One Direction is a British-Irish pop group that gained international fame in the 2010’s. One Direction’s first studio album, Up All Night, released in the United Kingdom and Ireland in 2011, became a worldwide hit when it was released globally in 2012. It became the first debut album by a British band to reach number one in the United States. The group’s second studio album, Take Me Home (2012), and third album, Midnight Memories (2013), also became worldwide hits.
The original members of the group were Niall Horan (born in Mullingar, Ireland, on Sept. 13, 1993), Zayn Malik (born in Bradford, England, on Jan. 12, 1993), Liam Payne (born in Wolverhampton, England, on Aug. 29, 1993), Harry Styles (born in Worcestershire, England, on Feb. 1, 1994), and Louis Tomlinson (born in Doncaster, England, on Dec. 24, 1991). Malik left the group in 2015 and began a solo career.
The singers met in 2010 while auditioning as solo contestants for the British television singing competition show “The X Factor.” Each singer failed to place individually. Then, the show’s judges suggested that the five singers form a band and compete as a group. The group performed as One Direction soon after and finished the competition in third place. The group quickly gained popularity in the United Kingdom.
One Direction’s first single, “What Makes You Beautiful,” was released in 2011. It became a number-one hit in the United Kingdom. The song was released in the United States in 2012 and soon became a hit. The group’s other hit songs include “Gotta Be You” and “One Thing” (both 2011), “Live While We’re Young” (2012), and “Best Song Ever” (2013). Also in 2013, One Direction: This Is Us, a documentary about the band, was released. In 2014, Tomlinson began playing professional soccer for the Doncaster Rovers in the United Kingdom. In late 2015, the band members announced they would take an extended hiatus (break) from the group. All four remaining members launched solo careers. In 2023, Horan became a coach on the American singing-competition television show “The Voice.”
