top 5 and 10 of many worldwide charts, and scoring both Payne and Ora their first #1 single in Germany. In late 2018, Liam delayed his debut record, but released an EP titled First Time on 24 August 2018. He also featured on Jonas Blue's single "Polaroid" along with Lennon Stella. Liam released his debut solo album, LP1, on 6 December 2019. The album received very poor reviews and was not a commercial success worldwide, peaking at #17 in the UK. One track titled "Both Ways" received online criticism for lyrics perceived to be fetishizing female bisexuality. The official singles for the album were "Strip That Down", "Get Low", "Bedroom Floor", "Familiar", "Stack It Up", "All I Want (For Christmas)" and "Live Forever". Despite the previous success of Strip That Down, the remaining singles only found mild success. In April 2020, Payne began a weekly YouTube series. In July, he announced he would be launching The LP Show, a livestream series, with "Act 1" being a livestreamed concert. On 9 October 2020, Payne released Midnight Hour, a collaborative EP with producer Alesso. It was preceded by the single "Midnight", released that April. On 30 October 2020, Payne released "Naughty List", a Christmas single featuring Tik Tok star Dixie D'Amelio. In August 2021, Payne released the single "Sunshine", which was featured in the film Ron's Gone Wrong.

In May 2023, Payne announced that he was working on a second album. He planned his first solo tour, with dates for Latin America scheduled to take place in September 2023, but the tour was postponed after Payne was hospitalised in August 2023 with a kidney infection. Payne returned to music with the single "Teardrops", on 1 March 2024. The single was co-written with NSYNC member JC Chasez. On 16 October 2024, Payne died after falling from a third-floor hotel balcony hotel in Buenos Aires. "Teardrops" did not chart upon release, but debuted at number 85 on the UK Singles Chart following Payne's death. On 28 October 2024, Sam Pounds announced that Payne would be posthumously featured on his single "Do No Wrong". However, a day later, he delayed the single due to backlash, stating it was not the right time.

Harry: In 2016, Harry signed with Columbia Records. Harry's debut single Sign Of The Times premiered worldwide on April 7, 2017. The song was critically acclaimed and became a top 5 hit worldwide. His self-titled album, Harry Styles, 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. In July 2017, Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk, which featured Harry in his debut acting role, premiered worldwide to critical acclaim. Harry was chosen as the face of Gucci's 2018-2019 campaign and briefly served as an executive producer for short-lived American sitcom Happy Together, loosely based on his time living with Ben Winston. In May 2019, Harry served as a co-host for the Met Gala, alongside Lady Gaga, Alessandro Michele, Serena Williams and Anna Wintour. Harry released his second solo album, Fine Line, on 13 December 2019. The album spawned six singles - Lights Up, Adore You, Falling, Watermelon Sugar, Golden and Treat People With Kindness. Of the six, Adore You and Watermelon Sugar were worldwide top 5 hits, with the latter becoming Harry's first US #1 single and his first Grammy-winning song. Lights Up was a top 20 single worldwide and the music video (as well as Watermelon Sugar's) marked a more sexual image for Styles. The music video for Kindness featured actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Harry's second world tour, Love On Tour, was initially announced for 2020 but was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and concluded in 2023. In 2022, Harry starred in the films Don't Worry Darling and My Policeman. Styles third album, Harry's House, was released on 20 May 2022. The album debuted with the best first-week sales in Styles' career. It debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with 113,000 album-equivalent units, becoming the fastest-selling and best-selling album of 2022 in the country. It also debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 521,500 album-equivalent units, including 330,000 album sales. Harry's House was met with critical acclaim for its production. It was supported by singles "As It Was", "Late Night Talking", "Music for a Sushi Restaurant", and "Satellite"; the first of which debuted atop the UK and US charts, becoming Styles' second solo number-one song in both countries. Besides the chart-topper "As It Was", three other songs were concurrently in the top 10 of the US Billboard Hot 100. The album was featured on numerous 2022 year-end rankings and nominated for several awards, and Rolling Stone included it in their 2023 revision of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. At the 65th Grammy Awards, the album won Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.

