Thank you

              7 weeks ago I started this blog based on One Direction, but it has gotten to be more than that. I have truly loved updating and just ranting about these 5 (4 now) boys that mean the world to me. Yes, I’m 15 and yes I do love One Direction and I’m not ashamed for loving them and their music. People can make fun of me all they want for making this blog about them or just talking about them non-stop but I don’t care. These 5 boys are such incredible human beings inside and out who don’t deserve all this hate and ridicule. Harry, Liam, Louis, Niall, and Zayn have grown up to be the greatest and most known band in the whole world coming from small towns in England, all with messed up backgrounds. Although Zayn left the group to be on a solo career, the rest of One Direction have become stronger musically and also made amends with Zayn. I love these boys so much, they have helped me through so much. I’m not saying they saved my life, but they sure did help me experience a new side of music that I didn’t know I would truly love. To conclude this blog I just want to say thank you for everyone who read this, not only the ones who are in my class, but everyone. And lastly, a big thank you to One Direction, the boys who I discovered one night 5 years ago, never knowing that I would soon become their biggest fan.

Thank you,

Brianne

Oh that's where Zayn went

From Green Day to ‘N SYNC and now to One Direction, there has always been a band member who left whether it was because of the abuse of drugs/alcohol, the need for a solo career, or just to step out of the life of fame. The thing that these past members from bands have in common was that they were all straight up about the cause of leaving. These goodbyes have always been sincere... just not the way Zayn Malik did it. On March 25^th, a Facebook statement announced that he was leaving, later following an interview saying he was leaving to spend time with his fiancée and to be “normal.” Of course every fan shared their moment of confusion, anger, and especially heartbreak, but all everyone really wanted was for him to stop being “sad” and to start loving life as he originally told all of us many times.          

As the days past, there were posts, articles, and rumors going around saying he was going to come back during the summer of 2015. That was probably the only thing I was holding onto until I saw on twitter that he was back in the studio… by himself with someone named Naughty Boy which is a producer. I realized after a couple of days when he dropped his single onto SoundCloud, and received an award for his song that he didn’t really want to leave the spotlight but he wanted to have the spotlight only on him instead of him and his 4 best friends.

Till next week,

 Brianne 

Where's Zayn?

Finally, the post that I have been looking forward (and not) to. March 25, 2015. The day that past member Zayn Malik left One Direction. For a couple of months, he was missing concerts due to mental health and rumors spreading about cheating on his fiancée Perrie Edwards. Fans of course were concerned but no one would really expected or imagined that he would leave the band a month later. On the 25^th   of March at 11:30 am, One Direction posted a link on Twitter. I didn’t bother checking it because I just assumed it was about upcoming concerts, but 2 minutes later I got text message after text message telling me to check One Direction’s Twitter.

The link was a Facebook statement, and after reading it I had to read it 4 more times to wrap my mind around the fact that the member with the strongest voice in the group, the most solos (especially in You & I), and the one who said they were definitely going to stay together, that this wasn’t the last of One Direction left. Although I was extremely sad and mad at the moment, I just wanted for Zayn to be happy and respect that he didn’t want to be in the spotlight anymore. I understood that he wanted to “be a normal 22 year old”, but what I didn’t and still don’t understand is how he thinks he could just stop being famous. He left the biggest band in the world and what? He just expected to walk on the street the next day and have no one recognize him? Still to this day, 2 and a half months later he still hasn’t given the fans a proper goodbye to an incredible 5 years or said exactly why he left. The Facebook statement didn’t even come from him, but from management!! Next week I’ll explain in depth how shady this whole situation is.

Till next week,

Brianne

They're people too

I think I’ve established many times that One Direction is the biggest boy band in the entire world. But just like any great musicians there’s always that group of people who will always talk bad about that band and bring them down. There could be millions of fans who love them and their music, but once they see one or a couple of bad comments they automatically assume they suck. From interviews, to post on twitter, you can tell they get really affected by these people. I mean why comment something negative like “gay” or “untalented”. They’re not self absorbed guys who perform for money. They love their job, their music, and that feeling of satisfaction knowing that 80,000 people know the lyrics to their songs. They’re human, with feelings that have eyes and ears.

Not just One Direction, but no one should be criticized for loving what they do. Just like everyone, they’re insecure not only about their music, but about themselves too. For example, member Liam Payne has been getting a lot of hate and getting called fat and ugly by people outside of the fandom. No one has the right to call anyone those awful words because people take it to heart even if they say they don’t care. Also, all the boys have been called gay but it has been in magazines and the internet that members Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles are gay.. This hate has been taken to another level, which made past member of One Direction, Zayn Malik left the band. Although, he said it was because of not wanting to be in the spotlight, it all started with rumors about him cheating on his fiancée, and being called horrible and a cheater. Words really do effect people, even One Direction.

