One Direction

Bio:
One Direction is a UK band originally made up of five guys — Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson. They all auditioned for The X Factor UK as solo artists in 2010 and did not make the cut. The guys were brought back to form a group by mentor Simon Cowell and took third place in the competition. One Direction was introduced to the US on a Spring 2012 tour with Nickelodeon act Big Time Rush and quickly sold out dates for their first headlining tour through 2013. They also sold out a show at Madison Sqaure Garden in minutes. One Direction has dominated American TV with appearances on Today and Saturday Night Live. It is estimated their empire is worth about $1 billion. In March 2015, Zayn left the group to pursue a solo career in music.

The group eventually entered a long hiatus in 2016, and each member explored the music world as solo artists. In 2024, Liam Payne died at the age of 31 after falling from the third floor of his hotel room in Argentina.

Best Known For:
One Direction made history in March 2012 when their debut album, Up All Night, hit #1 on the U.S. Billboard charts, a first for a British group. Their most popular songs are “What Makes You Beautiful” and “One Thing.”