Louis: In July 2016, Louis appeared alongside Simon Cowell on America's Got Talent, as a special guest judge. On 10 December 2016, Louis released a solo single, Just Hold On, in collaboration with DJ Steve Aoki. The duo premiered it live during 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. The pair embarked on a small US promotional tour together in January 2017, and Louis made his music festival debut, alongside Aoki, in March. In July 2017, Louis released his debut solo single Back To You featuring Bebe Rexha. It was a top 20 hit worldwide and reached #1 on iTunes in 50 countries. In November 2017, Louis performed live at the Royal Variety Performance, where he met Prince William and Kate Middleton. Louis released two more singles - Just Like You and Miss You. In 2018, Louis was a celebrity judge on the fifteenth season of The X Factor (UK), alongside Simon Cowell, singer Robbie Williams and Adya Field. He chose Liam Payne as his celebrity guest judge for the Judges Houses portion of the competition. In March 2019, Louis released another single titled "Two of Us". The song served as a dedication to his mother, Johannah, who passed away in 2016. Six days after the song's release, Tomlinson's 18 year old sister Felicite passed away from a drug overdose. In September 2019, Louis released the single "Kill My Mind" and performed for thousands at the Coca Cola Music Experience Festival in Madrid. His debut album, "Walls" was released on January 31, 2020. In July 2020, Tomlinson parted ways with Syco Music and announced he had begun writing his next album. Tomlinson held a digital concert Live From London on 12 December 2020, which sold over 160 thousand tickets, breaking the Guinness World Record as the most livestreamed concert for a male solo artist of the year and the third overall. The proceeds went to various charities such as FareShare, Crew Nation, Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice, Stagehand, as well as to tour crew who were struggling financially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2021, Tomlinson signed global deal with BMG to release his second album. In July 2021, Tomlinson announced The Away From Home Festival curated and conceived by him, on 30 August 2021 in London. In 2022, Tomlinson's second album, Faith in the Future, was released 11 November 2022. The album's lead single, "Bigger Than Me", was released on 1 September. Faith in the Future became Tomlinson's first solo album to debut at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart. In the US, the record debuted at No.5 on the Billboard Charts. Tomlinson's documentary All of Those Voices, which describes his personal journey of transitioning from a member of One Direction to a solo musician, released in limited theatres on 22 March 2023. The documentary was directed by Charlie Lightening. The film has been available to stream on Paramount+ since October 2023.

Tomlinson's second world tour, Faith in the Future World Tour, commenced in North America in May 2023. He performed in North America and Europe in 2023 and Asia, Australia and Latin America in 2024. During the Latin America leg, Tomlinson became the first male solo artist to headline Mexico City's Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. He held a charity livestream of the event titled For Every Question Why, the proceeds of which went to War Child UK.

Tomlinson released a surprise album Live in April 2024, featuring live performances from his Louis Tomlinson World Tour and Faith in the Future World Tour. The album features recordings from 15 different shows in 15 cities. Upon the conclusion of his second tour, Tomlinson embarked on a summer 2024 festival circuit, including the Main Square Festival, Pinkpop, Ruisrock, Santander Music, Untold Festival, Sziget Festival, Frequency Festival, Victorious Festival, and Lollapalooza Berlin. In 2024, Tomlinson won "Artist of the Year" at the inaugural Northern Music Awards. Later that year, Tomlinson was featured in Adidas documentary Under The Tongue about the origins of Adidas Predator. On 28 August 2023, Tomlinson officially launched his "28" streetwear-inspired unisex clothing line. The brand has also been referred to as 28 Clothing and 28 Official Programme (28OP). Tomlinson described creating the brand as fulfilling a "creative itch that [he] wanted to scratch". In July 2023, actor Kit Connor wore a 28 piece in a photoshoot for The Guardian. Tomlinson states that 28 is separate from his personal merchandise and stands "on its own two feet without his face attached". He had been interested in fashion since childhood, and toyed with the idea of creating a brand for over a decade. The White Rose of York is incorporated into the branding, as Tomlinson is from Yorkshire.

