#Niall is the biggest 1d fan

[cantcompetewhereudontcompare]

A complete deconstruction: Louis Tomlinson is a terrible songwriter. Part I

For years Louis' fans, spurred by the man himself, have been pedaling this lie that Louis was a "crucial" part of 1D's success through his songwriting and that, in turn, that made him a great, legendary songwriter. The best out of 1D.

That is a bold face lie that relies on people not fact-checking anything whatsoever and pulling stuff out of context.

Let's deconstruct the lie.

This first part will focus on certain things his fans (and he) say and why they're not true. It's not meant to be very fun because it's a bunch of numbers and statistics. It's meant to give you tools to debunk the lies by Louis' fans.

The fun part of this deconstruction will come in the second and third parts, which I intend to post immediately after this one.

FIRST POINT: Louis wrote most One Direction songs

No. He didn't. By any definition of the word.

most adjective 1 - in the greatest quantity, amount, measure, degree, or number: To win the most votes. 2 - in the majority of instances: Most operations are successful. 3 - greatest, as in size or extent: The most talent.

Definition #1 and #2 imply >50% of One Direction songs should have his name in the credits, correct?

Well, they don't. Louis has writing credit in 37 songs out of 91, which is 40%. It's a high number, for sure (very deceitful, but let's go with it for now), but it's not upwards of 50%, ergo, he didn't write "most One Direction songs."

Definition #3 would mean that if he had written in the most songs, as in, the largest amount among everyone, even if his percentage didn't surpass 50%, we could say that, to some degree, he's the one who wrote "the most" (still, very deceitful).

Alas, that would still be false. Two of the members of the band's songwriting team, Julian Bunetta and John Ryan, have written more songs than Louis. Julian has credit in 41, and John in 39.

You can fact check these numbers in this link.

I want to clarify, that even if Louis had written in the most songs (by any definition), it would've been largely irrelevant because of context. Zayn is on the record saying that all his ideas were dismissed and he felt side-lined.

So of course he'll have the least amount of writing credits (11 total, none of them as the sole contributor from the band).

Harry is also on the record saying he didn't want to "share" his songs. That he felt weird having other people singing about his innermost experiences, so he kept songs for himself (case in point, Two Ghosts).

[Happily is not the first time his name was on the songwriting credits, but we'll get on with that and why what he's saying isn't actually wrong at a later date]

Niall hasn't explained why he wrote fewer songs, but considering he writes all his tracks now and he actually can play instruments, and could all throughout the band, I hardly think that he was incapable of writing more. For whatever reason he chose not to.

So, Louis and Liam writing more in this context is completely meaningless. The others either weren't allowed to contribute or chose not to. It's not that Louis and Liam wrote more by virtue of being better songwriters. They wrote more by virtue of the others not writing.

Their lengthy songwriting credits are meaningless for more reasons that we'll explore soon, too, but the point I'm making here is that even devoid of all this context, the whole "Louis wrote most songs" assertion is simply not true.

SECOND POINT. "And remember, if it's a banger and by One Direction I probably wrote on it"

I know most people who would read this post already know this, but just in case, that's something Louis himself tweeted. He's wrong.

First, let's define "a banger." In this context, it would mean a hit. Their biggest songs. The most famous. The ones people consume and bop to the most.

What metrics can we take for this? Multiple. Such as:

Chart peaks (particularly in the US and the UK, their biggest markets)

Chart longevity

Certifications

Total sales

Total streams

Of course, to fact check this, I have to go by their singles. Those songs will be promoted and pushed the most, and those songs will be tracked for their stats.

Louis wrote in 6 singles, Liam in 5, Harry in 3, Niall and Zayn in 2. Who wrote "the most" singles is largely irrelevant (see the point I made above). One Direction released seventeen singles, so none of them wrote even close to "the most," and we've already established that the other three weren't really even trying.

But when Louis said that if it's a banger by 1D he probably wrote on it, in its face that would mean he has written 1D's most known and popular songs. The songs everyone bops to and instantly recognize. And as I said, this is flat out wrong.

This next bit will be largely statistical and a long list of names. I apologize because it's not super interesting, but it's kind of crucial to debunk the nonsense Louis said.

I'm listing every 1D single and its songwriters, which you can absolutely skip, I'll signal the huge block of text before and after. I want the information to be here, so you can glance at it if you need so, but it's not something you have to read in detail.

To make it a little more interactive, I'm color-coding it, going by their 1D microphones.

Green = Harry Blue = Louis Red = Liam Orange (the Irish flag) = Niall Pink (there's no yellow) = Zayn

The purple songs are the lead singles. I'm adding the album they belong to in brackets.

I know this sort of list is boring, you can just skip it and glance at it, or read the parts that you find particularly interesting, but I figured it'd be a good idea to have it all written down.

+ What Makes You Beautiful: (UAN) Carl Falk, Rami Yacoub, Savan Kotecha

+ Gotta Be You: (UAN) Augusto Rigo, Steve Mac

+ One Thing: (UAN) Carl Falk, Rami Yacoub, Savan Kotecha

+ More Than This: (UAN) Jamie Scott

+ Live While We're Young: (TMH) Carl Falk, Rami Yacoub, Savan Kotecha

+ Little Things (TMH) Ed Sheeran, Fiona Bevan

+ Kiss You (TMH) Albin Nedler, Bonn, Carl Falk, Kristian Lundin, Rami Yacoub, Savan Kotecha, Shellback

+ One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks) (charity single) Debbie Harry, John O'Neill, Nigel Harrison

+ Best Song Ever (MM) Ed Drewett, John Ryan, Julian Bunetta, Wayne Hector

+ Story Of My Life (MM) Ed Drewett, Harry Styles, Jamie Scott, John Ryan, Julian Bunetta, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Wayne Hector, Zayn Malik

+ Midnight Memories (MM) Jamie Scott, John Ryan, Julian Bunetta, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson

+ You & I (MM) Jamie Scott, John Ryan, Julian Bunetta

+ Steal My Girl (Four) Ed Drewett, John Ryan, Jonathan Cain, Julian Bunetta, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Wayne Hector

+ Night Changes (Four) Harry Styles, Jamie Scott, John Ryan, Julian Bunetta, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik

+ Drag Me Down (MITAM) Jamie Scott, John Ryan, Julian Bunetta

+ Perfect (MITAM) Harry Styles, Jacob Kasher, Jesse Shatkin, John Ryan, Julian Bunetta, Louis Tomlinson, Maureen Anne McDonald

+ History (MITAM) Ed Drewett, John Ryan, Julian Bunetta, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Wayne Hector

END OF THE HUGE BLOCK OF TEXT

Okay, so did he write 1D's most iconic and recognized songs? Well, no.

Color availability on tumblr is low so I have to change coding for the next bit. Pink is all five writing on the song, red is Louis + Liam, green is Louis + Harry.

I'll use top 10 for each metric.

Biggest singles overall according to Chart Masters:

* Chart masters is a website that aggregates sales and streams. It's not 100% accurate but it's the best approach we can get to the sales figure.

