Boy band, One Direction, became an overnight sensation in 2010. The band consisted of 5 boys.  The five band members met when they were originally set to audition for the X-Factor as solo performers. Early in the season Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, and Niall Horan were advised to pool their talents. 

The plan worked because the infamous X-Factor judge, Simon Cowell quickly became the band’s manager and signed them onto his label Syco Music. The rest, as they say, is history. 

“Simon Cowell looks like the baby from the ice age movie and I hate him,” sophomore Crystal Martinez said.

One Direction released their first album Up All Night in 2011, and featured songs like “What Makes You Beautiful”, “One Thing”, “Gotta Be You”, “More Than This”, “Up All Night”, “Tell Me A Lie”, “I Want”, “Same Mistakes”, “Stole My Heart”, “Moments”, “I Wish”, “Taken”, “Everything About You”, “Save you Tonight”, and “Stand Up.” 

One Direction went on four world tours before Zayn Malik left in 2015 due to stress and anxiety. 

“I was heartbroken when I first heard that Zayn was leaving the band but I understood where he was coming from and why he had to leave,” freshman Elizabeth Garcia Vega said.

1D, as they are known, released their fifth album as a four-man band.

But five months after Zayn left, the band announced a temporary break so they could pursue solo projects.

That year they released “History,” a song that highlighted the band members’ memories and accomplishments. The song’s video was meant to honor and thank the fans for being their biggest supporters and giving them a platform.

 “I’m still getting used to the fact that they might not ever be together again but their music will forever be a bop,” freshman Addison Davila said. 

Seven years later, the original band members have successful solo careers. 

Harry Styles, who was 16 when he joined the band, has released two albums in the past five years, “Harry Styles” and “Fine Line,” just completed this Love On tour. 

One DHS student got to attend the concert.

“Well, I never got to see One Direction perform live while they were still together, so getting to see Harry made me really happy. My favorite part of getting to see him was all the times he interacted with the crowd,”  junior Autumn Copeland said.  

Aside from touring, Styles has entered the Marvel universe as Eros, Thanos’ brother in Eternals, and will star in “Don’t Worry, Darling” later this year. 

The rest of the 1D members are hitting the music scene.  Tomlinson released “Walls” in 2020. Payne released three albums: 2018’s “First Time,” 2019’s “LP1” and 2020’s “Midnight Hour.”

Malik has three albums: 2016’s “Mind Of Mine,” 2018’s “Icarus Falls,” and 2021’s “Nobody Is Listening.” Horan has two albums, 2017’s “Flicker”, and 2020’s “Heartbreak Weather.”

The band members may have moved on, but their heartbroken fans have kept One Direction at the top of music streaming charts, and in 2022, 1D is still one of the most-listened-to and most-streamed bands.