Niall: In 2016, Niall began the Horan and Rose annual charity golfing event, in collaboration with golfer Justin Rose, which would go on to raise over £1.5 million pounds for cancer research in three years. He also helped launch Modest!Golf, a golf management company, alongside One Direction's former management team, Modest Management. Niall simultaneously 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. He won the 2017 American Music Award for Best New Artist. In May 2017, Niall released his second single, "Slow Hands", which became a top 5 hit worldwide, and reached #1 on US pop radio. His first solo tour, "Flicker Sessions 2017", began in August 2017, and was followed by an arena tour from March 2018. In late 2017, he signed with modelling agency Wilhelmina Models. 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. In 2019, he appeared on American singer Julia Michael's single "What A Time". His second album "Heartbreak Weather" was released on 13 March 2020, approximately the same week most of the world went into quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The album still debuted at #1 in Ireland and the UK, and #4 in the US. Four singles were released - Nice To Meet Ya, Put A Little Love On Me, No Judgement and Black & White. Whilst in lockdown, Niall co-wrote a new version of Ashe's song, "Moral of the Story", which was released in June 2020. Horan livestreamed a concert from Royal Albert Hall on 7 November 2020. On 21 May 2021, Horan and English singer Anne-Marie released "Our Song", which peaked at #13 in the UK. In August 2021, Niall guest hosted Jimmy Kimmel's Late Show. On 17 March 2023, Horan performed the song at the White House for U.S. President Joe Biden and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar's Saint Patrick's Day celebration. Horan's third album, The Show, was released on 9 June 2023. The Show debuted at number 1 in eight countries, including the Irish and UK album charts, and number 2 in the United States of America.Horan made his festival debut at the Boston Calling Music Festival and also performed at other festivals such as the Isle of Wight Festival and TRNSMT in summer 2023. In early 2023, Horan became one of the coaches on the 23rd season of The Voice. Horan returned for the 24th season in late 2023. On 23 May 2023, Gina Miles, a member of Horan's team, won The Voice, making Horan the winning coach on his first season. On 19 December 2023, Huntley, also a member from Horan's team, won the 24th season, making Horan the winning coach for the second consecutive time. In May 2025, it was announced that Horan would return to The Voice after a three season-hiatus for the 28th season, which premieres in late 2025.

Zayn: After exiting the band, Zayn signed with RCA Records in July 2015. His debut single, "Pillowtalk", was released in January 2016 and his debut album, Mind of Mine, was released on 25 March 2016, a year to the day he left One Direction. The album debuted at #1 in the USA, making Zayn the first British male artist to debut at number one in both the UK and US with his debut album. Zayn featured on several collaborative singles including "Who" from the 2016 Ghostbusters soundtrack, "Cruel" from electronic dance duo Snakehips, a remix of Chris Brown's single "Back To Sleep" and an M.I.A song titled "Freedun". In November 2016, he released his first autobiography titled "Z". In December 2016, he surprise released "I Don't Wanna Live Forever", with American singer Taylor Swift for the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack. It became one of the highest selling songs of the year and was nominated for a Grammy Award. In 2017, Zayn released "Still Got Time" with Canadian rapper PartyNextDoor, to moderate success. Throughout 2017, Zayn began venturing into fashion, collaborating with Versace, Giuseppe and Vogue. In September 2017, Zayn released "Dusk Till Dawn" a duet with Australian singer Sia, for the The Mountain Between Us soundtrack. The song was a top 10 hit. In 2018, Zayn released singles "Let Me", "Entertainer", "Sour Diesel" and "Too Much", a collaboration with American producer Timbaland. Only "Let Me" found moderate UK success. In December 2018, Zayn's second album "Icarus Falls" was released, but not promoted. In May 2019, Zayn appeared on the soundtrack for the live action remake of Aladdin, singing "A Whole New World" with Zhavia Ward. He collaborated with numerous artists such as R3HAB, Sabrina Claudio and Shaed. Zayn released his third album "Nobody is Listening" in January 2021. On 13 September 2021, Malik released three songs: "Grimez", "Believe Me" and "47 11" together dubbed Yellow Tape via Dropbox. In October 2021, RCA dropped Malik from their label. In 2023, Malik signed a new management contract with United Talent Agency and signed a new recording contract with Mercury Records. Malik released a single titled "Love Like This" on 21 July 2023.

