Down Memory LaneOne Direction Through The Years: A Look Back At Band’s Best Moments & Biggest Accomplishments

2010

It all started in 2010. As fans know, the group was put together by Simon Cowell on July 23, 2010, after they all auditioned on The X Factor as solo artists. In the end, the guys came in third place on the singing competition show, and shortly after they were eliminated, news hit the web that Simon had signed them to his record label, Syco Music.

2011

2011 was definitely a big year for the band! The group headed out on the X Factor Live Tour, where they performed for 500,000 people throughout the U.K. They then headed to Los Angeles to record their debut album, Up All Night.

In September 2011, the band dropped their first single, “What Makes You Beautiful,” which reached number one on the U.K. Singles Chart, after becoming the most pre-ordered Sony Music Entertainment single in history. In November 2011, they released another new song, called “Gotta Be You,” and signed a record deal with Columbia Records in the U.S. That same month, they officially released their fist LP, Up All Night, in the U.K. and Ireland, and it became the U.K.’s fastest-selling debut album of 2011. Wow, talk about impressive!

They also embarked on their first headlining U.K. tour, the Up All Night Tour, in December 2011.

2012

In February 2012, 1D headed to America, where they opened up for the band Big Time Rush on their tour. They also made their first U.S. television appearance on The Today Show, where an estimated 15,000 fans showed up to get a glimpse of them. They officially released “What Makes You Beautiful” in the United States that same month, where it debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 28, becoming the highest debut for a British act since 1998. It peaked at number four.

In March 2012, Up All Night came out in America, and the guys were inducted into the Guinness World Records after they became the first U.K. group to have their debut album reach number one in the U.S. Up All Night also became the first album by a boy band to sell 500,000 digital copies in the U.S. and, by August 2012, had sold over three million copies worldwide.

After the success of their first album, the group announced the North American leg of their Up All Night Tour. They headed back out on the road, where they released a DVD recording of a concert from the tour, called Up All Night: The Live Tour, in May 2012. The movie topped the charts in twenty-five countries.  They also dropped their first book, Dare to Dream: Life as One Direction, that year, performed at the Olympics and took home three MTV Video Music Awards.

In September 2012, One Direction released their lead single from their second album, called “Live While We’re Young.” Naturally, it reached the top 10 in almost every country it charted in, and recorded the highest one-week opening sales figure for a song by a non-U.S. artist in the U.S. Two months later, they dropped their second album, Take Me Home. That too broke numerous records, reaching number one in over 35 countries! The band then became the first boy band in U.S. chart history to record two number-one albums in the same calendar year. You go, guys!

2013

Following the release of Take Me Home, One Direction embarked on their second tour in February 2013. The Take Me Home Tour included 123 shows in Europe, North America, Asia and more. In total, the tour grossed $114 million. Wow!

Then, in July 2013, One Direction released “Best Song Ever” — the lead single off of their then-upcoming third studio album, Midnight Memories. The song is their highest charting single in the U.S. to date, reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

One month later, they released a 3D documentary and concert film called One Direction: This Is Us, which grossed over $60 million worldwide, and became the fourth highest-grossing concert movie. Midnight Memories hit stands in November 2013, and in honor of its release, the band hosted a 24-hour live YouTube stream event called 1D Day. Despite being released at the year’s end, the album was the best-selling album worldwide in 2013 with four million copies sold globally.

2014

The band spent most of 2014 touring the world on their Where We Are Tour. It kicked off on April 25, 2014, and concluded on October 5, 2014. It grossed over $290 million, becoming the highest-grossing concert tour in 2014 and the 15th highest-grossing concert tour of all time.

While on the road, the guys also released another two books, called One Direction: Where We Are: Our Band, Our Story: 100% Official and Who We Are. They also dropped another concert movie called One Direction: Where We Are — The Concert Film.

Naturally, fans were living when the band released another new song, called “Steal My Girl,” in September 2014. Two months later, in November, their fourth album, Four, hit stands. It sold 3.2 million copies and debuted at number one in 18 countries. One Direction then became the only group in the 58-year history of the Billboard 200 Albums chart to have their first four albums debut at number one.

2015

In February 2015, the guys embarked on their fourth world tour, the On the Road Again Tour. But fans were left shocked and devastated when Zayn announced he would be leaving the band in the middle of the tour. He shared the news in a lengthy Facebook post that pretty much shattered millions of teenage girls’ hearts around the world.

