14 Years of One Direction: Exploring 14 little-known facts about the Pop Band

One Direction turned 14 this Tuesday, July 23, and even with the band on a hiatus for over eight long years, fans can't help reminiscing about the good old days. 1D officially debuted in November 2011 with the release of the Up All Night album.

Released under Simon Cowell-owned Syco Records label, Up All Night peaked at the top second rank on the UK Albums (OCC) chart. The band didn't shy away from bagging the forthcoming popularity as they released the albums - Take Me Home in 2012, Midnight Memories in 2013, and Four in 2014.

One Direction initially comprised five members - Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, and Harry Styles. Zayn parted ways with the band to start a solo career in 2015. The band's fifth album, Made in the A.M., was their first release without Zayn and came out in November 2015.

1D was formed 14 years ago in July 2010 (Image via Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

The One Direction band went on their indefinite hiatus in 2016. While a reason for the decision was never revealed, the band members began their solo careers soon after.

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Exploring 14 little-known facts about One Direction

From competing against each other at The X Factor show to coming together as a boy band with back-to-back hits, One Direction had a glorious journey of five years.

As fans anticipate the boy band to come together, here's a list of some lesser-known facts about them:

(1) 1D was formed in 10 minutes

Simon Cowell, the judge of The X Factor Show, revealed at the band's 2013 web event that he decided to bring the five members together in ten minutes. Cowell's decision didn't seem to have a drawback as the boy band went on to nail the group competition and secured the third position.

(2) Styles named the band One Direction

The band was initially meant to be named USP (Unique Selling Point) as per the suggestion of Payne's father. Harry Styles revealed to NME in October 2017, that he was the one to propose the name One Direction, as it sounded good.

(3) 1D created history for musical groups in the UK with their debut album

1D's debut album, Up All Night, was a turning point for bands in the UK. The album became the first project in the country by a musical group to peak on the US Billboard Hot 200 album chart.

(4) 1D Band members have matching tattoos

All 1D band members except Horan, have crosses tattooed on their ankles. Tomlinson first revealed the secret inking to fans through a Glamorous Magazine UK interview in September 2014.

(5) One Direction had an exclusive collection of dolls, office supplies, and more

The band dipped their feet in the merchandise business in 2012 as they released singing toothbrushes, toys, and more with Hasbro. They also started selling limited-edition fragrances, and stationary products in the next year.

(6) 1D sang multiple songs penned by Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran spoke to Capital FM in October 2014 and revealed that he wrote the song 18 for 1D's Four album. Ed also wrote the tracks Moments, Little Things, and Over Again.

(7) One Direction's 2013 album, Midnight Memories was a global best-seller

Midnight Memories was One Direction's third album. It became a global bestseller in 2013. Over two months after its release, the album had sold over four million copies.

(8) 1D's Where We Are tour recorded the highest gross in 2014

The Where We Are tour came at the head of the band's rising popularity and included 69 global shows. A March 2015 report from Forbes revealed the tour secured a gross revenue of over $290 million, making it the highest gross tour of 2014.

(9) KFC inspired the Midnight Memories single

Payne shared with the Cauet TV station in 2013 that the Midnight Memories single was inspired by KFC and had the chorus, 'I love K-F-C.' The KFC version of the song never made it to the public. Tomlinson and Payne co-wrote the KFC song with a guitar-heavy track, which was written in over 45 minutes.

(10) One Direction wax figures at Madame Tussauds Museum

The boy band had their lifelike wax figures displayed at the Madame Tussauds in London in 2013. 1D was the first boy band after The Beatles to be immortalized at the Madame Tussauds. However, the museum officially retired the band's wax figures in 2020 following the indefinite hiatus.

(11) One Direction was the brand ambassador for Pokémon Black and Pokémon White

Even before releasing the debut album, the band was roped in by Nintendo in early 2011 as brand ambassadors. The band appeared in many adverts for the new Pokémon games. They also celebrated the launch party with a performance of Forever Young.

(12) 1D appeared as themselves on Family Guy and iCarly

The five 1D band members appeared in a single episode of the iCarly series on Nickelodeon in 2012. The episode followed Harry contracting a fictitious disease, jungle worms.

All members, except Zayn, were also seen voicing their characters in an animated cameo for the Fox show, Family Guy.

(13) One Direction Band was a Twitter sensation and broke a record

The band's Twitter account reached over 23,393,106 followers in 2015 and broke the Guinness World Record for having the most followers as a music group. The band's X account currently boasts over 29.9 million followers.

(14) 1D recorded a bunch of tracks that may never come out in public

The boy band appeared for an interview with the Night Changes director, Ben Winston, in October 2014. They revealed that a lot of the recorded tracks were never released and went to the vault with speculation for a future release.

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