What Makes You Beautiful – 4,700,000

Story of My Life – 2,410,000

One Thing – 2,210,000

Little Things – 2,030,000

Live While We’re Young – 1,930,000

Best Song Ever – 1,810,000

Kiss You – 1,710,000

Drag Me Down – 1,450,000

Steal My Girl – 1,410,000

Night Changes – 1,150,000

More certifications worldwide:

What Makes You Beautiful: 9,368,000

Story Of My Life: 6,110,000

Drag Me Down: 3,793,000

Live While We're Young: 3,043,000

Little Things: 3,040,500

One Thing: 2,879,500

Best Song Ever: 2,507,500

Steal My Girl: 2,452,500

Perfect: 2,322,000

Night Changes: 2,147,500

Most viewed music videos:

What Makes You Beautiful: 1.5 billion

Drag Me Down: 1 billion

Story Of My Life: 1 billion

Night Changes: 878 million

One Thing: 808 million

Best Song Ever: 806 million

Live While We're Young: 745 million

You & I: 623 million

Perfect: 570 million

Kiss You: 563 million

UK chart peaks (longevity in brackets):

What Makes You Beautiful #1 (79 weeks)

Drag Me Down #1 (31 weeks)

Little Things #1 (27 weeks)

One Way Or Another #1 (17 weeks

Story Of My Life #2 (30 weeks)

Best Song Ever #2 (28 weeks)

Perfect #2 (20 weeks)

Live While We're Young #3 (25 weeks)

Steal My Girl #3 (22 weeks)

Gotta Be You #3 (7 weeks)

US chart peaks:

Best Song Ever #2 (21 weeks)

Drag Me Down #3 (20 weeks)

Live While We're Young #3 (16 weeks),

What Makes You Beautiful #4 (34 weeks)

Story of my Life #6 (32 weeks)

Perfect #10 (20 weeks)

Midnight Memories #12 (3 weeks)

Steal My Girl #13 (18 weeks)

One Way Or Another #13 (8 weeks)

Night Changes #31 (20 weeks)

If we average all of these different metrics, the order would be this (in case of a tie, whichever song has more streams on Spotify goes first):

What Makes You Beautiful 5 metrics, 1.6 average

Story of my Life 5 metrics, 3.4 average

Drag Me Down 5 metrics, 3.4 average

Best Song Ever 5 metrics, 5.2 average

Live While We're Young 5 metrics, 5.4 average

Perfect 4 metrics, 7.75 average

Night Changes 4 metrics, 8.5 average

Steal My Girl 4 metrics, 8.5 average

Little Things 3 metrics, 4 average

One Thing 3 metrics, 4.67 average

One Way or Another 2 metrics, 6.5 average

Kiss You 2 metrics, 8.5 average

Gotta Be You 2 metrics, 9.5 average

Midnight Memories 1 metric, 7

You & I 1 metric, 8

History No metrics

More Than This No metrics

Of the three singles Louis and Liam wrote together, only one makes the top 10 at 8. And that single is the lead for Four, remember what I said about leads being the songs that have a better chance at charting and selling well? Steal My Girl is by far the least successful lead single 1D has released at #8 (all the other four lead singles are in the top 5). I think it's actually kinda funny, ngl.

So far his "banger" assertion isn't really making that much sense, is it? He didn't write on even close to a majority of the singles, and the ones he did write, aren't really the biggest hits either...

There's a way for us to do this sort of assessment of "bangers" with non-singles. For that, the only tool we really have are Spotify streams.

I'll add a disclaimer that I think is important: ONE DIRECTION WASN'T ACTIVE IN THE STREAMING ERA.

The streaming era is largely regarded to start in 2015, when Billboard (the company that tracks the US charts) started including streams in their formulas, but it didn't really kick into gear until a couple of years later.

Look at this chart of Spotify active users from the first quarter of 2015 on. There were 68 million in 2015 vs 615 million in 2024. And this doesn't include 4 out of the 5 years 1D was active in.

1D actually got a lot of new streaming bests after Liam's passing, because of course people started to listen to their catalog there actively for the first time.

What I'm going to use streaming for is for their non-singles. There's no way to know how many units those songs sold unless you have access to their raw data (which only their team has), so streaming is as close of a guess as we can have as to which non-singles are popular.

Something I haven't detailed yet is the total amount of written songs by all members of the band. Let me do that:

List of writing credits:

Zayn - 11 9 tracks, 2 singles

Niall - 16 14 tracks, 2 singles

Harry - 21 18 tracks, 3 singles

Liam - 34 29 tracks, 5 singles

Louis - 37 31 tracks, 6 singles

Since there's such disparity in the number of songs written, let's do an average per track (excluding singles, since those have been analyzed already)

Zayn: 93,953,458 Niall: 102,031,790 Liam: 129,623,606 Louis: 137,115,106 Harry: 157,811,404

Harry has by far the largest average, Louis trails behind by 20M+ with Liam somewhat closer.

Just for shits and giggles, I wondered how many of the songs they'd written were above 100M:

Zayn 2/9 = 22%

Niall 6/14 = 43%

Liam 13/29 = 45%

Louis 14/31 = 45%

Harry 9/17 = 53%

Well, well, well... isn't that very curious?

IDK I think that it's starting to sound like if it's a banger by One Direction Harry probably wrote on it

I'm absolutely joking, btw, if it's a banger by One Direction Julian Bunetta probably wrote on it. But I will say, quantity <<<< quality.

I think it's safe to say that Louis didn't write 1D's bangers and he's full of himself.

THIRD POINT. "Louis was the main songwriter and the most important one in the band"

Louis wrote most of his songs by committee, so this is absolutely ridiculous to say. I mean, all five of them had a lot less say in the sound of 1D than fans would like to believe, but nobody is claiming any of the others were the "key member" because of their songwriting, so...

Aside from Zayn, who always wrote with at least two other members of the band + several other co-writers, we can actually look at who they were writing with and determine how important each member was for each song.

I'm taking these songs out of the equation because all five wrote on them, and that fully neutralizes them as an argument.

Night Changes

Story Of My Life

Fool's Gold

Taken

Summer Love

Change Your Ticket

Same Mistakes

Everything About You

Irresistible

Also taking out AM and Back For You, because while Zayn didn't write in them, all the other four did, and I'm not going to consider Zayn for this part of the point.

To make it more visually impactful, I'm color-coding the list. Red will be the most common number of co-writers, orange the mid, and green the low.

LOUIS - 26 tracks

Two with 2 co-writers.

Five with 3 co-writers.

Nine with 4 co-writers.

Six with 5 co-writers.

Two with 6 co-writers.

Two with 7 co-writers.

Average 4.3 co-writers per song

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LIAM - 23 tracks

One with 2 co-writers.

Two with 3 co-writers.

Twelve with 4 co-writers.

Five with 5 co-writers.

One with 6 co-writers.

Two with 7 co-writers

Average 4.2 co-writers per song

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NIALL - 5 tracks

Two with 3 co-writers.

Three with 4 co-writers.

Average 3.6 co-writers per song

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HARRY - 10 tracks

Four with 2 co-writers

Three with 3 co-writers

One with 4 co-writers

One with 5 co-writers

On with 6 co-writers

Average 3.2 co-writers per song

Louis usually wrote with 4 or 5 other people, so did Liam. Niall usually wrote with 4 or 3. Harry usually wrote with 2 or 3. I think that is EXTREMELY telling.

How important can you be for a song if you're writing it with several others? And this, this is the crux of the issue.

It's why this whole argument about how "important" Louis was for 1D and how he was such a great songwriter is utter bullshit.

This is the climax of this very boring post. The most important part.

I'm going to try to simplify this as much as I can. Try to bear with me.

When you write a song, you have to register the songwriters to get royalties (to get PAID). When a song has multiple songwriters, (most of the time) each one will get paid according to what they did on the song. In most cases, someone will have come up with the melody, which is a key part. Someone will have written most of the lyrics. Someone else might just get credit for suggesting adding an instrument or changing a part of an arrangement, switching a line, whatever

Each of these people will have songwriting credit, but not all of them will have contributed equally. And that's something that in most cases is actually divided when you register the credits of a song. You agree with your co-writers on who gets what % of the credits and that's how you register it. So when you get paid for it (what's called "royalties") each person gets compensated fairly for their contributions.

Whoever wrote the most will get paid the most, and so forth.

So how does this happen? Well, I have to explain something else very briefly. In order to get paid royalties, you have to register in a company that collects them (they collect from radio, from streaming services, from your song being used on TV, etc). The companies that do this are called Performance Rights Organizations, shortened to PRO.

There are multiple different PROs that you can get signed to. Different countries will have different PROs. In America the two most common ones are ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) and BMI (Broadcast Music Inc.). There are other PROs in America, and there are other PROs in other countries.

In 1D, Zayn is signed to BMI, Liam, Louis, and Niall are all signed to PRS (Performing Rights Society), which is a British pro, Harry is signed to GMR (Global Music Rights), which is a newish American PRO founded by Irving Azoff.

