One Direction, often shortened to 1D, were an English–Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group consisted of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik (until his departure in 2015). The group sold over 70 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling boy bands of all time, before going on an indefinite hiatus in 2016.
Formed on British singing competition The X Factor in 2010, the group were propelled to global success by social media. One Direction's debut single "What Makes You Beautiful" was a commercial and international success, reaching number one on the UK singles chart and being performed by the band at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony. They became the first British act to have their debut album top the charts on the Billboard 200 with Up All Night (2011), and subsequently became the first band to have their first four albums debut at number one following the releases of Take Me Home (2012), Midnight Memories (2013), and Four (2014). The band's fifth and final album prior to their hiatus was Made in the A.M. (2015).
Considered teen idols, One Direction were often subject to fan hysteria comparable to Beatlemania. They embarked on four world tours, two of which were all–stadium. The band's Where We Are Tour, in support of Midnight Memories, was the highest-grossing concert tour of 2014, the highest–grossing tour by a vocal group in history, and the 15th–highest–grossing concert tour of all time, grossing $290 million. They have supported various charities, raising millions for causes like cancer research and autism, and spreading awareness of global issues such as poverty and climate change.
Worth over $1 billion, the band won nearly 200 awards, including seven Brit Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, six Billboard Music Awards, and seven American Music Awards. As the world's best-selling artist of 2013, the group were named the Global Recording Artist of the Year by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. In 2014, Billboard named the band the Artist of the Year. Forbes ranked them as the fourth highest-earning celebrities in the world in 2015 and subsequently in second in 2016. The band went on an indefinite hiatus in January 2016, allowing all members to pursue solo projects.
