Spotting the potential of five Justin Bieber-esque teen pin-ups, Cowell signed them to his Syco label in a two-million dollar deal, and after performing on the X Factor tour, the quintet began work on their debut album with Savan Kotecha (Britney Spears, Enrique Iglesias). Following a sponsorship deal with Nintendo DS and a book, Forever Young, named after their cover of the Alphaville classic that was intended to be their winner's song, they released their first single, "What Makes You Beautiful," in late 2011. The full-length album Up All Night followed soon after. In 2012, One Direction became the first British band to debut on top of the Billboard 200 list when Up All Night sold over 176,000 copies during its first week of release in America.
Steal My Girl is out now and available to buy here.
In late 2012, One Direction released their sophomore album, Take Me Home. Highlighting more of the band's melodic pop, Take Me Home featured songs and production via Sweden's Carl Falk, Rami Yacoub, and Savan Kotecha, who worked on Up All Night, as well as contributions from singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran. The album proved to be another smash and topped charts around the world, earning multi-platinum certification in half a dozen countries. The singles "Live While We're Young" and "Little Things" also hit number one across the globe, and "Kiss You" reached the Top Ten in the U.S.
The One Direction fandom right now to break the vevo record:
#StealMyGirlVideoToday pic.twitter.com/KQ8kfQyQQD
— :-) (@_kidrauhlft1D) October 24, 2014One Direction then embarked on a globe-spanning tour in which the band played over 100 shows, including six sold-out nights at London's massive O2 Arena. At the same time, they were being filmed by director Morgan Spurlock for This Is Us, a mix of documentary and concert footage that proved to be successful at the box office when it was released in August of 2013. While they were touring, One Direction also began work on their third album, Midnight Memories. Released just in time for the 2013 holidays, the record featured songwriting input from all the members, a new production team, and some new folk and '80s hair metal influences. It nearly outdid Take Me Home and Up All Night, peaking at number one in seven countries and spawning the singles "Best Song Ever" and "Story of My Life."
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