One Direction will forever be known as one of the biggest boybands ever.
During their time together they embarked on massive world tours, sold over 70 million records worldwide and captured the hearts of many. Although they have been broken up for almost 10 years, they continue to remain relevant and stream their music worldwide.
The five original members of the band, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne, have gone on to have solo careers and have achieved high levels of success.
However, they would never have achieved such fame and popularity without their start as a boyband.
Sadly, a massive and tragic loss occurred on Oct. 16th.
Liam Payne died in Argentina at the young age of 31 years old. This death affected millions of people all over the world: from longtime fans to family members to the former band members themselves.
In the wake of this tragedy, One Direction fans all over the world have been streaming their music again: reminding us of our childhoods and how much the music shaped our adolescence.
Here are what I think are One Direction’s best and biggest hits:
- “Best song Ever”
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Starting strong with their ultimate high-energy single, this song will remain a One Direction cult classic forever.
Off of their third album, “Midnight Memories,” this song was massively popular and can get anyone up and dancing. The music video has over 800 million views and is full of fun dancing and singing.
When this song comes on at a party, everyone is up and dancing.
- “Story of my life”
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This song is also one of One Direction’s most popular tracks from their third album. The chorus is a catchy ballad, and the verses are a little more slow and emotional.
This would make a great pick for a karaoke night.
- “What makes you beautiful”
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It is almost impossible to have not heard this song on the radio back in 2011. This was their debut single and the pure fun and catchy lyrics had every young fan hooked from the beginning.
It is a definite sing-a-long that will get anyone humming to the beat. This was the song that skyrocketed their career, and it would be criminal not to have it on this list.
- “Stockholm Syndrome”
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This one is a personal pick and one of my all-time favorites. Co-written by Styles, this song uses the notion of “Stockholm Syndrome” to describe an all-encompassing relationship that one can not get out of.
Some of the lyrics read “Oh, baby, I’ll never leave if you keep holding me this way, My Stockholm Syndrome is in your room.”
I find this song to be written very cleverly and I love the dramatic use of drums on this track.
- “Kiss you”
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Another early track, “Kiss You” is a fun and peppy love ballad from the group’s second album.
It is a fast-tempo song describing the feelings of a teenage crush. Whenever I listen to it, I feel the nostalgia of having a crush in high school.
When I think of early One Direction, I think of this song.
- “midnight memories”
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While “Kiss You” is an amazing example of a typical 1D song, “Midnight Memories” is equally amazing because of how different it is.
With a punk-rock vibe, this song is about simply having a great night out and making late-night memories. The song is full of booming choruses, loud guitar riffs and rebellious lyrics that make this a stand-out track.
Malik’s vocals on this track are also outstanding.
- “history”
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“History” is an emotional and important song for many One Direction fans.
It was their last single and music video before they separated. It is the 13th track off of their fifth studio album, “Made in the A.M.” They reference their fondest memories in the band, and the music video is a compilation of their journey from the “X Factor” to their last performance on the same show.
Some lyrics include “You and me got a whole lot of history (Oh)…So don’t let it go, we can make some more. We can live forever.”
This song never fails to make me emotional, while also being extremely fun and catchy.
- “love you goodbye”
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Another song off of their fifth album, this song is a standout for its pretty instrumentals and great lyrics.
Co-written by Tomlinson, this extremely relatable song is about seeing an ex after you’ve broken up. One of my favorite lines is “Oh, why are you wearing that to walk out of my life? Oh, even though it’s over, you should stay the night.”
This song captures how hard it is to let go of the love you had for someone, even though you know it needs to end.
- night changes
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Without a doubt, “Night Changes” is the most popular song One Direction has ever released, and the band’s most streamed song with over 1 billion streams on Spotify.
The song is slow, and emotional, but still incorporates their signature catchiness and energy. After Payne’s tragic death, this song’s streams skyrocketed again in his honor.
This song is lyrically beautiful and such an easy listen.
- “Steal my girl”
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The best One Direction song is ….(Drumroll please)… “Steal My Girl.”
It was the lead single off of their fourth studio album, “Four,” and peaked at #3 on UK singles and #13 on the Billboard Hot 100. Co-written by Tomlinson and Payne, this song is a standout. Besides being a catchy love-ballad, this song literally makes you feel like it was written about you.
This song is a peak example of One Direction’s ability to speak to their audience and make them feel special.
“Everybody wanna steal my girl
Everybody wanna take her heart away
Couple billion in the whole wide world
Find another one ’cause she belongs to me”
If you haven’t listened to some of these songs, I recommend you do as soon as you can.