“My life with One Direction has been more than I could ever have imagined. But, after five years, I feel like it is now the right time for me to leave the band,” the “Pillowtalk” crooner wrote in the emotional post. “I’d like to apologize to the fans if I’ve let anyone down, but I have to do what feels right in my heart. I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight.”

The guys continued their tour without Zayn. It concluded on October 31, 2015, and grossed $208 million.

On July 31, 2015, the group released their next single, “Drag Me Down.” Their fifth and final album, Made in the A.M., came out in November 2015, and they announced that they would be taking an indefinite hiatus after completing the promo for it. They performed for the last time as group was on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve on December 31, 2015.

At the time, sources told Us Weekly that the reason One Direction had split was because they were “exhausted and wanted solo careers.” Insiders also told E! News, “They are taking a hiatus so they can work on individual projects for a while.”

Niall later explained, “It was incredible. But we got tired. Not tired of it, just tired out. I can never really remember any major bust-ups, just brotherly family nagging, s**tty arguments like that. But we were gonna end up killing each other. We all sat down one day, had a chat and it was like, ‘We need to take a break, chill out and try something new.’”

Liam also opened up about the breakup in April 2020. He said, “We all just got on with it, you know, it was just a case of this is your job and this is what you do and then you just slowly spiraled into this thing. I mean, more than anything for us, I think the danger zone is in the band. And actually what probably caused the demise of it, towards the end, was just the tiredness more than anything. Everyone makes stupid decisions when they’re tired.”

2016

In the first few months of their hiatus, the guys all took some time to themselves. Then, in September 2016, Niall returned to the spotlight dropped his debut solo single, “This Town.” He also started his own golf company called Modest Golf!

But he wasn’t the only 1D member to release some new tunes. Zayn dropped his debut solo single, “Pillowtalk” in January 2016. He then released his own album, called Mind of Mine, on March 25, 2016. It debuted at number one in a bunch of countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the United States, where he became the first British male solo artist to debut at number one with his first album.

Louis became a father in 2016, when his ex-girlfriend, Briana Jungwirth, welcomed their son, Freddie Reign. In December 2016, fans were left heartbroken when news hit the web that Louis’ mom, Johannah Deakin, had tragically passed away after a battle with leukemia. All the guys (except Zayn) flew to be with him during his first performance after her death. He hit the stage at The X Factor finale, where he sang a new song (alongside Steve Aoki) dedicated to her, called “Just Hold On.”

2017

The guys all continued to work on their solo music in 2017. Niall released his debut album, Flicker, and embarked on a world tour for it. Harry’s self-titled debut album was released in May 2017. He also toured and made his acting debut in Christopher Nolan‘s movie Dunkirk, which came out in July 2017.

As for Louis, he dropped a few more solo songs in 2017, including “Back To You” with Bebe Rexha and “Just Like You.” Liam also stepped into the music world, when he dropped his first song called “Strip That Down” in May 2017! In March 2017, Liam became a father when his girlfriend at the time, Cheryl Cole, gave birth to a baby boy that they named Bear.

2018

In 2018, fans were pretty excited when Louis announced that he was going to be a judge on The X Factor! He managed the “boys” category, and subsequently became the show’s first former contestant to secure a victory as the winning mentor when Dalton Harris won the show!

As for the other guys, Liam dropped his first extended play, First Time, in August 2018. Zayn released his second studio album, Icarus Falls, in November 2018, and Niall and Harry continued to tour.

2019

2019 was definitely an exciting year for Harry fans. He hosted the 2019 Met Gala, where he seriously slayed the red carpet. Plus, the singer dropped his second studio album, Fine Line, in December 2019!

In December 2019, Liam released his highly anticipated album, LP1, which was full of bops. Louis also debuted some new songs in 2019, including “Two Of Us,” “We Made It” and “Kill My Mind.” Unfortunately, in March 2019, his younger sister, Félicité, tragically passed away from an accidental overdose.

2020

Louis’ debut album, Walls, came out in January 2020, and we’ve still got it on repeat, TBH! Although he was set to embark on his first solo tour, it unfortunately got postponed to 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Niall released his second album, Heartbreak Weather, in March 2020. He and Harry also announced new tours for 2020, which ultimately got delayed because of the outbreak.

In April 2020, the internet went wild when Zayn’s girlfriend, Gigi Hadid, confirmed that she was pregnant and expecting his first baby! The couple is reportedly gearing up to welcome a girl, who is due in September!

It’s definitely been a long and wild road, but we are so thankful for the 10 years we’ve shared with the guys!