If you think boy bands are dead, you may want to reconsider.

One Direction, the British boy band, has slowly been making their name well known all around the world. They have at least one trending topic worldwide on Twitter a day and are all over my Tumblr dashboard. The band consists of Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson and has girls of all ages swooning.

Originally the boys auditioned for X Factor in 2010 as solo acts, but were unable to make the cut.  Guest judge Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls suggested that they combine and audition as a group. Prior to this the boys had never met each other. Once they combined they had thousands of people rooting for them.  They finished in third place and later signed with Syco Music.  Their first single, “What Makes You Beautiful,” debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number one, and their debut album, Up All Night, hit number two on the UK Albums Chart. They are currently on tour with American boy band Big Time Rush and will open for them in Chicago in February. Their CD will be dropping in the U.S. on March 13, a week earlier than intended, due to high demand from their loyal fans, the “Directioners.” The group will make their TV debut on the hit Nickelodeon show ICarly later this year.

Unlike many children’s music groups today, the boys seem to be uncensored. They are well know for their boyish antics and mildly inappropriate language in interviews. They aren’t afraid to be themselves. Let’s hope that the more conservative American media doesn’t try to clean them up.

One Direction is already in the process of putting together their own world tour, and their follow-up album is set to be recorded later this year.