Got That One Thing: How One Direction pioneered a new era of "teenage girl" music

Picture this. It’s 2014 and you just finished watching a Bethany Mota video. The song in the background of her video? One Direction’s “Best Song Ever.”

You went to the store with your mom. The song playing as you walked down the aisles, bored as hell? One Direction.

You’re watching the American Music Awards with your family. The headline performer is none other than….One Direction.

Just that name can bring back memories of screaming fans, crazy twitter stans, and more advertising and merch than you could count. For me, like a lot of other people, it brings back the best type of nostalgia. Even if you wanted to escape the boy band, you couldn’t.

I was in my prime during the One Direction era. Simply stated, I was obsessed. I saw them live four times. I had every edition of Tiger Beat with their poster inside. I ran a stan twitter account. I saw their movie in the theaters, in 3D.

And that was the story for so many kids and teens across the nation. They called it the “One Direction Infection,” and that name fits perfectly. There was a point in time where One Direction were the only thing talked about on E! News. They even performed at the Olympics Closing Ceremony.

But how, or why did they get to that level?

If you think back, the 2010’s were really the start of widespread social media. Instagram had just popped onto the scene, and Twitter was in its heyday. We were being fed so much content at once, that it was almost impossible to keep up. It became a ritual for us to watch celebrities’ social media accounts, especially their Twitters. It felt like they were talking to us sometimes; we felt included. That was exactly what teenage girls wanted. That was exactly why, particularly my generation of horny ass teenage girls, was so obsessed.

It was a hobby for us. Whenever the boys did anything, and I mean anything, the subculture of One Direction fans on the Internet would explode. No one can forget when fans hacked airport security cameras just to watch the boys.

Whenever One Direction was nominated for a fan-chosen award, you couldn’t go two minutes on Twitter without seeing one of the hashtags. Fans would vote over and over again. It was madness luv.

I honestly don’t think that One Direction mania would be to the caliber it was without the power of rising social media usage and “stan” twitter. One Direction fans were really one of the first fandoms to rise through the ranks and become known worldwide. To this day, there are still millions of active fans on social media across the globe.

Some can argue that their pop music infused with rock guitar chords was just what music needed in an age filled with dance pop, like the 2010’s. That, in a way, is true. One Direction was a “boyband.” They were boys in a band. But, there was something different about their sound. It was pop music, but there was a little spice. You could see each boy’s personality through their songs, and that’s what gave it its appeal.

Boy Bands are not a new idea. Your parents were probably listening to Backstreet Boys and New Kids On The Block in the 80’s and 90’s. One Direction took a seemingly different approach. Gone were the choreographed dances (except the infamous inbetweeners dance); the boys let their charming personalities and vocals take the lead. Their vocals were always amazing, and their voices did blend well together. Their early music is classic pop, but you can see a natural evolution throughout their discography. By their third album, they incorporated more and more rock influences and heavy guitar. Four, their fourth album, took a more toned done approach, sprinkled with alternative rock. Their fifth and final album saw the absence of one of the members, and started what some may call the “downfall” of the band. However, their fifth album had a little bit of everything. Classic pop. Alt rock. Even a little bit of folk influences on songs like “Olivia” and “Never Enough.”

Like their social media, their music made it sound like they were singing to you. As a young fan, I spent hours imagining Harry Styles would see my 11-year old ass in the nosebleed seats at their concert and ask me to come backstage. Their music just made you imagine. From that imagination, One Direction dominated another area of social media, fanfiction. Google the backstory to the movie After and get back to me.

The boy’s chemistry was so addictive to watch. They all had their niche, and if you were a fan, you were constantly switching lanes. Louis was the comedian, Niall was always laughing at something Louis said, Harry was the one we all knew would make it big, Liam was the nice guy, and Zayn was “mysterious.”

I think it’s unfair to diss One Direction musically. To excuse their success due to the fact that they were a bunch of good looking guys that appealed to teenage girls. Of course they did. It would make no sense if that was not their target market.

Teenage girls can make anyone famous at the drop of a hat. And we often get discredited, particularly by old ass men.

One Direction would have never had the success they did if they weren’t talented musically. That’s a fact. But, combine that with the effectiveness of social media popularity and the slight uniqueness in a genre that thrives off of conformity, and you have an explosion.

What an explosion they were. One Direction single handedly had young girls wearing British flag merch like they were still a part of the 13 colonies.

However chaotic it was, it was a major cultural moment. You were either there for all the inside jokes and pinning over 20 year old men, or you won’t. But, I guarantee you, you missed out. Big time.

TPWK