One Direction Biography

One Direction were formed by mentor Simon Cowell during the seventh series of “The X Factor UK”. The band was originally made up of Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlison. One Direction is the biggest boy band since Take That, selling millions of singles and albums and the first UK band to debut at number one on US charts.

X Factor

In 2010, Niall, Zayn, Liam, Harry and Louis auditioned as solo artists for The X Factor UK and did not make the cut. However, in July 2010, during the “bootcamp” stage of the competition, they were put together to form a boy band at Wembley Arena, in London. One Direction finished third in the competition and shortly after they signed a two-million dollar deal with Simon Cowell’s Syco Records label.

“Up All Night” & “Take Me Home”

In September 2011, One Direction released their debut single, “What Makes You Beautiful”. The song was the most pre-ordered Sony Music Entertainment single in history and topped the UK Singles Chart. The band’s debut album, “Up All Night” was released in November 2011. Hitting number one on the US Billboard charts, the album became the third best selling album of 2012 globally. One Direction’s second album, “Take Me Home”, came out in November 2012 and included the hit singles “Little Things” and “Live While We’re Young”.

And Then There Were “FOUR”

Released in November 2013, the band’s fourth album, “Midnight Memories”, became the fastest-selling album in Amazon UK’s history. “FOUR”, One Direction’s last album as a five-piece, came out in November 2014. They were praised by music critics for putting together an album full of beautiful, more mature and complex songs. In March 2015, the band announced Zayn Malik’s departure. He left the band to pursue a solo career. Since then, Zayn has released his debut single “Pillowtalk” and album “Mind of Mine”, selling over 2 million copies worldwide.

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