BMI and ASCAP created Songview in 2020. Songview is a platform that allows you to search their databases and see their catalogs in an organized way. Songview will typically tell you if BMI or ASCAP control a song and what percentage of it they control.

One thing to keep in mind, foreign PROs (such as PRS) will collect royalties through an American PRO, typically either BMI or ASCAP (but it could be another one, such as SESAC or GMR), and that will depend on the individual arrangement the songwriter has. In Songview, royalties for those PROs will show up under either BMI or ASCAP, even if the songwriters aren't signed to them.

If the song is under another American PRO that isn't BMI or ASCAP, Songview will just show it as "other."

Songview isn't 100% infallible. There can be mistakes. You can access it through either ASCAP or BMI's website and the information will largely be the same. It's possible one of the two will have more details (usually BMI is friendlier to navigate). There can be mistakes, but they're rare.

Now, since what we're analyzing is the songs written while the guys were in 1D, I have to add another disclaimer. While the guys were in the band, all their songs were under a publisher (I'm not going to explain this, it's too much, you can look it up). The publisher's name was PPM Music LTD. All of 1D's songs went through that, regardless of who wrote them. So, if all five wrote on a song (like on Story Of My Life), we can't get their individual %. The individual % exists, but it's impossible to discriminate unless you have access to the filing information, which we do not.

PPM Music was signed to PRS and collected through BMI. I use past tense because, while it still collects their royalties, nobody is registering their songs through it anymore.

What's the point of all this? Well, we can do a little logic-guesswork-looky and get an estimate of the % of songwriting credits the guys have in several songs they've written for 1D.

For instance, let's look at Back For You, which is a song 4 members of 1D (everyone except Zayn) wrote for their second album, alongside Savan Kotecha (ASCAP), Rami Yacoub (BMI), and three Swedish songwriters called Carl Falk, Albin Nedler, and Kristoffer Fogelmark. These three Swedish songwriters are signed to STIM (which literally translates to Swedish Performing Rights Society).

The breakdown of this song is 85% for ASCAP, 10% for BMI, and 5% for "other."

We don't know any of this for sure, but most likely scenario, one of the STIM songwriters is collecting through an American PRO that isn't BMI or ASCAP (hence "5% other"), while the other two + Savan are collecting through ASCAP (85%).

Rami Yacoub + the 1D guys are all collecting through BMI and they divide the 10% controlled by it. Most likely scenario, Rami has 5% and the 1D guys split the remaining 5. Why? Because he was a professional songwriter and the 1D guys were teenagers who were just dipping their toes in music? Hahaha.

But aside from that, keep one thing in mind that's important. Carl Falk, Rami Yacoub, Savan Kotecha, and later on Julian Bunetta, John Ryan, and Jamie Scott were hired by their label to write music for 1D. They weren't going to sit for hours on a studio only to write 1% of a song. Typically, if you have a team of professional writers on a song, they'll either split credits evenly (because they do it as a 9 to 5 job) or there'll be one or two (usually the producers) who get slightly more credit.

But, okay, this is for their second album. The 1D guys were still finding their footing, right? Surely they'll contribute more down the line, once Louis TOOK CHARGE!

Okay, so here's Fool's Gold, which was written for their fourth album.

There's only one ASCAP writer (Maureen McDonald), but she has 40% of the writing credit. The remaining 60% is divided between all five members of the band + James Needle.

As per what I said above, James Needle probably had 40% as well, meaning the remaining 20% is divided in 5, which each member getting 4%.

But maybe I'm making assumptions! Alright. Let's go to History, Ed Drewett is with ASCAP and he has 32% of the writing credit. Leaving 68% to be divided by John Ryan, Julian Bunetta, Liam, and Louis. Considering Julian and John also PRODUCED the fucking song they most likely had equal parts or more than Ed Drewett. If we assume equal, that's 96% songwriting credit for Ed, Julian, and John and 4% to be divided between Liam and Louis.

We don't really have the luxury of knowing exact breakdowns because sadly, most songwriters involved with 1D are signed to BMI. We have to resort to this sort of guesswork, but it's pretty straightforward thinking. Julian and John (and a lot of the time, Jamie Scott as well) were instrumental in most 1D songs. They won't have less writing credit than Ed Drewett.

I'll do a breakdown song by song without all the commentary next, but keep in mind that there are a lot of songs in which 100% of the credits belong to BMI because every songwriter is signed to it. In that case I can't do any sort of breakdown. It's impossible to tell.

Those songs are...

From Midnight Memories: - Alive, Better Than Words, Diana, Does He Know?, Don't Forget Where You Belong, Little Black Dress, Midnight Memories, Something Great, Story Of My Life, Strong, Through The Dark

From Four: - Clouds, Illusion, Fireproof, Illusion, Night Changes, Ready To Run, Spaces, Steal My Girl

From Made In The AM: - Home, Long Way Down, Never Enough, Olivia, Walking In The Wind

The following songs are not filed on BMI or ASCAP: - Still The One, What A Feeling, and Wolves

Okay, so onto the ones I can sort of break down. Keep in mind I'm making EDUCATED GUESSES. I'm not including any more screenshots because it's getting annoying, but you can look it up here.

I'm going in order by album and tracklist

TAKEN (Up All Night)

Lindy Robbins 37.5% (ASCAP) Toby Gad 37.5% (ASCAP) Harry Styles 5% Liam Payne 5% Louis Tomlinson 5% Niall Horan 5% Zayn Malik 5%

EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU (Up All Night)

Stephen Robson 40% (ASCAP) Wayne Hector 40% (BMI) Harry Styles 4% (BMI) Liam Payne 4% (BMI) Louis Tomlinson 4% (BMI) Niall Horan 4% (BMI) Zayn Malik 4% (BMI)

SAME MISTAKES (Up All Night)

Stephen Robson 20% (ASCAP) Wayne Hector 20% (BMI) Harry Styles 12% Liam Payne 12% Louis Tomlinson 12% Niall Horan 12% Zayn Malik 12%

LAST FIRST KISS (Take Me Home)

This one is flat out wrong. Harry and Niall didn't write on this song. Also PPM Music isn't listed in the publishers. If you search the song on ASCAP, PPM Music is mentioned and Harry and Niall aren't in it, so that would be correct, but the percentages are different which confuses me further. My guess is that there's some sort of mistake in the filing on BMI, but I can't break down the percentages.

BACK FOR YOU (Take Me Home)

Already broke it down!

SUMMER LOVE (Take Me Home)

This one is complicated, there's an "other" that I can't place. So I'm gonna leave it up to god.

IRRESISTIBLE (Take Me Home)

I actually can't break this one down. There must've been a bunch of changes in societies that I can't track down.

HAPPILY (Midnight Memories)

Savan Kotecha 33.34% (ASCAP) Carl Falk 33.34% (STIM) Harry Styles 33.34%

RIGHT NOW (Midnight Memories)

I have to add screenshots here. This song was written by Harry, Liam, and Louis alongside OneRepublic frontman, Ryan Tedder. Ryan is signed with Global Music Rights (GMR, Harry's PRO that I mentioned earlier).

