One Direction - One Direction: Meet One Direction

Box 1 Auckland, New Zealand http://www.harpercollins.co.nz United Kingdom HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. 77-85 Fulham Palace Road London, W6 8JB, UK http://www.harpercollins.co.uk United States HarperCollins Publishers Inc. 10 East 53rd Street New York, NY 10022 http://www.harpercollins.com O NE Direction are the hottest band on the planet. Ever since these five lads exploded on to the scene in 2010, they have blasted the cobwebs off the pop world. The whole globe knows exactly who One Direction are. Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson are, without doubt, the biggest thing to hit the music business for decades.

In just three short years, theyve done what even legendary bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones never did: two albums straight in at number one in the US plus amazing sales around the globe. No band has ever cracked the world in such a short amount of time. With that kind of success behind them, it would be easy for the guys to stand still or get complacent, but they are determined to carry on growing, both artistically and personally. We want our music to grow with us, says Zayn. With the incredible talent, drive and strength of character that One Direction have shown so far, theres no doubt that the skys the limit, and their story has still only just begun Sometimes its easy to forget just how far One Direction have come I TS hard to believe, but at the beginning of 2010, the lads of One Direction didnt even know each other. Niall, Zayn, Harry, Liam and Louis all auditioned separately for the seventh season of The X Factor.

Inspiration struck judges Simon Cowell and Nicole Scherzinger, who put the five guys into a band and the story began. Since then, One Direction have ushered in a new era of pop. Their Up All Night album stormed charts all over the world, and they were the first UK act to open at No.1 in the US Billboard charts with their debut album. One Directionmania had begun. Their second album, Take Me Home, was one of the most hotly anticipated releases ever. Questions buzzed around the guys.

Would it, could it, be as good as their first? There was a pretty obvious answer. No group was going to have such a large impact and then simply disappear. Sure enough, the album was a smash hit the world over. As Niall says, When you make the second album, I think the thing to do is to outdo your first album. Personally, I think weve done that. They certainly had.

The lads have every reason to be proud of the album. It took the band to the top of the charts and to new heights all over the world. In fact, hearing that One Direction have broken a music record is starting to feel like dj vu! Theyve sold out worldwide tours, have over 45 million followers on Twitter, played at the 2012 Olympics Games Closing Ceremony, won countless awards and even hold a Guinness World Record. Still, none of the band expected this to happen, or realized just how big One Direction would become. Theyve achieved so much in a short period of time and theyre very grateful to everyone whos helped them along the way. We have an incredible team of people around us who have helped us achieve this, says Liam.

And of course, the guys havent forgotten the most important people who got them here. We just want to say a massive thanks to all the fans who supported us, says Harry. We can send tweets and thank them, but 140 characters is never going to be enough to say how much it means. The lads sit down for a well-earned break and a good old gossip!Youve been on a massive tour this year. Do you prefer performing live or recording in the studio?