11 Years of One Direction

Today in History | July 23, 2010

Today marks the day when they complete 11 years of their formation.

Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson were part of The X Factor (UK) in 2010.

It is sad that Zyan Malik split from the band later and went on to become a solo artist. The other four however, carried the band's legacy ahead. They also have some successful solo hits on their names. 

In The X Factor "bootcamp" stage, they were told that they would not make it in the 'boys' category. But in July 23, 2010, One Direction was formed. The 'X' factor judges Simon Cowell, Nicole Scherzinger and Louis Walsh did not want to send such a talented group back home. As a group, they were on the 3rd finalist spot and there was no looking back from there as they went on to become one of the top boy bands in the history.

Simon Cowell once told that it “took him 10 minutes to put them together as a group.” While we do give him credit for 1D’s creation, however it was the guest celebrity judge, Nicole Scherzinger who suggested assembling these five boys on the 2010 The X Factor season. Thanks to her, we got the One Direction band we know.

They are not just the biggest boy band in the world, but they also donate a big chunk of their income in charity. Its testimony is their 6th rank in the list of most charitable stars in 2014 as they created songs for charitable causes, played football games to raise money and donated part of their sales from show tickets.

One Direction has a best-selling book
This UK based band topped the New York’s Time best-selling book list in 2012 with their book titled ‘Dare to Dream: Life as One Direction’. It was the their first book as a band licensed in America and was a kickstart for their US fame.

1D has made the Guinness World Records list
Their debut album, Up All Night, made it to the top of the US charts and they were the first UK pop band to do so. This was just one of the 6 Guinness Records this band holds. Here's the list :
- Most Followers on Twitter for a Music Group
- Most Popular Dance Game Track
- Most Subscribers for a Band on YouTube
- First Group to debut at No.1 with their first four albums (USA)
- First UK Group to Debut at No.1 in USA with Debut Album
- Highest Debut by UK Group on US Singles Chart

The Tattoo Maniacs
One Direction as a band has 4,000 Tattoos
That sounds a lot right! But the boys are fascinated with the ink. Their most famous tattoos include the butterfly on Harry's chest, the arrows on Liam’s arm, the bird on Louis’ forearm and the Zayn’s tattoo of his ex, Perrie.

Credits: Instagram | onedirection | thexfactor | guinessworldrecords