BMI says that they control 10% of the songwriting and 15% of the publishing, while "other" (GMR) controls 75%

But GMR says they control 70%

PPM Music LTD isn't listed as a publisher on BMI, which already happened with Last First Kiss. The difference here is that it's also not listed on ASCAP, so I don't think it's a mistake. My guess is that when Ryan moved his publishing of this song to GMR (he signed with GMR a couple of years ago), they also somehow moved Harry's rights as well, so that 70% is both Ryan and Harry's rights, and the remaining 30% is Liam and Louis'. In that case the breakdown would be:

Ryan Tedder 55% (GMR) Harry Styles 15% Liam Payne 15% Louis Tomlinson 15%

LITTLE WHITE LIES (Midnight Memories)

Ed Drewett 20% (ASCAP) Julian Bunetta 20% (BMI) John Ryan 20% (BMI) Wayne Hector 20% (BMI) Liam Payne 10% (BMI) Louis Tomlinson 10% (BMI)

WHY DON'T WE GO THERE? (Midnight Memories)

Stephen Robson 25% (ASCAP) Wayne Hector 25% (BMI) Claude Kelly 25% (BMI) Louis Tomlinson 25%

WHERE DO BROKEN HEARTS GO? (Four)

Ruth Cunningham 20% (ASCAP) Julian Bunetta 20% (BMI) Teddy Geiger 20% (BMI) Ali Tamposi 20% (BMI) Harry Styles 20%

FOOL'S GOLD (Four)

Maureen McDonald 40% (ASCAP) James Needle 40% (BMI) Harry Styles 4% (BMI) Liam Payne 4% (BMI) Louis Tomlinson 4% (BMI) Niall Horan 4% (BMI) Zayn Malik 4% (BMI)

NO CONTROL (Four)

In this one, the only non-BMI songwriter has minimal credit, which doesn't allow me to distribute the remaining 90%. It could be split evenly 18% each, or it could be 20% for the professionals and 15% for Louis and Liam, or any other division. I can only guess so much.

STOCKHOLM SYNDROME (Four)

Something similar to what happened with No Control. Johan Carlsson only has 10% of the writing credit, so I have to divide 90% between Julian Bunetta, John Ryan, and Harry. It could be even or Julian and John could have more. No way of knowing.

CHANGE YOUR TICKET (Four)

Samuel Martin 10% (ASCAP) Julian Bunetta 20% (BMI) John Ryan 20% (BMI) Harry Styles 10% (BMI) Liam Payne 10% (BMI) Louis Tomlinson 10% (BMI) Niall Horan 10% (BMI) Zayn Malik 10% (BMI)

PERFECT (MITAM)

Jacob Hindlin 17.67% (ASCAP) Maureen McDonald 17.67% (ASCAP) Jesse Shatkin 17.67% (ASCAP) Julian Bunetta 17.67% (BMI) John Ryan 17.67% (BMI) Harry Styles 5.83% (BMI) Louis Tomlinson 5.83% (BMI)

END OF THE DAY (MITAM)

Ed Drewett 17% (ASCAP) Jacob Hindlin 17% (ASCAP) Julian Bunetta 17% (BMI) John Ryan 17% (BMI) Wayne Hector 17% (BMI) LunchMoney Lewis 5% (BMI) Liam Payne 5% (BMI) Louis Tomlinson 5% (BMI)

IF I COULD FLY (MITAM)

Johan Carlsson 33.33% (ASCAP) Ross Golan 33.33% (BMI) Harry Styles 33.33%

LOVE YOU GOODBYE (MITAM)

Jacob Hindlin 40% (ASCAP) Julian Bunetta 40% (ASCAP) Louis Tomlinson 20% (BMI)

HISTORY (MITAM)

Ed Drewett 32% (ASCAP) Julian Bunetta 32% (BMI) John Ryan 32% (BMI) Liam Payne 2% (BMI) Louis Tomlinson 2% (BMI)

TEMPORARY FIX (MITAM)

Peter Kelleher 16.67% (ASCAP) Benhamin Kohn 16.67% (ASCAP) Wayne Hector 22.22% (BMI) Thomas Barnes 22.22% (BMI) Niall Horan 22.22% (BMI)

AM (MITAM)

Ed Drewett 20% (ASCAP) Julian Bunetta 20% (BMI) Wayne Hector 20% (BMI) Harry Styles 10% (BMI) Liam Payne 10% (BMI) Louis Tomlinson 10% (BMI) Niall Horan 10% (BMI)

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Anyway, what's the conclusion here? Well, that if they were writing in big groups, then they most likely had very little say in terms of songwriting. We're talking 10% or less writing credit each. It's only when they go into smaller groups that they get a little bit more say and that's in very few songs.

I'm being extremely fair in these guesstimates and applying the same logic to everyone. Aside from very few examples (Why Don't We Go There? and Love You Goodbye, in Louis' case, Happily, If I Could Fly, and Where Do Broken Hearts Go? in Harry's, Temporary Fix in Niall's) where they have even splits in smaller groups, none of them were really the driving force in terms of songwriting.

Conclusion: Louis wasn't the key anything.

This idea that Louis was crucial for 1D's success because of his writing is fucking ridiculous by literally all metrics. He didn't write the most songs, he didn't write on most songs, he didn't write the biggest bangers or the most popular songs (not singles and not album tracks either), he wasn't the main songwriter on a single song he did write, in fact, more often than not his contribution was 10% or less of a song.

Can we end this debate for once?

We'll talk about the fact that he actually can't fucking write in the next post. I know this one was probably a little boring, but we needed to get this out of the way to get to the fun part. Which is coming next!

[gracefullou]

This is the most important part from that article and like I said wbk lol

When Harry Styles's black limousine arrived at the church (in typical sensible Harry style, he was the first to get there), onlookers expected to see the other members of One Direction climb out alongside him.

After all, in their heyday they would refer to one another as 'brothers'. Only those five boys could ever comprehend the magnitude of their overnight fame and how it upended their lives entirely.

However, Harry wasn't with his bandmates Niall Horan, Zayn Malik or Louis Tomlinson. Instead he was flanked by actor turned chat show host James Corden and their television producer friend Ben Winston.

The trio are very close. Harry lived in Winston's loft while his house in Hampstead was being renovated in 2013, spending a significant amount of their free time with Corden.

Arriving at Liam's funeral separately was an illustration of just how far apart the bandmates have grown since their reign as the world's most successful boyband, when they presented themselves very much as 'besties'.

After Harry, Niall was the next to arrive with his girlfriend Amelia Woolley, then Zayn and then Louis. Outside the church, only Zayn and Louis were seen sharing a moment together before Zayn left alone shortly afterwards.

'Of course, they all wanted to be there, they shared so much with Liam,' said one insider. 'But that doesn't mean they are best friends any more. They haven't worked together for almost ten years – they have grown apart.

In fact, the last time they all met up, it was because Simon Cowell insisted they did after Louis's mum died, and that was eight years ago.

'But it was just so telling to see Harry arrive with his super-famous friend James rather than the other band members. It kind of told you what you needed to know about how the boys have drifted apart.'

I'm told there is very little contact between Harry and the others, and that it's a similar story for Niall, though he was the last of the band members to see Liam before he died.

Indeed, Liam was in Buenos Aires to see the Irish heart-throb in concert, and afterwards had what I'm told was a 'quick and fleeting' meeting with him.

It is surely agonising to all involved that one of the first times the band had reunited in years was in the hours after Liam died on October 16 – to agree on the most poignant words to pay tribute to him.

In a statement signed 'Louis, Zayn, Niall and Harry', they wrote: 'We're completely devastated by the news of Liam's passing.

'In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say. But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly. The memories we shared with him will be treasured for ever. For now, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and the fans who loved him alongside us. We will miss him terribly. We love you Liam.'

To the outside world, it appeared little had changed since their days travelling the globe as the biggest boyband since the Beatles.

In fact, those closest to Liam at the end were Louis and Zayn, who have both had their own troubles in recent years.

Louis struggled following the deaths of his mother Johannah Deakin in 2016, and his little sister Felicite – who accidentally overdosed on cocaine, an anxiety drug and painkillers aged just 18 – four years later. Meanwhile, Zayn was reportedly axed by his record label RCA due to his alleged cannabis use in 2021.

Dailymail being the low of the low, posting articles about this at a time like this 😬. But it is kind of ironic that #those people said they weren't seen together as a whole bc they didn't want the attention when as usual that brought even more attention (mainly by fans) and tbh all the media would run with the "1D memebers reunited at their lost brother's funeral" (and they did) whether there where pics of them together or not, just them being there is enough to generate these articles. What's even more telling is that there were only pics of Harry and Niall together, which was already established that they get along well enough, no other pictures of the other members together (not talking about Louis and Zayn bc it's obvious they just met at the entry and ofc they would be civil to one another at a time like this, which also kind of confirms that they didn't even coordinate their arrivals to not be seen together, bc if that was the case why would Zayn and Louis arrive almost at the same time, they had a public fall out them interacting would take away the "attention" no?)

