Yes, it’s been 10 YEARS since the iconic band was brought together on July 23rd, 2010! 10 years since they sang the acoustic version of “Torn” as a group in the “judges’ house” and qualified for The X Factor.
Former members Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne, who initially joined the show as individual performers, were brought together by Simon Cowell. The group of five became strikingly popular post their journey in The X Factor.
One Direction, also known as 1D, is notably one of the biggest boy bands who took over the entertainment industry. With songs such as Live While We’re Young & What Makes You Beautiful, which peaked on the US Billboard Hot 100, the group rose to fame with millions of fans worldwide. The rest as we know it, is history.
Despite the hiatus, 1D is still making history. With millions of fans keen on the 10 Year anniversary of the band, there were several speculations about how the boys would celebrate the milestone.
Here’s what the celebration entailed:
1. Social media posts
The boys shared heartfelt posts on social media platforms talking about the journey they shared together. Harry, Niall, Louis and Liam mentioned how grateful they were for each other and the fans who supported and adored them over the last 10 years. Further, they mentioned that they’d never envisioned how much they would achieve at the beginning of their musical careers and thanked each band member for sharing the incredible journey.
Unfortunately, one can’t help but notice that Zayn did not make a single statement acknowledging the 10-year anniversary. This aside, the social media posts garnered worldwide attention. #10YearsOfOneDirection started trending across social media with over one million retweets of the Anniversary tweet shared by the Official One Direction account.
Too many incredible memories to mention but not a day goes by that I don't think about how amazing it was. @NiallOfficial @Harry_Styles @LiamPayne @zaynmalik . So proud of you all individually.
— Louis Tomlinson (@Louis_Tomlinson) July 23, 2020
What a journey… I had no idea what we were in for when I sent this text to my Dad ten years ago at this exact time the band was formed. Thanks to everyone that’s supported us over the years and thanks to the boys for sharing this with me #10YearsOfOneDirection pic.twitter.com/0d17ggB66x
— Liam (@LiamPayne) July 23, 2020
2. Immersive and interactive website
They launched an official website Ten Years Of One Direction, which took us all down memory lane. The site takes the form of a timeline which shares the journey of 1D in a chronological order. The site contains hidden surprises such as behind the scene videos, stories behind the songs and so on. The creatively curated site allows fans to drag around the images, change the background music, make mixtape with 1D songs and much more. It truly is a creative and immersive experience.
3. 10 Year celebration video
A 5-minute-long video was made in tribute of the band, the journey and their stories. The #10Yearsof1D video consists of various highlights of the band’s career such as the forming of One Direction and the release of their most popular songs, including ‘History’. The video, made especially for their fans, compiles old clips and lots of additional clips of the boys behind the scenes. It is sure to bring back lots of memories.
4. Personalised mixtape
On the special occasion, fans were able to make a personalised mixtape across Spotify and Apple Music. What’s so special about this feature? Well, fans were able to access 1D songs not only in their final versions but in EP (Extended Play) versions, acoustic, rarities, remixes as well as live recordings. Needless to say, this got the fans streaming their favourite 1D songs streaming on repeat.
Though an official reunion did not take place, as we all hoped for, these aspects of the #10Yearsof1D celebration took us down the memory lane. The Directioners sure got nostalgic and were thrilled to celebrate the one of a kind milestone.
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