Is One Direction Going the Right Direction?

In the music scene there are trends that different time periods are categorized by. The 1950s brought the birth of rock and roll with Elvis Presley and countless other rock musicians. In the 1970s disco music was the big rage. Music made by groups like the Bee Gees became some of the hottest tracks during this decade. In the 1990s boy bands were the cool hip thing. There was Backstreet Boys and Nsync dominating the charts every week. Groups like Hanson were followed by mobs of young girls who dreamed about one day becoming Mrs. Hanson. Well this phenomena has once again happened with a group of young British boys called One Direction. This group was found on X Factor by Simon Cowell and has swept America with their catchy tunes and cute faces. However, the real question is how long will this group last in the mean reality of the music business?

In 2010 the journey of this group began. Each of the five members of One Direction applied as solo candidates to the seventh series of X Factor. However, as solo candidates, the boys failed to make it into the competition. One of the guest judges saw something though and suggested that Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan form a group and enter into the groups category. These five boys did just that, became One Direction, and placed third in the competition. After this, One Direction signed to Cowell's record company and released their first single "What Makes You Beautiful" to fans yielding record sales in Britain, Australia, Sweden, and countless other foreign countries.

After this successful formation process, One Direction has taken on America with full steam ahead. Scheduling tours right and left to sold out crowds. It makes one think of the fan crazed aura that follows celebrity singers like Justin Bieber. It also brings to mind how a fan craze like this can so easily go away. Groups like OK Go, Danity Kane, Los Lonely Boys, and Daniel Powter saw their 15 minutes of fame flash before their eyes, and then were not able to release another hit. This is also true of the many TV music show winners from American Idol (minus Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood).

So how will One Direction's fame pan out? Will their shows continue to sell out in minutes? The other day, while I was sitting in a coffee shop, I got to hear this girl call five or six different ticket providers begging for One Direction tickets (Interesting/Depressing, I know). Or after this first CD of theirs, will the One Direction craze fizzle out? I know that the One Direction fame is far from fizzling out right now. Not long ago, somewhere in Dallas, there was rumor that One Direction was making an appearance in a mall. Thousands of girls showed up just to get a glance at these boys. The mania  started to get so rowdy that some of the girls had to be taken to the hospital for injuries. The most ironic thing was that One Direction wasn't even at the mall. Just a rumor of their appearance yielded all of this commotion. So I guess it will sadly come down to how well the band is marketed, not how well the band performs. If girls keep seeing these British boys as future boyfriends/husbands, the One Direction fan fare will not stop anytime soon.