One Direction is a British-Irish boy band from London, England that is made up of five guys: Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson.

The group was created on the set of the X-Factor, a singing competition, when the boys were almost eliminated, head judge Simon Cowell thought they had too much talent to be let go and decided to move them from the “Boys” category of the competition into the “Groups” category, forming One Direction.

One Direction made it to the semi-finals of the competition before being eliminated. Cowell signed them to a two-year contract with Sony Music subsidiary Syco.

Their first single “What Makes You Beautiful” debuted on September 11, 2011. The single quickly rose to fame and made it to number one on the UK Singles Chart.

The first time I heard their song, I felt the overwhelming urge to dance. Their beat pumps you up and makes you want to jump around. Plus, the beat is accompanied by inspirational lyrics directed at girls talking about how girls are beautiful even when they don’t think they are. The lyrics let girls know that they don’t need to change themselves for someone to like them. Just because society’s idea of “beauty” today is saying you have to be a size zero, they’re saying that being beautiful is being yourself.

“One Thing” is another song about a girl that has one quality that’s different from any other girl that they’ve ever met that attracts them to her. The lyrics and beat are very catchy and make you want to listen to it on repeat while singing along.

I recommend One Direction to anyone who enjoys listening to pop/rock music. Their personalities not only as artists, but as people give fans a connection with them. They care about their fans and try their best to give back as much as they can. They do many signings in many different places around the US and other countries. Meeting their fans and making them feel that they’re beautiful and great is their goal.

One Direction is a big inspiration to me because they aren’t afraid of being themselves. Unlike most artists, they don’t try to cover things up. They’re very open with their past and don’t care about what other people think of them. They will always be someone I look up to.