Photos - One Direction Through The Years

2010

In 2010, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson auditioned as solo candidates for the seventh series of The X Factor. Simon Cowell put them together as a group, and Harry came up with the name 'One Direction' and thus our favourite boy band was born. The boys finished in third place (first place in our hearts) and immediately after the final, their song "Forever Young", was leaked onto the internet. Not long afterwards it was confirmed that One Direction had been signed by Cowell to a reported £2 million Syco Records record contract.

2011

They began recording for their debut album in Jan 2011, flying to LA to work with RedOne, a record producer. A book licensed by One Direction, One Direction: Forever Young (Our Official X Factor Story), was published by HarperCollins in Feb 2011, and topped The Sunday Times Best Seller list. That same month, the boy band participated in the X Factor Live Tour, touring throughout the UK. 

2012

In 2012 the boys following was growing into a massive phenomenon. A recording of a concert from their Up All Night tour, was released in May and the DVD topped the charts in twenty-five countries, with its global sales exceeding 1 million copies by August. One Direction's first book to be licensed in America, 'Dare to Dream: Life as One Direction', was published in the US in May, and it topped The New York Times Best Seller list. One Direction's second studio album, 'Take Me Home', was released in November.

2013

In 2013 it was revealed that One Direction had sold 2,425,000 records in the UK by February 2013. They embarked on their second concert tour in February, the 'Take Me Home Tour'. The tour was praised by music critics for their live vocals and performance abilities and was a commercial success, selling 1.6 million tickets from 134 shows. One Direction: This Is Us, a 3D documentary and concert film about the group was released by TriStar Pictures in August. It was a box office success, topping the UK and US box offices and grossing over $60 million worldwide, and became the fourth highest grossing concert movie.

2014

One Direction's fourth studio album, 'Four', was released on 17 November, and topped the Billboard 200 and the UK Album Chart. The boys 'Where We Are Tour' was the highest grossing concert tour in 2014, and the highest-grossing tour EVER by a vocal group, generating $282 million. 

2015

2015 was a very sad year for 'Directioners'. The 25th of March 2015 was a bleak day, as the band released a statement announcing Zayn Malik's departure. The group made their first official public appearance as a four piece on The Late Late Show with James Corden on 14 May, where they confirmed that they would continue working without a new fifth member. 'Made In The AM' was released on 13 November, and following this there was more bad news. The group would be going on hiatus in 2016, allowing themselves a break from the music industry. 

2016

We are un-sure of what 2016 will bring for One Direction. Even though they won't be together as a group this year, they may focus on their own ventures. Will they all return in 2017? Will Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson finally admit their love for each other? Will Zayn kiss and make-up with the boys? Who knows.