United Kingdom’s boyband One Direction will be releasing their sophomore album this November. This yet-to-be-titled album is produced by Syco/Sony Music. Their single “Live While We’re Young,” which appears on their new album, comes to iTunes on October 1. This album anticipates One Direction’s three day stay in the U.S. to kick off the group’s 2013 World Tour. From November 30-December 3, 2012, One Direction will play at Mohegan Sun and Madison Square Garden.
Before bursting onto the international music scene in September 2011, One Direction was formed in 2010 during the seventh season of the British television series The X Factor. The band’s members include Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Harry Styles. Although the group placed third, they were signed by Simon Cowell to a £2 million contract for Syco Records. In late 2011, One Direction released its first single “What Makes You Beautiful.” This single has 3.3 million downloads and is the seventh-largest selling digital song of 2012.
Up All Night, One Direction’s debut full-length album, was released in November 2011 in the United Kingdom before its 2012 international release. During its first week in the U.S., Up All Night sold over 176,000 copies. Up All Night is 2012’s second-biggest selling album in the U.S., behind Adele’s 21. In early 2012, the group made history by being the first British band to reach No.1 on the Billboard 200 list with their first album. Up All Night also achieved the No. 1 spot in seventeen countries, and sold 12 million records worldwide. One Direction has sold out tours in the UK, USA, Australia, and New Zealand. The band’s live DVD, which chronicles the Up All Night tour, has reached No.1 in twenty-seven countries.
Hollywood Life praised the album, saying, “With catchy melodies, thoughtful lyrics, and more energy than a thousand Justin Bieber fans in a tiny box, Up All Nightfeels like summer and Christmas and my birthday all rolled into one…we actually believe what One Direction is selling. Whether they wrote their music or not, we feel like they have a really genuine quality about them, and we dig that.”
The group recorded their upcoming album in Stockholm, Sweden. A press release reported that the album received creative input from frontman Tom Fletcher of McFly, and Ed Sheeran. Savan Kotecha and Rami Yacoub, songwriters of both “What Makes You Beautiful” and “One Thing,” also penned “Live While We’re Young.” Dr. Luke, Shellback, and Toby Gad also contributed to the album’s production.
On August 24, “Live While We’re Young,” became the fastest selling pre-order single in history. The new single topped the charts in over forty countries, including the UK, Australia, France, Spain, and Brazil.
One Direction’s sold-out World Tour begins in the UK in Spring 2013. The tour features nine shows at the O2 Arena in London. After playing in cities across the UK, the new British Invasion of One Direction will kick off a tour in the U.S. The 25-city tour begins in Ft. Lauderdale, FL on June 13, 2013 and concludes in Los Angeles on August 7, 2013.