[theusisthebadplace]

I don’t really have anywhere else to say this, so I hope it’s ok, but I’ve been taking Liam’s death really hard. I wasn’t a One Direction fan for all of my childhood, but they got me through my late high school and early college years. I loved Louis and Zayn and Niall and Harry all soooo much, but Liam and I shared a birthday, just different years, so I always felt a different level of connection to him. I don’t know much about the validity of zodiac placements, but as a fellow 8/29 baby, I’ve always been someone who chased the past and didn’t feel like I fit in and tried to do my best but failed and constantly compared myself to everyone else around me. And I see so much of me in Liam and who he was.

One Direction gave me the connection I desperately needed to get through my late formative years. I finally felt like there were other people who felt the same way I did. They gave me something to think about and laugh about and love and look forward to. I lost my mom this year, and its been awful and heartbreaking and the worst thing that I’ve ever gone through. She was my best friend. But lately I can’t stop thinking about how she would’ve lost me first if I hadn’t found One Direction. I wouldn’t have made it without them and the friendships I still have that grew out of my love for them.

I’m so sad that Liam never got his chance for a redemption arc and didn’t get the chance to show people who he could be. I’m heartbroken that he died alone, never feeling like he was good enough, and that he lost sight of the love that so many people had for him.

I don’t know how to cope with feeling like we all failed him, but I hope he’s at peace now ❤️

Oh my love. I’m so sorry for the loss of your mom. Grief can definitely compound, so please be extra gentle with yourself, okay?

Everything you’re feeling is so spot on and I completely understand.

The date of Liam’s passing is actually the anniversary of a dear dear friend I lost some years ago, to the same disease, nonetheless. Finding out Liam died the same day as my Jake - it’s been a lot to try and “handle”.

Here’s what I take some solace in, and I hope this is okay to say. I think about all of the people who loved 1D, or who knew those of us who loved 1D that have gone before us. And I just keep picturing this massive crowd of souls on the other side, all buzzing with excitement, waiting to tell Liam how he impacted their life or the life of someone they love. Maybe my Jake is in that crowd. Maybe your mom is there too.

If I could, I’d give you the biggest hug. Take care of yourself, muffin. I love you.

[foxes-that-run]

British GQ - One Direction

This One Direction interview got us death threats

One Direction are the biggest pop stars on the planet and the faces of a 100m commercial empire. They are also the focus of millions of teenage girls' fevered fantasies, a fact we learnt first-hand when we began to receive death threats from fans after our interview below was published. Here re-read one of the most controversial cover stories GQ has ever had...

(x) "It's definitely less than 100... Harry He's been up all night to get lucky" Jonathan Heaf. 24 August 2013

"Two people"

[..]

The rules of The Interview were crystal clear long before my arrival in Fake Disco Narnia: two 15-minute slots, with the five band members split into two separate groups - Liam and Niall, followed by Louis, Zayn and Harry. An application for a proper, grown-up chat with each of the boys was vetoed by their scrupulously efficient PR man: "No time." As I know the dangers of interviewing band members together - their cubbish jovial inter-band mumbling always cloaking any sort of straight answer - I suggest I interview each of the members for six minutes alone. No ball. Which makes any journalist wonder whether the talent has something to hide or, in fact, nothing to give. Aside from the time restrictions, there were two other cast-iron "no-go areas": "In terms of parameters for the interview, Taylor Swift is off limits for Harry. And Zayn will not discuss the story from earlier this year alleging he had cheated."

[...]

It comes as no surprise that Styles is, of course, fiercely protected by the 1D team. And as I'm waiting to meet the three remaining members, I get the distinct impression that the whole group-interview scenario is more for Styles' benefit than anyone else. Of course, the gods have a punchy way to deliver happenstance. And this morning, for GQ at least, it comes in the form of a road-traffic accident inside the Blackwall Tunnel, the main traffic artery from inner London to the O2. This means that although Harry made it through, the other two, Louis and Zayn, are held up. Harry is, at least for a glimmer, all by himself, alone.

GQ: Does this job get any easier?

Harry: I don't think it's easy at all. The fear of it has turned into adrenaline. Definitely the first few shows you're scared as that's when all the mistakes happen. And then once you get your bearings and you know what you're doing you can enjoy it more. Every show is different so you can't entirely relax, although sometimes I do wonder what I'll be having for tea that night. I try to remain focused.

GQ: What do you make of the rumours about you and Nick Grimshaw?

Harry: What rumours would they be?

GQ: That you're an item.

Harry: Oh, really? I didn't even know. We're not dating, no. We're just friends.

GQ: So you're not bisexual?

Harry: Bisexual? Me? I don't think so. I'm pretty sure I'm not.

GQ: Do these rumours feel at all intrusive?

Harry: Some of them are funny. Some of them are ridiculous. Some of them are annoying. I don't want to be one of those people that complains about the rumours. I never like it when a celebrity goes on Twitter and says, "This isn't true!" It is what it is, I tend not to do that. The only time it gets really annoying is that if you get into a relationship and you get into a place where you really like someone and then things are being written in the papers that affect them and how they see you. Then it can get annoying.

GQ: Do you worry about going off the rails?

Harry: No. I'm not a big drinker, really I'm not. I don't go home and open a beer or have a glass of wine to relax, I'm just not that sort of person. I'll drink if I go out with friends and if I've got the day off, yeah, I'll go out. I don't like alcohol enough.

GQ: Are you getting more used to being this famous?

Harry: I don't think you can ever get used to being this famous. I've learnt how to keep things separate or at a distance.

I've nothing to hide. But seeing this as work, like a job, means I can take a step back. It's me right now in front of you and in the papers but it's not all of me. If you give yourself entirely to the business, you'd end up going mad. And I'm not mad. Not yet.

GQ: Do you know how many people you've slept with?

Harry: I know the number of people I've slept with, yes.

GQ: What is that number?

Harry: I'm definitely not telling you!

GQ: Can you give me a rough, ballpark figure?

Harry: No!

GQ: Say "yes" or "no". Less than 100?

Harry: No!

GQ: So higher than 100?

Harry: No, it's definitely less than 100...

GQ: Lower than 50?

Harry: Yes, lower than 50.

GQ: Lower than 30?

Harry: I'm not doing this! You're cornering me!

GQ: Come on you're a rock star. OK, less than ten.

Harry: Yes. Two people. I've only ever had sex with two people.

GQ: I don't believe you.

Harry: Well, that's my answer. Read from it what you will!

At this point, Zayn and Louis walk in. Which is a pity, as Harry is just getting into his stride. He's confident and can handle himself well. He's charming, funny and you can see why the girls (and boys) swoon. If One Direction have ambitions to broaden their audience they are going to have to learn to reveal a little more of themselves - or be allowed to. With the other two in the room the talk reverts back to "band issues".

[alarrytale]

Harry, along with the other members of 1D signed over the control of their public images to Sony in 2010.

Sorry, I know you don't want to talk about it, but this is important. Legally, you can trademark the words making up your name, and your likeness, as discussed. Within a contract, you can have clauses about standards of behaviour: Harry has talked about those. That's reasonably normal for a job in my world so I understand it.

But in law, even the person doesn't own the rights to their 'being', so how can those rights be signed away? Nobody can legally own the rights. And why would that be done in perpetuity, which also wouldn't hold any water legally? It just doesn't make sense.

Various disreputable behaviours of a couple of 1D members while the band was still going were not 'punished', and what could a punishment possibly be except being denied the opportunity to be in 1D and therefore losing income?

I know this is nitpicking but I'm trying to work it out in my head!

Hi, anon!

