From X Factor to Now: One Direction’s Journey

In 2010, five handsome teenage British/Irish lads entered as solo artists into the British television music competition The X Factor hoping to make a name for themselves in the music industry. Sadly, all five of the boys failed to qualify for the solo Boys category but after Nicole Scherzinger decided to voice her opinion, the quintet were made into a boy band that we know today as One Direction, who currently have a swarm of worldwide fans. Let’s take a look at what the boys have been through since their X Factor appearance…

The X Factor Journey:

Simon Cowell decided to make the decision to put the band through to his final four acts after a competitive performance at his judges house:

Having come close to not even making the judges houses on the talent show, One Direction went on to be Simon Cowell’s last group act and achieved a spot of impressive third place during the 2010 series of X Factor after a live performance of Elton John’s Your Song, Natalie Imbruglia’s Torn and She’s The One with Robbie Williams:

Achievements:

A £2 million (approximately $3174200) contract was created with Syco Records not long after the X Factor. In August 2011, the record Sony Music’s pre-order sales was broken by One Direction and a month later, their single “What Makes You Beautiful” was released. The single was an instant hit, reaching number 1 on the UK Singles Chart during the first week, as well as holding the title of 20th biggest-selling single of 2011 on the UK Singles Chart.

One Direction sang with fellow X Factor boyband JLS in a spectacular live 2011 X Factor final at the Wembley Arena, this time round not as contestants but as an established, successful British boyband. I remember watching the live performance and then frantically searching for it on the internet because I was so desperate to replay it:

In April 2011, One Direction made their names as Pokémon Black and White ambassadors, taking part in television advertisements and special Pokémon events. Being young and fresh as well as extremely popular, it was only to be expected that One Direction would take on this role.

Having released their debut album Up All Night which went on to gain the name of fastest-selling debut album on the UK Albums Chart of 2011, the boys have gone on to achieve another two top 10 UK chart singles in the form of “Gotta Be You” and “One Thing”. Their album scored positive critical reception with comments such as “best ballads to come out of boyband land in recent years” and “it will sell by the zillion.” I personally do not really follow British boybands these days as much as I did when I was younger, but the catchy beats of One Direction’s album convinced me to put all the songs onto my iPod.

The debut tour for One Direction, Up All Night Tour, had sold all tickets within the space of minutes of opening ticket sales. The tour is currently taking place until April 2012 and is expanding to Australia and New Zealand. It’s clear that One Direction’s popularity is moving outwards from the UK and is spreading worldwide

One Direction was first nominated for the Best British Single at the 2012 BRIT Awards which they beat the likes of top artists Adele and Jessie J to win. The award marks the boys’ first official honor:

The Future:

The boy group will perform their debut single for 2012 Kids’ Choice Awards in LA, California at the end of March 2012. One Direction are set to appear on American screens for Nickelodeon’s iCarly as guest stars, again performing “What Makes You Beautiful”.

It seems that the boys have a promising future ahead as the release of their debut album in North America (known as a country notoriously hard to be successful in) was re-scheduled a week earlier than planned “due to overwhelming fan demand.” With a supportive fandom and growing 1Dfamily behind them, there’s no doubt that One Direction are able to go on to make a title of one of the long living boybands. If they have achieved this much in the space of about one and a half years and their oldest member is just 20 years old, think about how much more they have left to give!