One Direction has to be the biggest boy band in the world right now with their first single "What Makes You Beautiful" selling over 5 million copies to date.
The popular band consists of 5 members: Niall Horan (19), Zayn Mailk (20), Liam Payne (20), Harry Styles (19), and Louis Tomlinson (21).
It is hard to believe that only 3 years ago the boys were auditioning on ITV's The X Factor as solo artists. Luckily for us, Simon Cowell had a moment of pure genius and after rejecting the boys as solo artists, he suggested they get put together in a 5 piece boy band. The boys then got through the live shows with unbelievable success, but unfortunately lost out in a place in the final to Rebecca Furguson. Never could the boys have thought what incredible success was to follow when the show ended.
A large fan-base of UK girls formed whilst the boys were on the shows, yet this just continued to grow as time went on. The boys now have over 18.5 million Facebook fans and a combined total of 71 million followers on Twitter. Their fan-base is still continuing to grow with the nickname of "Directioners" being labelled to them.
The success of One Direction isn't just confined to the UK. Their albums and singles have tallied a total of 61 number one's worldwide. They also have an impressive 19 million singles sold, and 10 million albums.
However, they aren't just awesome musicians, oh no. They also have recently launched a fragrance and a film entitled "This Is Us" which has so far made an impressive £38 million in the US Box Office since opening on August 29, along with a massive line of merchandise!
I was not fortunate enough to be able to make the Leicester Square premiere of the film, but I did get the chance to go see it today, and I was very impressed.
The film is basically self-explanatory, and the title "This Is Us" really says it all. It is an insight into the lives of the 5 boys, and shows Little Things (see what I did there?) about the boys themselves, their background and stories, along with some incredible footage from their shows all around the world.
The film is made for 3D, which I saw it in, and actually has some really good 3D effects in it! I won't give too much away about it though because I really think you should go see it.
The film shows a different side to the boys compared to what people usually see in the press and other media outlets. I think it is nice to see that they are still really grounded and not caught up in the fame. The boys are still extremely realistic with everything, and you can see the shock on their faces when they get bombarded by fans.
One Direction at the premiere of "This Is It" in Leicester Square, London
There are many different sections in the films, with little comments throughout from the boys themselves. I think it is these moment when you can see that they are still normal boys! Their security guard talks about how they are just pranksters at heart and love to mess about. Their are some clips of Harry sitting in a bin and being pushed about by Niall, and many of the boys messing about in rehearsals. Including lots of joking about the fact the boys struggle with their dance moves!
There are quite a few heartwarming moments, too. There is a clip where Zayn talks to him mum after buying her a house. This definitely made me tear up a tiny bit. There is also a quite sentimental moment when Liam talks about the fact he worries that someone will like him because of his fame, not because of the person he is.
You can really see in "This Is It" the true dedication of the fans, nicknamed "Directioners". I would say that about 96% of their fan-base are female, and many of them getting very teary and shaky when they see them.
Something I was extremely happy to see was the fact there is loads of footage from their performances in there. As someone who was cheated out of tickets to see 1D, I felt a little less upset seeing the footage. I am dying to see the boys live, but unfortunately as a student there is no way I can ever afford tickets to see them. So online videos are something I am going to have to get accustomed to.
One Direction's Take Me Home tour
It makes me all warm inside to see that the boys still value their roots, with footage of Harry visiting his old job in a bakery and saying that it's nice to visit somewhere where people know the real him.
Harry Styles in the bakery he worked in as a teenager
I loved the boys already, but to see that they are real genuine guys just makes me love them more. I am not the sort of person who likes them simply because of the fact they are famous, I love their personalities and the fact that they went from not knowing each other whatsoever, to becoming basically family in such a small space of time. The film itself really shows that too, especially in moments when the boys are chatting about the `band and their success, with them all mentioning that they wouldn't be where they are with each other.
I do have a slight personal favourite out of all the boys (a biiiiig soft spot for Niall has been there since day one), but after seeing "This Is Us" I am loving them all equally! Although I do think that Niall should come for a cheeky Nandos and drink with me...
It was nice to see the real side to the boys and for them to not include every aspect of their personal lives. They are all heavily reported on in the media, especially revolving around their love lives, so it was so lovely to see that they kept this private and to themselves.
The film is definitely made to be aimed at their fans as it has all the things that drive them wild; Zayn's mysterious gaze, half-naked Liam, Niall's cheeky grin, Louis playing pranks, and Harry's face. Makes me a happy woman, I must say.
I would seriously recommend the movie even to people who aren't fans of One Direction as it is a really good watch, and has all their toe-tapping songs in it, too. See it in 3D to get the full experience.
I would love to hear your opinions whether you have seen the film and like the boys or not, so tell me all about it in the comments below.
Also, if you know of any cheaper One Direction tickets for 2014 that would be awesome. I'd even blog/vlog about it!
As always, thank you for reading and speak to you all soon!
Toodle-oo.
