Following the tragic passing of Liam Payne, I found myself going back to my One Direction days and listening to their entire discography. Then I started to wonder… What happened to boy bands? There was NSYNC, The Backstreet Boys, Jonas Brothers, Big Time Rush, and 1D. I am not sure if the world will ever see a frenzy like the one that One Direction caused ever again. They were everywhere, they were a phenomenon. The last time the world saw young girls go THAT feral for a band was for The Beatles. When I look back at it, I realize just how insane their success was. To be honest, I peaked when I saw One Direction with 5 Seconds of Summer as the opener back in 2014.
As many may know, One Direction was formed in 2010 after they all auditioned separately on the X Factor. The band was put together by Simon Cowell and Nicole Scherzinger and consisted of 5 members: Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Zayn Malik. They signed with Cowell’s record label and the rest is history. Being from England and Ireland, the band first found success in the UK and Europe. But the success quickly grew worldwide. As I reflect on the band a decade later, I’ve realized how hard they had to work. They were only together for 6 years but accomplished so much in those years. They released an album every year, which is abnormal. Most artists release an album every 2 years or even longer than that. They had their first album, Up All Night released in 2011, their second album Take Me Home released in 2012, my personal favorite: Midnight Memories released in 2013, Four released in 2014, and their final album Made in the A.M. released in 2015. Most of these albums were made and recorded while they were on tour. I honestly wonder when did they ever sleep???
One Direction is a major piece of 2010s pop culture. It was truly 5 boys with skinny jeans and a dream. After the band announced their hiatus in 2016, many fans were hopeful for a reunion but unfortunately, that seems very unlikely now. All the boys went on to pursue solo careers and now, with Liam gone, it would never be the same. The influence One Direction left on pop culture, the music industry, and millions of people’s lives can never be denied.
Looking back at my childhood, I’ve realized how lucky I am and my generation is for all the amazing things we got to grow up with. We had all of the best Disney Channel and Nickelodeon shows, we had Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, Justin Bieber, 1D, Big Time Rush, etc. I can’t help but wonder, what do the young kids now have? They have TikTok and are forcing themselves to grow up. Some of the young kids now are shopping at Sephora and wearing makeup and they’re only 8-12 years old. The only makeup I wore until I was about 14 was the fake makeup from Claire’s. It’s sad to see places like Justice and Toys R Us go out of business because kids are trying to act double their age.
The joy of going into Justice or Claire’s with your mom in the early 2010s. The joy of watching the ICarly episode with One Direction for the first time. The bubbly feeling I got in my stomach when I got to scream all the One Direction songs in a huge stadium with thousands of other fans. All of those exuberant feelings could never be replaced and it saddens me that kids now don’t get to experience those same things because that is what childhood is all about. So, what I say the world needs is a new boy band composed of adorable, wholesome boys singing pop music about kissing a girl and staying up all night. Is that too much to ask for? We need young girls to fill their walls with posters and beg their parents for all the merch and concert tickets possible. Then, maybe, the world would heal just a little bit.