#StopYouAreNot1D: A Guide To Tribute Bands For Confused One Direction Fans

First it must be said that I’m aware that not every One Direction fan is blithely unaware of what a tribute or cover band or act is. Just as not everyone in the #StopYouAreNot1D hashtag expects a tribute band to be an exact clone of the original group.

However, the #StopYouAreNot1D tag would not exist if enough One Direction fans, particularly young women, did not make it a point to (1) be insulted that a group of young men named One and Only Direction is paying a compliment to their favorite group and (2) going off about the looks of the guys in question.

If One Direction fans didn’t make you feel old before, this mini-controversy would likely make some of you feel very old.

#STOPyouarenot1D pic.twitter.com/zIQJWiYkiS

— Kristina_Pini_1D???? (@pinikristina) January 5, 2015

They do look like the boys If you close your left eye, Close your right eye, Then break your phone #STOPyouarenot1D pic.twitter.com/rCJCwQSCk9

— louis (@illousionftzixm) January 5, 2015

I mean, who hasn’t heard of a cover band? Who’s never seen an overweight Elvis impersonator at some point in their lives?

Well, for those confused and angry One Direction fans haunting the #StopYouAreNot1D tag, here is a helpful explanation. First, a tribute band is a group that is typically formed by fans to do cover performances of the music of a particular group.

The difference between a tribute act and a cover band is that the cover band tend to rotate members and don’t have a fixed line-up meant to represent only the members in a particular group. Tribute bands only do music by their chosen popular group; cover bands cover songs by various artists.

Now, how unreasonable is it that One and Only Direction don’t physically resemble One Direction?

In actuality, there is no law or expectation that a tribute act very closely resemble the group the members are based on. So long as the look and style closely resemble the original group while covering their songs, that’s all that matters. Anyone familiar with One Direction can see images of One and Only Direction and know exactly who these persons are impersonating.

Speaking of impersonators, these individuals make their living looking like replicas of famous celebrities. It doesn’t matter if the persons they are imitating are alive or dead; impersonators must try to look and sound as much like them as possible.

As mentioned earlier, Elvis impersonators are individuals that immediately come to mind when you think of replicas of stars. However, there are impersonators for famous actors and actresses.

If it helps, compare it to cosplay, where fans go to events like Comic Con dressed up like popular comic and video game characters.

Are you a fan of a particular tribute or cover band? Share their music in the comments!

[Image Credit: One And Only Direction Twitter]