sometimes it hits me just how much one direction did in only five years. they fit four tours and did 326 shows in just five years. to compare, taylor swift has done 399 shows in almost twice that time, excluding the reputation tour. beyoncé has done 442 shows as a solo artist since the dangerously in love tour in 2003. just let those numbers sink in.
this isnt meant to be a cutesy like “oh :’) look at how much they accomplished :’)” thing. this is just me being absolutely baffled by how extremely overworked these boys were. im proud of everything they’ve done but these numbers are scary.
since i woke up missing them yet again, just wanna add that they released 5 studio albums in as many years. taylor swift and beyoncé each put out 6 studio albums in twice the time that one direction did (for beyoncé it’s longer). that’s just not normal, you dont churn out albums while you’re in the middle of touring the last one. not to mention, their teams did such a crappy job of promo after the third one and their sales weren’t half of what they could have been if they hadn’t essentially been burned out. no fucking wonder they all began to loathe it and had to stop, catch me being bitter about it until the day i die
oh and ONE MORE THING for everyone who’s saying that they’re done as a band because they hated it at the end. they didnt hate the band, they hated the nonstop work and no room to breathe and no sense of autonomy that came with the band. there are bands that have been around for decades and they haven’t been active constantly. it’s okay to take breaks occasionally so they don’t burn themselves out completely and the boys needed a break from one direction, not from music. they’ll come back one day and whenever that happens, it’ll be on their terms and it’ll be explosive and i personally just cant wait tbh
as the 2010′s come to an end, i need to say that one direction were one of the biggest, most influential musical act of this decade. pretentious assholes like the rolling stone will find it a bitter pill to swallow but one direction’s cultural impact and their mark on the music industry is quite unparalleled. simon cowell has been trying relentlessly to recreate one direction for years and he has failed every time bc the 1d’s magic simply cannot be replicated. those boys as artists, together and individually, are unmatched. their chemistry is unmatched
(made evident by louis’ appalled reaction to that one band on txf not becoming bffs immediately). they continue to break records despite not having been active as a band for 4 years. they are exceptional and they deserve to be recognized for what they’ve given to the world in such a short span of time and continue to do so as solo artists. up all night was the start of an unparalleled era for pop music. take me home is simply on another level and midnight memory started the gay revolution. FOUR is bop after bop after bop and mitam is lyrical genius. thanks for coming to my TED talk, one direction were robbed many grammys#one direction#i will say i think a comparison to other bands’ album recording/touring habits would work better#bc solo work is def different from having a whole band
okay here u go:
all time low: 2003-present (16 yrs active)
- 7 studio albums
- hard to get an idea of how many shows they’ve played bc a lot of them are part of festivals and warped tour etc etc. i picked them bc they’ve been active for more than 3 times the length of one direction’s active years (1d was active for only 4 years and went on hiatus during their fifth year).
5 seconds of summer: 2011-present (8 yrs active)
- 3 studio albums
- 281 headlining shows
jo bros: 2005-2013, 2019-present (9 yrs active)
- 5 studio albums
- 9 headlining tours
- approximately 400 headlining shows (with many cancellations that were never rescheduled; 1d only ever cancelled one show)
a lot of people have commented on comparing 1d to other bands only and not to tswift or beyonce or any solo artists but like… their level of success can only be compared to very few other artists. for as long as atl have been around, they’re not nearly as well known as one direction so comparing their numbers isn’t fair. same idea applies to 5sos bc they’ve been active for twice as long as one direction but their numbers would suggest the opposite. anyways…. this is for anyone who wanted a comparison between bands :)
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