The British boy band One Direction has been very successful throughout the past five years. They’ve won over half the awards for which they were nominated. One Direction has millions of fans, thousands of occasional listeners, and probably thousands of haters. Regardless of whether you’re an occasional listener or even one of their haters, there is a reason for you to listen and/or like One Direction as a band and as individual artists.

Background

For those of you who don’t know, One Direction was formed on the X-Factor UK on July 23, 2010 by Simon Cowell. The band members (Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Zayn Malik) had auditioned separately, but were individually eliminated from boot camp. The band finished in third place on the show and continued  their career far after. Cowell signed One Direction to his record label ‘Syco Music’.

Music Timeline and more

In 2012, the band released their first album “Up All Night” worldwide, which was followed by their concert tour of the same name and by performing as the opening act of Big Time Rush’s tour. One Direction filmed one of the concerts on the tour and made the “Up All Night” concert movie.

In September 2012, One Direction performed at the iTunes Music Festival in London. All the songs they performed were recorded and put on an album.

Later that year, One Direction released their second album “Take Me Home.” The band went on their “Take Me Home Tour,” filming their movie “This Is Us” along the way.

In November 2013, One Direction released their third album “Midnight Memories.” This album had more of a rock and roll feel to it. The band announced their “Where We Are Tour” after the album release. The boys made another concert movie “Where We Are” — live from San Siro.

In November 2014, One Direction released “Four,” their fourth album as a group. They started their “On The Road Again Tour” in February of this year. The last “OTRA’’ show was this past Saturday.

Unfortunately, on March 25, Malik departed from the band for “personal reasons”. But since that day, One Direction has grown stronger as a band thanks to support from family, friends, and of course the fans.

The band’s fifth album “Made In The AM” will be released on November 13. As of right now, three singles from the album are available for purchase on iTunes and Google Play: “Drag Me Down”, “Perfect”, and “Infinity”. The band has also released their “Perfect EP”, featuring four songs that didn’t make it to the album.

“As of right now my favorite album is ‘Four’,” Niles West junior Despina Baxevanakis said. “I just have little periods of time where I’ll listen to one album only because of the nostalgia of the concert, but I’m pretty sure ‘MITAM’ will be my favorite because it’s going to be “their sound”.”

Musical Success

As stated earlier, One Direction has won multiple awards. Their most recent awards received were an MTV Europe Music Award for Best Pop, Billboard Music Awards for Top Duo/Group & Top touring artist, and seven teen choice awards. Many of the awards the band has won were awards they’ve won multiple times during different years; for example, One Direction won the Teen Choice Award for Best Summer Tour, Choice Single by a Group, and Choice Love Song in 2013, 2014, and 2015.

One Direction’s albums have been successful as well. “UAN” and “TMH” are certified double platinum in the United States and triple platinum in the United Kingdom. “Midnight Memories” and “Four” are certified platinum in the US and double platinum in the UK.

The Fans

The One Direction fanbase has increased dramatically since they started on The X-Factor UK in 2010. A majority of their fans have been there since the beginning. Some of us fans have been influenced by others to join the fandom. Some One Direction fans are just fans of their music, while others are more ‘obsessed’ with the members [personally]. ‘Directioners’ have had a huge impact on the band and their career, and vice versa. One Direction fans have broken the Vevo 24 hour views record twice, we have won three “biggest fan” awards, and more.

“I’ve been a fan for four years,” Baxevanakis said. “They’ve influenced my life positively because I’m no longer shy of who I really am. Just re-watching concert videos can put me in a better mood.”

So, now that you know more about the band and their fans, would you listen to their music [more]? If so, great! I recommend starting with their “UAN” album, then continuing on in chronological order; it shows you how much the band has grown as a group and as individuals when it comes to their vocals. If you’re still not interested in the band and/or their music, that’s okay.