They didn’t sign over the rights of their "being". They signed over their rights of their public image. It's an image clause, and about regulating their public behaviour so that Sony isn't risking their invested money being lost by Harry making out with Louis on Oxford street and breaking the hearts of millions of girls world wide and making them unstan and losing the label their invested money. If you read the AGT contract i've linked to before, it states that the label can exploit them as they see fit, even if it's defamatory, and they're not allowed to sue.

Harry and Louis can do whatever they want to in private; get drunk, do drugs, don't treat people with kindness, sleep with each other etc. It's just the public behaviour that Sony controls. It's no different to your work contract that states you're not allowed to drink alcohol at work, but you’re free to do so after work. The list of don't's is just longer and left up to Sony's discretion. Their behaviour needs to fit the wants of the public. If the wants of the public change, as do the 1D members behaviour. Niall had to hide his smoking in 2010-2012, because they were marketed as innocent boys next door, but he was allowed to in 2013 because then they were marketed as rocky, rebellious teenagers. "Bad behaviour" also don't need to be punished or nixed by Sony if the public reaction is positive, gains them attention and makes them money. Being openly gay is the biggest threat to Sony's bottom line, so that's what's controlled the harshest.

The punishment for breaking contract would be ending of contract in which they owed the label their invested money + future loss of income that Sony could have made if they adhered to their image and persona. The sums would be astronomical. Other punishments could be defamatory tabloid articles, killing their reputation and distancing them from fan support. They did that with Louis many times, because he was the one that opposed his own image and persona the most. The tools at Sony's disposal to control them and punish them is vast.

[zot3-flopped]

It drives me nuts how 1D stans "blame" Harry for 1D ending. Like, Zayn was the biggest asshole to both his bandmates and fans yet everyone coddles him and praises him for doing what was best for him, both personally and professionally. Meanwhile, Harry treated his bandmates and fans respectfully and also decided to do what was best for him personally and professionally, but that makes him the devil? It seriously pisses me off Zayn doesn't get a tenth of the flack Harry does for the shit Zayn did and continues to do, I stg everything they hold against Harry is actually what Zayn did. 1D stans baby Zayn to stupid degree, the amount of bs Zayn pulls and it's still 'aww, poor Zayn :('.

Also! As far as I can tell, Louis was the only one who wanted 1D to keep going, because both Niall and Liam had spoken how they couldn't of continued doing 1D. But despite Zayn being a massive dick to everyone and ditching, Niall and Liam telling everyone they wanted out of 1D for various reasons including mental health, somehow all the blame is on Harry. What planet to these people live on?

Zayn only gets a pass from the 1d fandom because his solo career flopped. If he was as successful as Harry, he'd be hated and blamed.

[nerds4life]

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Fic Recs:

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[imgondeletedis]

i wasn't the 1D's biggest fan ever, but I did love the boys all of them sfm asp before, they had an impact on my pre-teen years, childhood too. Another piece of my childhood is suddenly gone. Liam's death has left me in another depressive episode, I've cried so much, I was a Liam girlie asp (although my favourites were always Zayn, and Louis)

Once again my mind can't fully function, and comprehend this.

And no I do not support domestic violence and abuse, but in his case it was because of shitty mental health, does this justify it? No, does it make me support it? Also No, a big no, absolutely not. and him suffering doesn't give excuse for him to make others suffer, but now no one can get justice, his victims are probably feeling terrible (so pls be considerate towards them, esp the ones that spoke up, it is not their fault, but the ppl who did not accountability to be held, just pure hate, and bullying. the ppl who are so insensitive.), he had done bad things that we can not support but now that he is not here we can only hope God would forgive him, and at least not forget also the good things he had done, the happiness he had brought to us growing up.

My heart and thoughts goes to his family, son bear, friends, Kate his gf, Cheryl, Louis, Niall, Zayn, his fans, and all his victims especially maya Henry (keep in mind this could he all so confusing to her, as she loved him once before, he had hurt her, she probably without you guys have felt guilt, and regret (not my place to assume anyone's feelings but it is normal for human beings that when someone you've known really well passes away you'd start blame yourself for anything related to them, sometimes it might be their death, even if it is far away from being your fault, and in Maya's case well y'all understand how it is possible that she might have felt this more than normal), so pls don't exacerbate it, look what your hatred and bullying possibly led us to, you can't fix something bad with another bad thing such as bullying. And in Maya's case, what she did was not even a bad thing, so she'd receive such hate, unless she faked it, but till it is proven so, she is a victim, she suffered enough, and what she did was not a bad thing, in fact quite the opposite, she spoke up, and that's HER RIGHT, It. Is. Not. Her. Fault.)

So instead of blaming anyone, blame the haters (not the one who JUST wanted accountability) and pray for Liam.

Liam will be missed terribly, it still doesn't feel real, I wish I could go back in time, go back to being a child, and listen to 1D.

it will never be the same now.

Condolences to everyone that has known him in real life

[seasurfacefullofclouds1]

In your humble do you think larries payed a part on why Louis won’t go to H’s concert or that’s just something people say to cope with the fact that they either dislike each other or indifferent to each other and they don’t want to admit it so they have to blame them cause it ruins their perception that Harry loves 1D and it’s members but in reality Harry doesn’t care about any 1D member apart from Niall since 2016 . I personally think Louis doesn’t want to at all and I can’t blame him him 😭 imagine someone denying you exist & your friendship but only mentioning you twice for a snl joke and the Brit awards

My gut feeling says that Harry didn’t really dislike the idea of One Direction or anyone in it from 2016-17. He was just eager to start being better than everyone else, like the Azoffs promised him. Harry had photoshoots and interviews with legends lined up (McCartney for Another Man, Cameron Crowe for RS) and he was going to leave “them” in the dust (the lyrics in Sign of the Times, Lights Up).

Harry expected Louis to keep supporting his solo endeavors, and I think they still kept in contact for a while, even out of camaraderie. As expected, Louis did. He was loyal and he talked everyone up.

I think Louis tried to discourage the idea of Larry in 2016-17 because he didn’t want something that was associated with 1D “stan culture” to transfer over to their solo careers. He wanted to broaden the fanbase. However, both Louis and Harry soon realized that Larries and 1D fans were going to be the key to solo stardom. Ignoring this fact was impossible, and economically stupid. They played to the base.

Who knows what really went on, but I think by early 2018, that’s when communications between Harry and Louis frayed. I don’t think Harry was in touch with anyone from One Direction after that, not on a regular basis.

Harry was a superstar by 2021. Sony and Irving Azoff made sure he got as much exposure as possible between music and cinema (negative exposure is still exposure). His music and tour generated incredible amounts of money.

Louis usually goes to concerts to enjoy the concerts. In fact, at Glastonbury and other festivals, he goes to the sets he wants to hear, often avoids the sets of the biggest pop stars, and wouldn’t be recognized except for his group of friends. He isn’t in a VIP section drawing attention to himself. His support for his 1D mates was often at the beginning of their careers. There is no reason for Louis to go to a Harry Styles concert.

[freshwarrior757]

IMO the worst part about Liam's death is that he was the biggest fan of 1D. He was always talking about them on his livestreams, he was always supporting his fellow bandmates in their solo careers, he was always singing their songs, and he was always called "Daddy Direction".

Zayn stayed away from the topic for most of his solo career, only giving it passing mentions in interviews. Harry was famous enough on his own that he didn't need to mention it, save for a few covers. Niall and Louis still mention it sometimes, and they cover songs from 1D at many of their shows. But Liam seemed like the only one who still loved One Direction. Liam was the one who kept 1D in people's hearts when everyone had moved on.

And now that he's gone, we've just been left with nothing.

[zayns-beer-can-gainz]

Hi!

And Happy New Year 🎉

You wanted 1D related asks so

What is your favorite memory of 1D?

Who is your favorite member of 1D?

How did you become a fan of 1D?

Did you see 1D live?

hello there!

1. too many to remember or type honestly. i love all the times when they were happy and having a good time, so that’s pretty general haha, nothing too specific :) hope this is fine!

