Following the success of JLS and the Wanted, X-Factor contestants One Direction were the next group of heartthrobs to help revive the previously dying concept of the boy band. Niall Horan from Mullingar, Ireland; Zayn Malik from Bradford (currently engaged to Perrie Edwards); Harry Styles from Cheshire; Louis Tomlinson from Doncaster (currently dating Eleanor Calder), and Liam Payne (currently dating Sophia Smith) from Wolverhampton (the latter had previously reached the judge's house stages of The X-Factor as a 14-year-old back in 2008) originally entered the 2010 seventh series of the talent show as individuals, but following a suggestion from guest judge Nicole Scherzinger, they were grouped together to become One Direction. Mentored by Simon Cowell, they soon became one of the favorites to win the show, thanks to renditions of Kelly Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You," Elton John's "Something About the Way You Look Tonight," and Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart." However, despite receiving a standing ovation for their duet with Robbie Williams ("She's the One") in the live final, they eventually finished third behind Rebecca Ferguson and winner Matt Cardle. Spotting the potential of the group, Cowell signed them to his Syco label in a £2million deal, and after performing on the X-Factor tour, the quintet began work on their debut album with Savan Kotecha (Britney Spears, Enrique Iglesias). Following a sponsorship deal with Nintendo DS and a book, Forever Young, named after their cover of the Alphaville classic which was intended to be their winner's song, they released their first single, "What Makes You Beautiful," in late 2011. The full-length album, Up All Night, followed soon after. In 2012, One Direction became the first British band to debut on top of the Billboard 200 list when Up All Night sold over 176, 000 copies during its first week of release in America. In late 2012, One Direction released its sophomore album, Take Me Home. Highlighting more of the band's melodic pop, Take Me Home featured songs and production via Sweden's Carl Falk, Rami Yacoub, and Savan Kotecha, who worked on Up All Night, as well as contributions from such luminaries as Max Martin and Dr. Luke. In August of 2012, the band released the single "Live While We're Young" online. In July of 2013, the One Direction boys released "Best Song Ever", their first single off of the third album. The music video for this song broke the VEVO record for most views in 24 hours, with 10.9 million views. In October of 2013, they released "Story of My Life", as the second single of their third album. On November 25, 2013, their third album, "Midnight Memories", debuted at #1 in over 90 countries across the world. 

Jon O'Brien
AllMusic.com