BY: GRACE S.
Rumors have been circulating the world over a possible reunion for the boy band One Direction. The group was together from 2010 to 2015. The group was composed of Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson. Their last public singing performance together was in December of 2015, after which they went on an extended hiatus, which is still going on to this day. Not for much longer, hope One Direction fans across the globe. Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson have both (unofficially) recently spoken about the group reuniting. Here are the top five reasons why the group’s reunion needs to happen:
The boys have matured so much, both as songwriters, vocalists, and young men. If they put their powers together now, the music they would make would be legendary. Comparing the songs from their first album, (such as “Na Na Na” in which the boys literally sing, “We're like na, na, na/Then we're like yeah, yeah, yeah/Always like na, na, na/Then we're like yeah, yeah, yeah) to songs from their solo careers, (such as “Fine Line” by Harry Styles where he sings, “Put a price on emotion/I'm looking for something to buy/You've got my devotion/But man, I can hate you sometimes.”) The band first formed in 2010, making the boys ages 16-18. It’s been ten years, and it’s safe to say they aren’t the same people they used to be. They have new life experiences and heartbreaks to write about. Since the split, all five boys have released solo music that they have helped write. A lot of their songs were absolute bangers. If all five boys got together again, they could write the smash hit of the century.
Their break has proven themselves as individual artists. A lot of criticism for the band while they were together was that they were all dependent on each other to have any sort of success; that each member didn’t have enough talent on their own to sustain a career. That is just false. Every boy has created a name for themselves apart from One Direction. Zayn has released songs with high-calibre-talented people such as Taylor Swift and M.I.A., and had a song featured on the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack. Harry has appeared on Saturday Night Live, both as the musical guest and the host, he has starred in Christopher Nolan’s film, Dunkirk, and has become every teenage girl and boy’s heartthrob. Niall’s two solo albums have debuted NO. 1 in England on their release day, he has come out with radio smash hits such as “Slow Hands” and “This Town”, and he has also been the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. Liam’s first solo single, “Strip That Down”, was certified platinum in the UK & US and peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart. Liam has created and become the director of his own publishing company, Hampton Music Limited. Louis has performed with Steve Aoki on The X Factor, he has been featured and interviewed in The Guardian, and returned to The X Factor to be a judge and mentor in 2018. All five boys have used their time apart wisely and have been busy creating great new art. Most people could agree all of them have had successful solo careers and that they have proven themselves as individual artists.
Their audience is now older so they can write about more mature things. We can all agree, boy bands have squeaky clean songs. Their management team and producers don’t want to make any parents mad over provocative lyrics or music videos in order to keep record sales up. One Direction had an audience that was mainly teens and tweens, so they fell into this category. Lyrics like, “Yeah, we’ll be doing what we do/Just pretending that we’re cool/And we know it too,” from “Live While We’re Young” are just one example of innocence. It has been ten years since the formation of the band, which means those teens and tweens that have been with them since the beginning are now in their early twenties. While it’s always nice to listen to old music to reminisce, I bet if the boys put out new music, those fans would go wild. The boys are now in their late twenties and have experienced many things that life has to offer. I could totally see them putting out a spicy hit song that would break the charts and be the only thing playing in clubs across the world.
It’s been enough years since they last performed together, a whole new generation could learn to love these boys. Kids these days missed One Direction in their prime. They only know the boys as solo artists, not as a collective unit. The band has a whole new market they can reach because kids who were too young to know about them then, now are the perfect age to enjoy their music. I firmly believe every kid should have the opportunity to go through their teenage years with One Direction playing in their headphones (or AirPods now, I guess) and create memories with their music playing in the background. One big part of today’s internet culture didn’t exist when One Direction was around the first time: TikTok. So many artists have gained major popularity on the radio and on the charts because their song first got famous on TikTok. This app, used by primarily young people, could help boost their comeback.
The world needs it. I don’t know if the person reading this has noticed yet, but the world is kind of a mess right now. The CoronaVirus is running wild, people are stuck in their houses, the economy is not doing so hot, and there are Murder Hornets. A One Direction reunion could realign the planets. In the news, it seems there are only tragic events. Their reunion (coupled with a newly released song and/or album) could give millions of people something to be excited about. It would take their mind off of the negativity, and they would have new tunes to jam to in their car. Who wouldn’t want that?
Of course, the only thing One Direction fans are relying on now is rumors. Nothing has been officially confirmed by the boys or their management. Hopefully all parties involved with bringing the band back together are considering the above five points. I can’t wait for a world where One Direction is back together.
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