2. currently it’s louis/niall :)

3. i think the first time i truly became a fan was around 2013 when i was listening to their songs on the radio, over and over and over again, then many years later was when i got into them a little bit more by looking at all their antics behind the scenes and in interviews, plus getting to know who they’re like as people off stage and off camera, it really warmed my heart, and i got to find out that besides being immensely talented, they’re genuinely nice, great guys who have the biggest hearts for their fans!!!

4. yes, in 2014, w 5SOS. so much fun, but it RAINEDDD… booo haha.

thanks for the ask friend!! :)

[cantcompetewhereudontcompare]

These are the tags I mentioned in my other post.

1. I don’t think you understand the meaning of “spiritual.” What on earth are you talking about? (It’s a rhetorical question. I'm gonna block you, so don't bother answering).

2. “Teen girls didn’t care about Harry’s work ethic." Good thing I didn't even imply they did. I think his EMPLOYERS cared, though. You know, the ones I said were pushing him to the front? I know you have to turn off your frontal lobe in order to become a Larrie, but Jesus Christ. String two concepts together, I beg.

3. “Teen girls didn’t care about Harry’s stage presence.” Wow, we're struggling with every basic concept here, huh? Teen girls don't care about stage presence? They don't??? Are you very sure???

There’s a whole ass series about Harry’s stage presence on YouTube called “King of entertaining the crowd" with MILLIONS of views.

There was a whole genre of YouTube videos of girls going to 1D shows and recording Harry for entire songs because of his stage presence. I think you may not know what stage presence is, if I'm being perfectly honest.

4. “Teen girls wrote about Harry having a bad boy persona so that proves that his personality didn’t really matter.” Good lord. No it doesn’t. It’s fan fiction. Sure, some fans will have a hard time separating fan fiction from reality and will project whatever they read on fan fiction to the celeb, but that’s a very small number of people in a normal fandom. The vast majority of fans actually do care about his personality and support him partly because of it.

It’s harder for you to understand it because you are a Larrie, and as such, you don’t really care about reality but about your perception of it. And the Larrie version of reality stems 100% from fan fiction. The average Harry Styles fan doesn't think he's the bad boy from After or Duplicity. They think he's a goober and love him for it.

5. “He was the second most attractive member.” This is flat out wrong.

Harry wasn't "the second most attractive member." Why? Because how attractive someone is or isn't is entirely subjective. All five of them were conventionally attractive young men. Skinny, average height, and a conventionally attractive facial bone structure. Then you get into the minutia of who's more this and who's more that, and that will absolutely be subjective. Harry is the second most attractive member TO YOU.

TO ME, he's the most attractive member (I like my men tall and well built). To someone else Niall will be the most attractive member, and so forth.

Of course Zayn not being white would affect things, but plenty of non-white artists have become hugely successful (the biggest artist of all time was a black man). And Zayn's career, and this goes beyond being the fan favorite or not, failed to take off for a myriad of reasons that had nothing to do with the color of his skin or his religious background. That's a cop out. Those same reasons were present while they were in the band.

[mychampagne-mybubbles]

HS4 first chapter, Rob & H seen together. Also brought the attention to all the 1D boys through HLD, the biggest fan account.

The fact that Louis mentioned the ring-ing is only another sign they perfectly know their fandom’s minds, perception & behavior.

Harry Styles • HS4 Era Kick Off • 19.02.2024

So is this one the HS4 gifted ring already? The usual drill…

So here it is… the “threesome”.

The same time Harry appears with a (new?) ring, giving a justification to include Liam in HLD… the same old connections

Plus Louis including Niall in the game too.

[theusisthebadplace]

So. Three months into 2023 we’ve gotten:

-LILO together at Louis’ doc premiere

-Nouis supporting each other on social media

-Harry being the biggest 1D fan, saying the names of his band mates at the Brits and wearing 1D merch

-Narry hangout from last year confirmed by Niall

[foxes-that-run]

That time 1D posed for Vogue with a Taylor lookalike next to Harry:

December British Vogue: The Fab Five Full Interview

By Jo Ellison 18 December 2012 (x)

Photographed by Patrick Demarchelier wearing a Christian Dior dress - with One Direction - for the December 2012 issue of British Vogue. Patrick Demarchelier

In just two years, since coming third on X Factor, they've charged their way to global fame, smashed new records and set millions of hearts aflutter. Not bad for a boy band who don't dance. Jo Ellison tries to catch up with One Direction in the December issue of Vogue.

Could it be that the only person in the world not familiar with One Direction is Patrick Demarchelier, the photographer today charged with capturing the fab five for Vogue. Sitting on a battered leather sofa in a comfortable studio in north London, his typical Gallic indifference to the upcoming task is almost comic. "So, oo iz ziss zat we are shooting?" he appeals to the room. "The Beatles?" Pretty much, an entourage of overexcited females nod back. He shrugs, and glances at his watch.

For the benefit of Demarchelier - or those who don't associate regularly with seven-year-olds, televisions or radios, or those of us of a slightly older vintage with dubious moral intentions - One Direction are currently the biggest pop band in the world. In two years, since coming third in the reality talent factory X Factor, they have achieved successes even Simon Cowell couldn't have quite dreamt of. At the time of writing, Messrs Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan are number one in 50 countries, boast about 10 million Facebook fans and lead more than 6.5 million followers on Twitter. Their debut album, Up All Night (a pop-pourri of infinitely familiar but earwormy tracks, including the ubiquitous summer anthem What Makes You Beautiful), was the first by a British act to go straight to number one in America. Ever. Its release coincided with an epic, global, sellout tour, during which their every movement was accompanied by a shrieking tsunami of tweenage desire. They've just recorded a "difficult" second album in Sweden.

Critics may dispute their musical legitimacy - they don't write songs, nor play instruments, nor dance (unless you count swaying vigorously on the spot). Neither was their genesis remotely organic; the five were thrown together "live" on air when they failed to persuade the X Factor judges of their strength as soloists. In short, they are as manufactured as McDonald's. But 1D, as their apparently un-ironic moniker would now have them, are the modern pop phenomenon. As Alexa Chung puts it: "They're no Beatles, obviously, but it's nice to see a boy band dress well for a change. They remind me of a box of puppies at Christmas - each one more adorable than the next."

The question as to exactly who is the most adorable remains the most hotly contested debate in the playground today. Is it Liam, from Wolverhampton, star sign Virgo, with his newly shorn, post break-up crew cut, his phobia of spoons and his excellent Kermit the Frog impression? Or Zayn, a chocolate-eyed Capricorn from Bradford, who has three sisters, always wears two pairs of socks and can't swim? Maybe it's Louis, the green-eyed granddaddy of the gang, another Capricorn, this time from Doncaster, about to turn 21 and one of only two members to hold a driving licence. Is it little Niall, Virgo, a blond moppet from Mullingar in Ireland, with not-so-invisible invisible braces, "a soft spot for girls with green eyes" and a habit of curling up and dozing off at any given opportunity?

Or is it Harry? Which, of course, it is, because if you have heard nothing whatsoever of One Direction you have probably heard of Harry Styles, the hazel-eyed, mop-topped, bedimpled lead singer and baby of the group, with whom the whole world has fallen in love. Harry, an Aquarian, who hails from the village of Holmes Chapel in Cheshire. Harry, whose delightful scowl of petulant confusion, like a teddy bear trying to do trigonometry, has skewered millions of fluttering hearts, and has wooed scores of women if the papers are to be believed (and wouldn't you, if you were he and had that kind of opportunity?). Harry, whose favourite food is tacos, who hates mayonnaise, adores the Beatles, likes to perform Justin Bieber at karaoke and who is the first to introduce himself to the assembled crew when the band arrive, two hours earlier than scheduled, throwing everyone into a paroxysm of panic that even the best Carry On film couldn't emulate.

