One Direction is a British-Irish boy band, formed in London in 2010, which consists of five young people: Harry styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall the Horan, Zane Malik and Liam Payne. They signed a contract with the record company Simon Cowell, Syco Records, after his participation in the show The X Factor. In North America they had signed a contract with Columbia Records.
One Direction became world-famous after the release of their debut album Up All Night in the beginning of 2012. Single "What Makes You Beautiful" topped the world charts, and the album was ranked first in the US Billboard 200. For the first time the debut album by British group has taken such a high position in the American charts, it was noted in the Guinness Book of records. The new album Take Me Home was held on 12 November 2012. The subsequent world tour took place in 2013 and attracted more than 15 million dollars only in Australia and New Zealand. In addition to musical activities, One Direction supports charitable organizations and foundations, and has agreements on advertising with Pokémon, Nokia, HarperCollins and Hasbro.
One Direction recognized by the group revived the concept of boy-bands and an integral part of a new "British invasion" in the United States. In August 2012 the group sold 12 million records. One Direction is the holders of such awards as the BRIT Awards and three MTV Video Music Awards.