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, which was a commercial success that topped charts worldwide and marked the first time a debut album by a British group had entered at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. They were inducted into the Guinness World Records as a result. The album yielded the international hit "What Makes You Beautiful" and UK top ten hits such as "Gotta Be You" and "One Thing". Preceded by the 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.
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. As of August 2012, One Direction have sold over eight million singles, three million albums and one million DVDs. Their achievements include a BRIT Award and 3 MTV Video Music Awards. Generating through 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. The Huffington Post proclaimed 2012 "The Year of One Direction"
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.[8] 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
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
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