Think One Direction Is History? 2017 Brit Awards Prove They’re Still Perfect

One Direction has been on hiatus for well over 12 months, and the rumor mill has been quick to write them off as history. Since Simon Cowell brought Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, Niall Horan, and Zayn Malik together to form One Direction, the “serious” music press has worked hard to write them off. Most expected that One Direction would go the way of most X-Factor acts. The X-Factor cycle is generally very predictable, the winner bags a No. 1 single at Christmas, they bring out an album a few months later. Then comes a tour in support of the album, then Boom! They are history.

Few suspected that One Direction would break the X-Factor mold. Most wrote them off as a “manufactured” group, singing manufactured music, aimed at 12-year-old girls. It’s probably fair to say, that the press has been more interested in stories about who the various members of One Direction are dating, than in their music.