Zayn's fourth album, Room Under The Stairs, was released on 17 May 2024. Zayn released a 45 seconds teaser-trailer on 6 March 2024 and made the album available for pre-order. Zayn announced his first-ever solo live show at the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire on 17 May in celebration of the release of Room Under the Stairs. The album debuted at number three on the UK Albums Chart, and also debuted at number fifteen on the US Billboard 200. In 2024, Zayn embarked on his first concert tour - Stairway to The Sky - from November until March 2025.

Group: In 2016, One Direction won Best Live Act at the Silver Cleft Awards, Best International Artist at the 2016 ARIA Awards, were Forbes second place Top Earners 2016 and second highest paid musicians of the year, with over $110 million to their name, and were confirmed to be holding six 2016 Guinness World Records^[9]. All four members of One Direction reunited on 10 December 2016, backstage at the 2016 X Factor (UK) grand finale, where Louis Tomlinson performed his debut solo release "Just Hold On", a collaboration with DJ Steve Aoki. The reunion was a show of solidarity as Louis's mother, Johannah Deakin, had passed away after a battle with cancer just three days earlier. Zayn sent a message of support to Louis via Twitter. In 2017, One Direction's "History" music video won Best British Video at the 2017 BRIT Awards. When Liam's debut single debuted 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 US Top 40 solo hit^[10]. They achieved this in 18 months. 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. 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 had dethroned Niall's single from number one. Louis and Liam reunited for the Judges Houses portion of Louis's run as judge on The X Factor (UK) in October 2018, and again in September 2019, when both were headliners for the Coca Cola Music Experience festival in Madrid. In April 2020, Liam revealed the group had been in talks to commemorate their 10 year anniversary on July 23, 2020, prior to the pandemic. The information made worldwide headlines and sparked fan frenzy. Niall confirmed he had spoken to Louis and Liam about a ten year anniversary. Harry commented in an interview that the anniversary would be an emotional day. Ultimately, all members, aside from Zayn, commemorated the anniversary with lengthy social media posts and Spotify hosted a special listening day. The band were tragically reunited again when Payne died in October 2024, with the remaining four members issuing a statement on the official One Direction Instagram page, as well as their own personal tributes, and all four attending his funeral on 20 November 2024.

Albums

Up All Night (2011-12)

One Direction 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 reached 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.

Discography

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

Films

One-direction-this-is-us-movie-poster-sized

This Is Us was the first theatrical concert film about One Direction, detailing life on the road during their 2012 Take Me Home Tour. Filming began in January 2013. All footage was shot in 3D. This Is Us premiered worldwide on August 20, 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 a Hollywood production company pitching ideas to the band for a music video, when they stop by the office while filming their movie. The band has made suggestive comments in subsequent interviews about the documentary being heavily scripted.

"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

The X Factor: Series 7 (finalists)
Up All Night: The Live Tour
One Direction: This Is Us
One Direction: Where We Are - The Concert Film
Other appearances as themselves can be found here

Band Members

Members

Harry Styles - main vocalist, lead dancer, Face of the Group
Niall Horan - sub vocalist
Louis Tomlinson - sub vocalist, main rapper
Zayn Malik (2010 - 2015) - lead vocalist, visual, Face of the Group
Liam Payne † (2010 - 2024) - lead vocalist, main dancer, lead rapper, leader

Backing Band

2010-2015

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

Concert tours

Headlining

Opening Act

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

Awards and Nominations

Main article: One Direction/Awards and nominations

Since 2011, One Direction has won a total of 199 awards and has been nominated for 289. 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)