FOUR

On November 17, 2014, One Direction's FOUR was released to the world and you could say that I'm a new fan of the world wide phenomenon known as 1D. I was sitting home one night bored and looking for something entertaining to watch, so I got on my AppleTv and clicked the Vevo app. This particular app consists of a bunch of official music videos and highlights of popular music around the world. I clicked the "Pop" playlist to see what random songs would play. And by the way, I love seeing music videos to put a visual on what the artist or band had in mind for the song. Well, there I was fast forwarding through the weird videos (really... Who has seen the video with the little girl in a nude jumpsuit? Get out of here!), jamming to Taylor's "Shake It Off", and then... all these One Direction music videos kept playing. I found myself rewinding and rewinding again. Wait... "These songs are good." No... "These songs are great." They can sing!

I guess I always envisioned them as just another "boy band" with synchronized dancing and matching outfits, which I'm totally not for replicating times of the past. Now knowing One Direction's story, how down to earth they seem, and how talented they actually are... I completed misjudged them. So obviously as I became more intrigued, I started watching more Vevo videos on YouTube because I like to get to know artists and listen to more of their music on live shows. It's also one thing to read about them, but it's another to see an interview and see how they react. Let me tell you, their British and Irish accents don't hurt either.

Its amazing to me how they respond to questions about their insane fans and the fame that comes along with it. They could have let it get to them by becoming angry or arrogant within the past four years, but I think they truly are the same as when they each auditioned seperately for The X Factor in the UK. I mean, other than maturing into adults like the rest of us do when we age. I believe the group has stayed absolutely true to their fans because they can take a step back and realize that they are why One Direction has everything it has. It's extremely refreshing how humble and appreciative they are without acting or sounding fake and forced. 

I will say it once and I will say it again and again, you can never really believe what the tabloids say and what the media writes about all the time. I honestly feel bad for Harry Styles (and the rest of the group, like I would any celebrity faced with negativity from the media) at times because they depict him as some sort of habitual womanizer. Really, I just think he wants to be a good person and a talented artist. It must get extremely frustrating having rumors made about you across the world. Styles once said in an interview that he hates the word "famous" because it takes away the substance that a person actually has. He wondered what was wrong with saying he was nice or funny guy? 

Ed Sheeran (also a British singer) said in a radio interview once that he didn't know why this story about Harry Styles didn't make the news: "he once bought $2K-3K worth of Domino's pizzas in L.A. and started giving them out to homeless people." Sheeran couldn't understand why those kind of stories weren't in the media because Styles does stuff like it all the time. You've got me, Ed? 

So now that I have defended my fandom of 1D, let's get into their new album FOUR. Why is it entitled FOUR, you ask? It's their forth album in four years of being a band. Pretty impressive. I think this album is much more mature than their previous, but not too deviant from their last, Midnight Memories. Still pop genre driven, but easily translated to a larger, more vast audience than their original teenie-bopper fans. I mean, they have me listening now. I look at them as a band rather than a "boy band", which has a lot to do with their sound and the fact that each member has written multiple songs on the album. They are growing up and so should their music. I believe the fact that they have been writing more and more of their own songs has added a much needed element to their sound and vision as a band.

My favorite tracks are 18 (written by Ed Sheeran), Night Changes, Steal My Girl, Fireproof, and Where Do Broken Hearts Go. However, the rest of the album is very good too. The more I listen to it, the more I can't come up with my favorite track. Have a listen for yourself:

And if that album wasn't enough for you, check out some of their other songs: "Story of My Life", "Little Things", "Beat Song Ever", "You and I", etc. I now like them so much that my mom and I got tickets to see 1D at Soldier Field in August. Should be the BEST TIME EVER for my birthday!