Till next time,

Brianne

The rest of One Direction

             Louis Tomlinson, born on December 24, 1991 in Doncaster, England. He is the oldest out of all 7 siblings with 6 half little sisters, and 1 younger half brother. During his childhood, he was into theater and was on some BBC television shows along with his sisters. In high school, he got the lead role in Grease and decided he wanted to sing as a profession. Motivated he auditioned for the X factor and got into it with 2 yeses and 1 no. He got what he wanted, to sing as a profession and much more.

            Niall Horan, born September 13, 1993 in Mullingar, Ireland. At the age of 5, his parents divorced and he and his older brother Greg decided to live with their dad. Since he was little, he played the guitar and sang and performed in his hometown in different places on the street and heard about the X Factor. He made it on the X Factor when he was 16 and now plays guitar regularly at their shows instead of playing on the streets.  

            Now Zayn Malik, born on January 12, 1993 in Bradford, England. Zayn says he did not fit in school due to his mixed heritage and got made fun of. He wanted to express himself in some way and appreciate his appearance, so he decided to audition for the X Factor. He made it onto the X Factor, and now expresses himself with writing songs for the group and singing. He is the only one to have a serious relationship, and is recently engaged to Perrie Edwards singer of British group “Little Mix”.  On March 25, 2015 he left One Direction to get away from the spotlight. (I will be dedicating a whole blog entry on why Zayn left One Direction and what he did after he left.)

            These 5 boys had a normal life before they all joined the X Factor. They have all gone through bullying, not fitting in, or even family problems. Just because they are famous and make millions doesn’t mean they had life easy. They all came a long way from going to school to performing in front of 80,000 screaming fans a night. 

            Till next Thursday, 
            Brianne 

2/5 because it's too long

People always make fun of me when I tell them that I listen to One Direction. They say that I’m a little too old for them, and that they have no talent whatsoever. I honestly don’t mind it because if they really knew how talented they are they would think again. Starting from the bottom, to now making millions of dollars from their tours doesn’t just happen. They didn’t come from famous parents or even a wealthy family. I’m going to give you a little insight on their lives before there was girls and paparazzi chasing them, and before they became the #1 boyband in the entire world.

Starting off with Liam Payne, born August 29, 1993 from West Midlands, England. Payne did not have an ordinary childhood. He had a dysfunctional kidney so he was at the doctors often and getting 32 injections a day. Like any kid, he was bullied but found his peace through sports and music. At the age of 14, he auditioned for the X factor and didn’t make it due to his age and how weak his voice was. Founder and judge Simon Cowell, told him to “come back in two years.” Two years later, Cowell and Payne met face to face again. He sang “Cry Me A River” and blew the judges away by how much he improved. I guess you can say fate was involved in this, because he got 4 best friends out of it and a dream so big he would’ve never imagined.

            Harry Styles, born February 1, 1994 in hometown Cheshire, England. When he was 7, his parents got a divorce and later on his older sister, mom, and himself moved further into the countryside. Before the X Factor, he was attending high school and was working a part time job in a bakery. Harry was in a band of his own, called “White Eskimo”. He was always around music whether it was on his own time, or playing in his band. His mom Anne convinced him to audition for the X Factor, and within time he got the part. From working in a bakery to working around the world as a musician is definitely impressive.        

                I will only be doing Liam and Harry this week, but next week you’ll get more information on Niall, Louis, and Zayn.

Till next week,

Brianne

The beginning of One Direction

I remember the first time I saw them. It was the first time all of them auditioned. Although, I did not know what they would become, something about them made me love music even more. I remember when Simon Cowell put them together as a band and I remember waiting every Wednesday for the next showing of the X factor just to see them perform. I guess it was amazing how 5 boys who never crossed paths could make such wonderful music together. I remember it was 2 in the morning on a Saturday, sitting at my desk with my laptop in front of me. I remember going on YouTube and having to type out the full band name instead of just an ‘O’ because now they are the most searched subject. I remember not seeing any music videos but just X factor performances. I remember so clearly, like if it was yesterday, saying to myself “they’re going to make it.”

One Direction now known as the biggest boy band in the entire world has not always been known as that. November 23, 2010 was the day X factor judge Simon Cowell put together 5 random boys, from 5 different parts of England into one group. Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, and past member Zayn Malik (we’ll talk about him later on). After finishing off in 3^rd place not making it into the next step known as the “judges’ house”, Cowell gave the group another chance to perform because he really believed in their music and them. Months later, the boy band came out with a debut single “What Makes You Beautiful” which went platinum and is now a hit on all radio stations. This band has definitely taken the spotlight with the title “the biggest known boy band ever.” Selling out tours in minutes, breaking album records, winning many awards, topping charts in most major markets, and being named Billboard’s top artist of the year in 2014, One Direction has accomplished what they thought would never be possible. Five boys from five different cities in England meeting on one TV show, now being the biggest band in the entire world can be a coincidence, or maybe just fate?  

Till next week, 

Brianne