One Direction's Top 10 most popular songs of all time 🎶
According to their YouTube views!
Despite being on a hiatus, One Direction will go down in history as one of the biggest boybands in the world! Thanks to their phenomenal success both as a group and as individual artists, One Direction's songs are some of the most popular of all time, including 'What Makes You Beautiful' which has now topped one billion streams.
With songs such as 'Kiss You' and 'Little Things', Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and original member Zayn Malik sold millions of records around the world. Although it's hard to narrow down their best, here are the Top 10 One Direction songs that are most popular by YouTube views...
10) One Direction - 'Perfect', 2015
Co-written by Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson, 'Perfect' was a slow number for the boys, but that didn't stop it being a successful song, reaching Number 2 in the UK and Number 1 in Ireland on release. The song was included on their album 'Made in the A.M'. To date, it's had over 538 million views on YouTube.
9) One Direction - 'Kiss You', 2013
This upbeat tune was a hit in 2013 and was included on the boys' 2012 album 'Take Me Home'. The music video featured iconic scenes from old music videos reenacted in front of a green screen including the Beach Boys' 'Surfer Girl' and Elvis Presley's 'Jailhouse Rock'. To date the video has had 545 million views on YouTube.
8) One Direction - 'You & I', 2014
'You & I' featured on One Direction's third album 'Midnight Memories' released in 2013. Described as a soft rock ballad the song reached Number 19 in the UK and has had over 590 million views.
7) One Direction - 'Night Changes', 2014
'Night Changes' was another slow ballad for the One Direction boys, released as the final single from their album 'Four', it was a Top 10 release for Niall, Harry, Liam, Louis and Zayn, who also co-wrote the song. The music video has had over 697 million views.
6) One Direction - 'Live While We're Young', 2012
'Live While We're Young' was the lead single from One Direction's second album 'Take Me Home'. The song was a Top 3 hit for the boys and certified Platinum in the UK. To date it's had over 728 million views on YouTube.
5) One Direction - 'One Thing', 2011
'One Thing' appeared on the band's debut album 'Up All Night' in 2011, and broke into the Top 10 in the UK, also being certified Silver. The music video starred the band's five members on the top of a double decker bus, travelling around London and seeing the sights. It's had over 773 million views on YouTube.
4) One Direction - 'Best Song Ever', 2013
Arguably one of their most upbeat and fun songs, One Direction's 'Best Song Ever' has been certified Platinum in the UK, meaning that it has sold 600,000 copies. It peaked at Number 2 in the UK, and also won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Song of Summer in 2013.
The video was written by James Corden, with each of the boys taking on an alternative persona. The music video has had over 783 million views on YouTube!
WATCH: One Direction - 'Best Song Ever' (Official Music Video)
3) One Direction - 'Story Of My Life', 2013
Another one of the boys' slower and more emotional songs, 'Story Of My Life' reached Number 2 in the UK and was also certified Platinum in the UK, meaning 600,000 copies sold. The sentimental video has been watched over 990 million times on YouTube.
WATCH: One Direction - 'Story of My Life' (Official Music Video)
2) One Direction - 'Drag Me Down', 2015
'Drag Me Down' appeared on One Direction's fifth album, 'Made in the A.M.', and was the first single to be released by the band after the departure of Zayn Malik. It peaked at Number 1 in the UK, and has also been certified Platinum.
The music video starred Liam, Louis, Niall and Harry being trained as astronauts, and was filmed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was voted 'Best Video Award' at the 2016 Brit Awards, and has since had over 1 BILLION views on YouTube.
WATCH: One Direction - 'Drag Me Down' (Official Video)
1) One Direction - 'What Makes You Beautiful', 2011
Of course, it will be no surprise that One Direction's all-time best-selling single 'What Makes You Beautiful' is the most watched music video. As their debut single after coming third on The X Factor in 2010, the song shot straight to the top of the UK charts and stayed there for four weeks, and was certified quadruple Platinum in the US in June 2016 with 4.8 million copies sold.
In the UK, it was certified 3x Platinum, selling 1 million copies. To date, the music video has had over a whopping 1.4 BILLION views on YouTube.
