One Direction to America

One Direction is a British-Irish boy band, consisting of members Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson. They finished third on the seventh series of The X Factor. Following The X Factor, the group signed a record contract with Syco Music. Their debut album Up All Night was released on 21 November 2011. Up All Night became the fastest-selling debut album on the UK Albums Chart of 2011. On 27 September 2011, One Direction announced their first headline UK tour. The tour was sold out in minutes of release.



Up All Night is the debut studio album by British-Irish boy band One Direction. The album was released 18 November, 2011 in Ireland and 21 November, 2011 in the United Kingdom through Syco Records. The album is set for release in North America 13 March, 2012 through Columbia Records.


The record is predominantly a pop rock and pop music album, with several music critics noting the dance-pop themes. The album's lyrical content mainly explores themes about having fun, being young, relationships, heartbreak and empowerment. Band member Zayn Malik referred to the album as being "anthemic" calling the sound "powerful". The album received generally positive reviews from contemporary critics, commending the albums's carefree, youthful lyrics and pop sensibility.

Up All Night debuted at number two in the UK, selling 138,163 copies, the highest sales for a number two album, and became the fastest-selling debut album on the UK Albums Chart of 2011. The album topped the chart in Sweden and Italy and reached top ten positions in twelve other countries. As of year end the album had shifted 468,000 copies to become the third biggest-selling debut album and the sixteenth biggest-selling album in the UK, within the albums first five weeks of release. Worldwide the album sold 800,000 copies in the first two months of release.

The album's release was preceded by lead single "What Makes You Beautiful", released 11 September, 2011. The single topped the Irish Singles Chart for four consecutive weeks and topped the Scottish and the UK Singles Charts after breaking pre-order records for Sony Music Entertainment. Singles "Gotta Be You" and "One Thing" were released in November 2011 and January 2012 respectively, both becoming top ten singles in Ireland and the UK.

"What Makes You Beautiful" won the Best British Single award at the 2012 BRIT Awards, which was held on 21 February 2012.

On 9 November 2011, One Direction also revealed that they will be touring the United States with Big Time Rush from February 2012 to March 2012. This is a great opportunity for the band to gain more American fans and get some touring experience under their belt.


This band has gained their popularity extremely fast, so I expect nothing but greatness from them.


- Janyne