"You're never going to get used to walking into a room and have people screaming at you," he says of his status as World's Most Fanciable Adolescent, as a stylist fumbles around him with a black tie in as professional a manner as she can muster. Despite being so terribly attractive, with his lazy northern brogue and cursedly pretty face, he has managed to stay sanguine about his fame. "There's a lot of things that come with the life you could get lost in," he says, eyes flickering earnestly under the signature 'do (ebony curls, fringe swept-over, mussy at the back). "But you have to let it be what it is. I've learnt not to take everything too seriously."

And how does he feel about the endless photocalls and press shoots that go with the territory? Days like today, for example. "I enjoy 'em, actually," he says. "Especially ones like this, where you don't have to just sit there and grin."

He's especially comfortable in the fashion world; he was the only member of the band who sat front row at Burberry last September, for example. "I like fashion," he says. "When I look back at the kind of stuff I wore on the X Factor, I laff." In fairness, he was only 16 then, a highly forgettable period in anyone's style evolution. "No," he shudders, recalling the bow ties and long straggly scarves that accessorised his earliest television appearances. "There's no excuse."

Despite being the most obviously charming of the group, Harry is also remarkably self-contained. In front of the camera he can appear removed, even shy at times. As to his role in the group: "I float a bit," he says vaguely, before adding, "and I can fall asleep anywhere. That's my thing."

Asked to identify the "father figure" among them, the boys nominate Liam, who is wrestling with the laces on a new pair of white Converse and getting used to the aforementioned haircut. "At the start, the management said I wasn't allowed to change my hair," he says of the strict aesthetic with which the boys are expected to comply. "But then I did it anyway, so they kind of let that one go. I tend to change my hair quite a lot." The change affords him a small window of anonymity. "I can go out and about," he says. "The other day I went out dressed as a big chav - Adidas trainers, jogging bottoms - and no one recognised me."

"It seems almost sad that a little haircut should represent such a big opportunity for the boys to lead anything like a normal life, if only until the papers catch up with them 24 hours later, but they are, at least, beginning to enjoy more autonomy in their artistic lives. The new album allowed them "to experiment with new sounds", says Harry. "We want to gradually get more and more 'live' sounding. So this album is a lot less little synth sounds, more guitars and drums. It's important to experiment with things - we want to move with the times, but keep true to ourselves."

For others, the second album was a longed-for chance to flex some musical muscle. "We did a lot of writing in the studio," says Niall, the self-described "carefree" member of the team. "And I play the guitar, so I play on a lot of the tracks on the album." A "born performer", whose first party trick, aged four, was to sing Saturday Night at the Movies to any willing audience, Niall has no issue with screaming women. Adores touring. "I love it. I love the screaming. They love it, too: they've all got their tickets and they've been waiting a year or so to see you, so you've got to give it your best." That said, he - like all of them - is looking forward to the three-day holiday they've been allocated, and the quiet normalcy of "hanging out at home and going to the pub with my old mates".

But now it's time for work. And so they assemble, staring down the lens of Demarchelier's camera with all the intensity of Derek Zoolander, as the sphinx-like Edie Campbell trails lissom limbs along their shoulders. Approaching 22 herself, she's far too old for these young swains: "They're just children," she laughs as she quick-changes into white Dior. Anyway, the boys seem largely impervious to her beauty, Zayn standing stock-still as she arranges herself around him, never breaking eye-contact with the lens. Perhaps he's in awe of her - the band's groomer later mentions she's never seen the boys so "well-behaved". True enough, they are a treat to shoot: quick, uncomplaining, each doing just as they are told - there's barely even any banter between frames. It's far from the hi-energy performance they bring to the stage, but no less efficient.

Such professionalism is almost eerie - the product of a long, long education at the school of Simon Cowell but they're ever so sweet with it, too. Afterwards they sign autographs, pose for pictures, thank everyone for their time, and are as lovely as you hope they'd be. And then they're off, all ushered, in one direction, towards the next appointment on that relentless schedule of world domination.

One Direction's new album, Take Me Home, is out now.

Read more: The December Issue Highlights

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‘All of Those Voices’ Explores Louis Tomlinson’s Journey Through Self-Doubt

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BY ELISSA NOBLITT | March 24, 2023

Pop star Louis Tomlinson released his documentary, All of Those Voices, in theaters on March 22, 2023. The film follows Louis’s final X-Factor performance all the way through his first solo tour, taking an honest look at One Direction’s bittersweet ending and Louis’s journey to prove himself as a solo artist.

Of course, fans were thrilled at the prospect of new behind-the-scenes footage; however, those expecting something akin to One Direction’s This Is Us may be surprised to discover that All of Those Voices digs deeper. While it does contain fun tour content and concert footage, these moments of levity are just that — fleeting moments within a much bigger story of uncertainty, loss, and self-examination.

One Direction fans will enjoy this film, but Louis Tomlinson fans will be moved by it.

The documentary starts out by briefly taking fans back to Louis’s X-Factor audition to set up the beginning of the One Direction era, which was to be expected. However, what’s unexpected is just how brief this segment really is — by the time the movie’s opening sequence is over, One Direction is over, too, taking the stage for their last-ever live performance. Louis has his own story to tell.

All of Those Voices sees the singer vulnerable yet unafraid to finally share his experience. Being cut from songs and struggling to stand out as a singer in the band pushed him to find his place in songwriting, but that all came crashing down in 2015 when One Direction announced their extended hiatus.

Louis shares that he was totally blindsided by One Direction’s disbandment: “It hit me like a ton of bricks. I was not prepared for it. Not at all.” This casts a different light on their breakup, which was presented at the time to be a unanimous decision for the benefit of the group.

On the contrary, Louis is terrified for the future: “It was very easy for me to imagine Harry [or] Liam having a solo career. It was harder for me to imagine myself doing that … What the f--k am I going to do?”

In these moments, the audience comes to learn that this film is more than just a glimpse into the glamorous life of a pop sensation who was once a part of the biggest boy band in the world. Instead, it’s a raw look at Louis’s struggle to overcome the insecurity and personal tragedy that brought him to rock bottom.

Fans of Louis's know that he’s no stranger to loss. His mother died tragically of leukemia in 2016, and one of his younger sisters passed away only a few years later in 2019. Already reeling from One Direction’s dissolution, the singer shares that he struggled to remain strong through such a devastating time in his life.

Cameos from various members of Louis’s family — including three of his sisters, his grandparents, and even his son, Freddie — give fans a glimpse into his support system. Longtime 1D supporters will likely recognize them, and it’s heartwarming to see them cheering him on.

Plus, Louis’s family aren’t the only familiar faces in the film — All of Those Voices features a few appearances from One Direction members, as well. Louis and former bandmate Liam Payne reconnected; Niall Horan also appears in the documentary, and the two discuss the “out-of-body” feeling of seeing each other perform. While audience members will likely be thrilled, the inclusion of these scenes feels like much more than fan-service. They serve as a backdrop for Louis to lament the loss of his old life while also looking toward the future.

While the transition from boy band member to solo artist may seem relatively smooth to an outsider, All of Those Voices showcases that, at least for Louis, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Throughout the documentary, we see the singer building himself back up to go on tour, constantly worried about how fans will receive him. Will anyone buy tickets? If they do, will he be able to deliver?

Then, finally, the first night of his first solo tour is electric. After only two shows, Louis is devastated when his world tour comes to a halt due to COVID-19. However, when he returns to the stage two years later, he’s greeted by crowds who have camped out for months to see him, adoring and supportive.

For fans, it feels like a breath of fresh air to finally see Louis get the support he deserves.

As of this writing, Louis has released two albums and is currently in the midst of his second world tour. What the singer didn’t realize in 2015 was that One Direction’s breakup wouldn’t be the end of his career — it was only the beginning. Where he thought he would be starting from scratch, he instead retained the fervent dedication of millions of fans worldwide.

“That’s all I’ve been waiting for, really — to have these moments,” he shares. “And it does kind of feel like, finally, the stars might be aligning for me.”

Overall, All of Those Voices will give fans a refreshingly honest look at what it’s like to be on the other side of the stage — to have it all, lose it in an instant, and fight the odds to earn it back.

All of Those Voices is currently playing in theaters worldwide.