WORDS: LAUREL MELSOM

Today marks 11 years of One Direction; the boyband that took the world by storm and still holds a loyal fanbase that only other bands can dream of. Throughout their 5 years as an actual band and 6 now on hiatus (I’m sorry we have to face the fact they’ve been gone longer than they’ve been together now) One Direction has provided us with some great moments that can’t ever be forgotten. From selling out Wembley Stadium 3 nights in a row to Harry missing them winning a BRIT award as he was having a wee to the infamous Louis & Zayn fallout; here are 11 ICONIC One Direction Moments That We Just Can’t Forget.

Their First Music Video & Single

How could we not start off our list of iconic One Direction moments with the moment that every Directioner at the beginning held their breath to hear/see and when that intro kicked in you just knew you’d be singing it all day. What Makes You Beautiful climbed the charts on both sides of the Atlantic and across the globe, proving that you didn’t need to win The X Factor to be successful. The video itself is now on over 1.2 BILLION views on YouTube providing us with the nostalgia of their tattoo-free bodies and the era of stripes and chinos.

Carpool Karaoke

For some it’s their comfort YouTube video of choice (me included); it’s 13 minutes of pure joy and something the fans had been wanting for ages. Unfortunately by the time, this happened Zayn had left the band; however this did provide us with hearing Harry hitting *that* high note. We also had the notorious dance routine to No Control taught to us all; don’t lie and say you don’t know all the moves. Let’s not forget how amazing all their harmonies sounded; and yes we’d spent hours learning James Corden’s rap in Drag Me Down, it’s now our party trick. Thanks to all that tweeting everyone did to Ben Winston over the last few years we finally got that missing McD’s footage.

When Zayn Left The Band

We couldn’t write a list without mentioning this unfortunately as we can safely everyone remembers where they were when that Facebook post went up telling us that Zayn was leaving the band. For all Directioners this was a moment where we all wondered what the future of the band would be; would the tour continue? Would they now be a four-piece? Who would take over Zayn’s parts? This definitely is up there as one of the top One Direction moments we won’t ever forget.

The Moment One Direction Was Formed

How could we not make a list of iconic One Direction moments and not included the moment they were formed! After seeing the heartbreak on all five of their faces when they were told they hadn’t made it through to judge houses we thought that was the last we’d see of these unknown boys from across the UK and Ireland. Ten minutes later Simon Cowell was bringing them back onto the stage of Wembley Arena and asking them to become a band if they wanted to proceed in the competition; with them all excitedly agreeing to this. Can you imagine if one of them said no? What followed was them all moving in together at Harry’s dad’s house and the band name One Direction being born.

This Is Us Movie

One Direction on the big screen? Yes please! 2013 saw the release of This Is Us, the behind-the-scenes documentary of their sell-out Take Me Home tour. Fans got an insight into what it’s like to be on the road with our fave favourite boys; the stuff that Wattpad fanfic writers ate up! We got to see inside the bakery Harry worked at before The X Factor, as well as watch Louis just sit back whilst the others tried to put up a tent; & let us not forget we get a full rendition of Teenage Dirtbag (one of their top covers in our personal opinion). Most of all we just got to see how much fun the boys had (most of the time) on tour and how in awe they are of their career’s success. Oh, and how we can forget all those great moments during the press interviews.

1D Day

7 hours of continuous One Direction live streaming on YouTube you say? Sign us up! To celebrate the release of their third album, Midnight Memories, the band hosted a live stream full of games, interviews and special guests. Some state this as the start of Liam and Harry’s modeling career as we saw them strut down the runway with legendary model Cindy Crawford. They also held special challenges for fans to get involved within the lead-up to the big event, making the whole event even more interactive for fans; something that hadn’t ever really been seen online before.

The Final Performance

With the hiatus announced, the moment all fans were dreading came upon us on 13th December 2015. Now a four-piece, the band returned to the place that brought them together, The X Factor, for this final performance of History. We can say that almost every fan shed a tear or two or ten during this; with the montage of their best moments playing behind them as well as knowing that this would be it for 18 months (now 6 years); it definitely ranks up there as one of the most iconic One Direction moments.

Where We Are Stadium Tour

2014 saw One Direction head off on their biggest tour EVER; they would sell out stadiums that their football idols had played on. With 3 consecutive nights at Wembley sold out as well as that amazing moment at the San Siro stadium, the fans made happen; this is probably one of those moments all five of the boys will look back on and remember fondly. However, this tour also brought its controversial moments as it was on this tour that Louis and Zayn had footage of them smoking joints leaked to the press; leading them to pay a fine in Peru in 2015 to perform there again.

X Factor Video Diaries

Each week we’d all rush to YouTube to check out the latest installment of One Direction’s video diaries. It was here we got to see all of their personalities start to shine through whilst they were having downtime from rehearsing for the live X Factor shows. From their iconic onesies, (thank god their fashion sense has improved since then) to the “WE ARE ONE DIRECTION YAY” line; this was the beginning of the fandom forming online worldwide.

Tattoo Roulette

Everyone say thank you James Corden for yet another great One Direction moment we can’t get out of our brains. With the power of a red box determining if we all saw Niall get his first tattoo, everyone including the band was on the edge of their seats. With bated breath, we saw that it was Harry who would be getting the late, late tattoo live on TV and boy did that whole moment get us hot and bothered. From slamming the box to how nonchalant he appears whilst getting the tattoo; to Niall’s relief he wouldn’t be getting his first tattoo on TV and cute dinosaur shirt; this is a top moment in 1D history.

Best Song Ever Music Video

2013 we got what is probably one of One Direction’s most iconic music videos ever; directed by a long-time friend of the band Ben Winston, we got to see the boys dress up as some very different characters. With Niall and Louis as the chubby studio execs, Harry as the marketing guy Marcel and we also saw Zayn take on Veronica, the assistant but everyone’s favourite had to be Liam as the choreography, Leeroy. I think we all know the words to his part; “Hi boys, hi! Okay, here’s what I’m thinking. The first opening number is gonna be big! Stay with me cause I’m quite quick and 5,6,7,8!” The video itself won a Brit award as well as surpassing the Vevo record for the number of views in 24 hours after its release racking up 12.3 million views.

We could go on to mention so many more iconic moments for each of the boys also, Harry’s fall in San Diego, Niall falling over at that golf tournament, Zayn refusing to take part in the dance auditions, Liam flirting with his future baby mama at his audition and Louis getting a sea urchin stuck in his foot before judge’s houses. Let us know what your favourite One Direction moment is.