#One direction discography series#
The main drive for my writing this, however, was not a series of analyses of the political consistency of One Direction’s music. It would be a homogenising, false statement to suggest every song written by or for a young male band in the early 2010s was bolstered by a thematic feminism, but contextual mores and the influences of selling points in a contemporaneous music industry must be considered. Additionally, in many meaningful ways for their mostly young, female demographic, there are regular anthems which seek to posit the power found in women (‘She’s Not Afraid’, ‘Olivia’), and an admiration of this. Whilst the messaging of some of these songs is obviously less-than-perfect, core themes throughout One Direction’s discography have encouraged self-love (‘Little Things’). This familiar carbon copy image, however, endured to misrepresent the artistry which exists across their five albums. A specific image of One Direction calcified in the cultural consciousness after the release of ‘What Makes You Beautiful’, followed by similar upbeat pop releases like ‘Gotta be You’ and ‘One Thing’, the most successful singles from their debut album Up All Night. One Direction’s initial venture into popular music and the world of public media was undoubtedly a byproduct of their roaring success on X Factor, defined by quick executive planning to maximise - and monetise - their moment in the spotlight. One Direction’s ‘cookie-cutter’ criticisms of the past stem from a place of undoubted misogyny, as was witnessed by (mostly female) young fans whose appreciation was immediately marred as childish and pejoratively mainstream. My enduring love for One Direction has similarly come with an enduring need to defend. No group, fandom or cultural event quite defined my adolescence as my experiences as a One Direction fan did and, in an everlasting stretch defined by apprehension about the future, I welcomed the joyful nostalgia this celebration of One Direction has evoked. The communal sharing of memories from days of heightened One Direction fever brought a welcome respite to my social media yesterday, the 23rd of July 2020, which marked a decade since the band’s formation.
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