Today (July 23), marks a major milestone for One Direction, the boy band that includes Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik. The group celebrated their 10-year Anniversary with social media posts reminiscing on their time together as well as releasing a website for fans to see unseen footage, photos and more.
The boy band formed on The X Factor in 2010 with some help from Simon Cowell. Malik left the band in 2015 and Styles, Horan, Payne and Tomlinson all went their separate ways, creating some amazing solo careers for themselves. All of the members have released solo projects, Harry Styles released 2 albums (Self-Titled, Fine Line), Niall Horan released 2 album (Flicker, Heartbreak Weather), Louis Tomlinson released 1 album (WALLS), Payne 1 album and an EP (LP1, First Time) and Malik released 2 albums (Mind of Mine, Icarus Falls).
The five members of the band all took to social media reminiscing on the past 10 years as a band, you can read each of their posts below:
“I’ve been struggling to put into words how grateful I am for everything that’s happened over the last ten years. I’ve seen things and places that I’d only ever dreamt of when I was growing up. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and working with some of the most incredible people, and gained friendships that I know I will treasure for the rest of my life,” said Styles. “None of this would be possible without the support you’ve given along the way. And for that, I will be forever thankful. I just can’t believe it’s been ten years. Thank you to our crew, our team, and everyone else who helped us along the way. To all the fans, I love you, and I thank you with all my heart. You did it all, and you changed everything. And finally.. to the boys, I love you so much, and I couldn’t be prouder of everything we achieved together. Here’s to ten. H”
“What a journey… I had no idea what we were in for when I sent this text to my Dad ten years ago at this exact time the band was formed,” Payne remembered. “Thanks to everyone that’s supported us over the years and thanks to the boys for sharing this with me #10YearsOfOneDirection.”
“When I met these four gents there was no way I thought we would go on to do what we did. So many unbelievable memories we shared together,” Horan said. “We felt the adoration of millions from around the planet on a daily basis and it was mind blowing. It’s such a major part of our lives and always will be. Cheers to US today boys and thank you to all you beautiful people who have supported us over the last 10 years. @liampayne @harrystyles @zayn @louist91 ❤️ #10yearsofonedirection”
“Our first ever photo together. The memories we’ve shared together have been incredible,” Tomlinson gushed. “Can’t believe it’s been 10 years already. I look back incredibly proud. Thanks for everything lads and love to you the fans as always. x”
Mailk has yet to make any comments on the anniversary of the band.
One Direction released albums in five years including Up All Night, Take Me Home, Midnight Memories, Four and Made In The A.M.
Earlier today a special ‘10 Years of One Direction’ website launched, an immersive and exciting interactive fan experience. The site takes the form of a timeline through their 5 album eras, charting the history of the group, from The X Factor right up to the start of their hiatus. It hosts an archive of music videos, images, TV performances, behind the scenes and rarely-seen content, all in one place. Check out the website at 10YearsOf1D.com
In addition, Spotify today launched a newly enhanced ‘This Is One Direction’ playlist that includes a specially created ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ vertical video (the band’s first). There are also new video canvases for all 89 songs and storylines explaining the writing process for key tracks. To celebrate the day, Spotify have also revealed a One Direction billboard in Times Square, New York. See the playlist HERE.
There are also exciting activations happening across Apple Music, that include a competition where fans can win the chance to have their One Direction playlist made into an official one, whilst Amazon Music will be launching a [RE]DISCOVER One Direction playlist as part of their campaign and Alexa has been wishing a ‘Happy Birthday’ to the band. Reformatted EPs were released today across streaming platforms, featuring b-sides and rare songs, remixes, live recordings and acoustic versions of tracks grouped into one place for fans to rediscover.
One Direction are a global phenomenon, having sold over 200 million records worldwide, with over 21 billion streams across all streaming platforms. In 2019 alone, the band generated over 3.6 billion streams across all platforms. Their YouTube channel has over 31m subscribers and over 10 billion views, and the combined reach of the bands official social pages is still 85.7 million (Facebook – 36m, Twitter – 30.7m and Instagram – 19m).
The band have won nearly 200 awards including 7 BRIT Awards, 4 MTV Music Awards, 6 Billboard Music Awards, 7 American Music Awards and 28 Kids Choice Awards. After the release of their album FOUR, One Direction became the first band in US Billboard 200 history to have their first four albums debut at No.1. In the UK 1D have had 4 No.1 albums and 4 No.1 singles, with every album they released being certified UK Platinum (Up All Night 3x UK Platinum, Take Me Home 3x UK Platinum, Midnight Memories 3x UK Platinum, FOUR 2x UK Platinum, Made In The A.M. UK Platinum).
