#music One Direction - Four

It's been a busy week for Harry, Louis, Zayn, Niall and Liam, or has it? On Sunday evening they didn't attend the MTV EMA in Glasgow where they left video messages to say thank you for winning awards, well, four of them did, they were also on ITV that night too, performing their latest single, Steal My Girl on the show which formed them, the X Factor but that was pre-recorded too... I guess the five piece were preparing for another promo campaign with the release of the aptly named fourth album, Four.
I like One Direction. They are a cool boy band, 'cool' and 'boy band' hadn't been in the same sentence for years prior to Simon Cowell piecing these five boys together to create X Factor's biggest success story. Just four years ago they were still in the early bonding stages as they won over teenage girls week after week on the show as they turned into stars each Saturday night in the winter of 2010 but their good looks couldn't get them enough votes to win the competition coming second to Matt Cardle, but we all know who the real winner was there...

One Direction are a phenomena. Their fan base is huge, passionate and crazy. They sell out stadiums in moments where their songs get drowned out with pre-pubescent screams which might be a good thing as they seem to be far more being popular for being them than their music as Four's lead single Seal My Girl only reached number three in the charts despite a crazy amount of hype and that's the missing piece from this generations number one pop act. They haven't had a huge hit since the brilliant debut, What Makes You Beautiful but Steal My Girl is a great song, maybe it just isn't what their young fans are after as it shows maturity in the sound as these boys have grown into men in the spotlight, they have had dodgy facial hair and caused hysteria when a tabloid paper got hold of private footage of two members smoking weed, in private, it was nonsense really yet they have remained grounded, humble and appreciative of this opportunity they were given by Cowell.
If you were after some throwaway pop then Four isn't the one as it oozes with well crafted tunes by some of the best songwriters around. If it was full forgettable songs then somebody wouldn't have been doing their job correctly and that wouldn't have been the five stars. When these boys were plucked out from X Factor auditions as singers not good enough to go solo they weren't ready made stars, they weren't artists or song writers either but they have grown into the role. Harry has his own publishing company and co-wrote a track for Ariana Grande's record and Four sees all five members get stuck in with stadium anthems, ballads and energetic catchy numbers with chorus' that won't leave your head for days!
Last night the band performed the second single Night Changes at Albert Square for Children In Need (which seemed as much about marketing for pop acts (S Club 7's reunion/Shane Richie's sons band Rixton and The Script who will do anything for publicity) as charity) and it wasn't an obvious second single but it worked. Their last album, Midnight Memories proved that the Directioner's preferred slower numbers. Fireproof and Fools Gold take the band to another level they offer something fresh, from the heart with toe-tapping beats and killer harmonies that make you sit up and listen whilst Ready To Run, No Control and Where Do Broken Hearts Go explore Americana Rock perfect for the stadiums that they fill every summer with Springsteen influences subtly dropped in. Girl Almighty is fun power pop coated in sugar and 18, written by Ed Sheeran could be an Ed Sheeran song.

Four isn't a masterpiece like it had the potential to be but it shows a band in transition, finding their feet in a more credible world who have to move with their aging fans without losing identity. For a band constantly under pressure, forever touring the world whilst writing and recording an album each year it is amazing that they haven't burnt out or gone nuts yet.