WATCH: One Direction - 'What Makes You Beautiful' (Official Video)
The song has also had 1 billion streams, with Liam sharing a sweet message to his fans in August 2023.
Scroll through all the clues we've had on a One Direction reunion:
Harry Styles talks about a Zoom reunion
In April 2020, as the nation were in lockdown due to the Coronavirus, Harry spoke to SiriusXM Hits 1, jokingly admitting he didn't expect the 1D reunion to be over a Zoom call.
He said, "I don't know if a Zoom call is the reunion that we had in mind."
Liam Payne send fans into meltdown
Just days later, Liam Payne sent Directioners into complete meltdown when he revealed a number of emails had been forwarded, admitting it was great for the boys to 'connect' again.
Liam said, "We've got a 10-year anniversary coming up so we've all been speaking together a lot over the last few weeks, which has been really nice."
#OneDirectionReunion trends on Twitter
Not long after Liam's interview, eagle-eyed fans noticed Harry, Louis, Liam and Niall had all followed former member Zayn Malik on Twitter, resulting in #OneDirectionReunion to start trending.
However, after further inspection, fans were quick to point out that they'd followed Zayn for a while, making it a bit of a false alarm!
Could we be getting new One Direction music?
Also in April, American showbiz site Page Six reported that One Direction could release new music for their 10th anniversary in July 2020, as well as a TV special!
Niall sends fans wild on Instagram Live
During an Instagram Live, Niall teased Directioners by touching his hair when a fan asked him to if the reunion rumours were true. Hmm.
Liam Payne talks about a reunion with James Corden
Liam chatted with The Late Late Show host James Corden in April, where he confessed he'd been in recent contact with both Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan!
He told James he'd enjoyed a 'beautiful' FaceTime with Niall. Aww!
Louis Tomlinson 'tells off' Liam Payne for revealing too much
After Liam got a little excited and started to dish out too much information, the singer revealed during an Instagram Live with Alesso that Louis had 'told him off' for revealing the plans.
Liam Payne hints Zayn Malik is not involved
During the same online chat with Alesso, Liam also seemed to hint that former member Zayn Malik would not be involved in the apparent 2020 reunion, asking Alesso if he would 'join the band' by 'filling in for Zayn'.
Niall Horan shuts down reunion rumours
With July getting closer, Niall Horan broke the hearts of 1D fans across the world in May when he seemingly shut down all talk of a 2020 reunion.
Speaking to his friend Jamie Redknapp on Redknapp's Home Fixture, Niall said, "There was a bit of talk about it because in July it's ten years since the band got together, so everyone was waiting to see if anything was going to happen.
'We've been chatting about it, little bits and pieces that we can do, but nothing in terms of getting the band back together, so for now, no."
10th anniversary plans
Despite many holding out for an actual reunion, 1D will be launching a special website called '10 Years of One Direction', which will go active on Thursday 23rd July, the official date of their anniversary.
The website will go through the band's amazing career timelines, from meeting on The X Factor, to going their separate ways as solo artists. As well as this, a load of old content will be visible for fans, including archived TV performances, behind-the-scenes videos, music videos and artwork!
A special 10-year celebration video will be made for YouTube, which is sure to bring a tear to the eye as it highlights 1D's global success over the last decade.
Fans thought Harry could feature on Niall's album
Fans thought they'd spotted some similarities between Niall's album and a music video that Harry was spotted filming.
Harry Styles posted a pic of him wearing a One Direction T-shirt
Harry Styles posted a pic of him wearing a One Direction T-shirt. The photo appeared as an Instagram Story, but was quickly deleted by the singer. Of course it wasn't long before fans shared the photo across social media and reunion rumours started.
Harry later told fans at his Auckland gig: "I guess some of us have secrets! Maybe, maybe like some people, you chose to keep it to yourself and maybe one day, you'll like accidentally post it to your Instagram followers."
Liam Payne 'desperate' for a reunion
According to a source speaking to OK!, Liam Payne really wants a One Direction reunion and is trying to reach out to the other band members.
NOW WATCH: Louis Tomlinson Reveals What He Misses The Most About One Direction
You can hear hits from One Direction, Louis, Liam, Niall and Harry on Hits Radio.
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