In early 2012, they revealed that a follow-up to their debut album, Up All Night (2011), was in development. "In the summer, we're going to get back and start a new record. We want to bring out a record nearly every year, every year and a half," Niall Horan said, revealing they were arranging "meetings and stuff with different writers and producers."[1] In April 2012, The Independent ran an article entitled, "One Direction – but where next? Writers join battle to create boy band's next hits". According to the article, Simon Cowell has challenged music's 'most successful' songwriters to compete for space on One Direction's second album, after the global success of their debut album. Dee Demirbag, responsible for international artists and repertoire at music publisher, BMG Rights Management in Scandinavia, said: "Breaking a boy band in the U.S. is about as big as it gets in the music industry, so you can imagine the competition to get cuts on the next One Direction album is immense." Swede Carl Falk, who helmed One Direction's breakthrough hit, "What Makes You Beautiful", said "It's important to get their personalities on the music." Falk said that he believes Sweden will strengthen its grip over the charts and win the battle to dominate One Direction's next release. "Swedes have been making great pop songs since ABBA. We love melodies and nice chord changes. That fits the market right now. Melody is back, pop is back and young girls want their pop idols again."[2]
Background and development
One Direction in
Stockholm,
Sweden, May 2012, where the recording commenced
In March 2012,
McFly frontman
Tom Fletcher confirmed that he would be writing a song for the album after he wrote the song "I Want" for their debut album.
[3] In February 2012, One Direction stated interest in collaborating with
Ed Sheeran after he gave them the song "
Moments" for their first album.
[4] In April 2012, Sheeran confirmed in an interview with
Dose.ca that they were in contact, "I've got two songs that their manager emailed me for — old songs that were meant to go on my last album — a big stadium anthem. So I'm going to put them towards them and see if they like them, I wouldn't necessarily do that with any other bands."
[5] In June 2012, Sheeran confirmed the group would be recording two of his songs. He told the
Daily Star: "I wrote a couple of songs when I was 17 that One Direction want for their next album. I'm going into the studio in August to produce the tracks for them. I won't feature on the tracks though. There's definitely a divide in genre."
[6]
On 12 April 2012, the group disclosed that they wanted to contribute more to the songwriting for their second album.
Harry Styles stated, "we're always writing on the road and in hotels and airports. We don't ever want our music to sound like a 40-year-old man in an office has written it and given it to us to perform."
[7] After extensive promotional appearances and touring in North America and Oceania in support of their debut album, One Direction began recording the album in May 2012, in
Stockholm,
Sweden.
[8][9] In June 2012, the group continued recording the album in the United States, whilst touring on the final leg of their
Up All Night Tour, which ended on 1 July 2012.
[10] In June 2012, Horan spoke to
MTV News, disclosing that they intended to spend their time in July and August "getting the album done."
[11] According to an August 2012 press release, the album features production from pop veterans such as
Dr. Luke,
Shellback and
Toby Gad, as well as input from Sheeran and Fletcher. Songwriters
Savan Kotecha,
Rami Yacoub and
Carl Falk also return, helming the track "Live While We're Young", and various other songs on the album.
[12] The band have promised a "heavier" sound on
Take Me Home, with guitars and drums featuring more prominently.
[13]
Singles
The lead single's number 3 debut on the
Billboard Hot 100, marks the second-highest bow among all UK acts, outpaced only by
Elton John's (
pictured) number 1 arrival with "
Candle in the Wind 1997"
On 20 August 2012, One Direction confirmed the lead single and its title, "
Live While We're Young", by uploading a video to
YouTube.
[14] The song sees One Direction once again teaming up with
Savan Kotecha,
Rami Yacoub and
Carl Falk,
[14] who helmed One Direction's previous hits, "
What Makes You Beautiful" and "
One Thing".
[14] It was released by Syco Records on 28 September 2012. The track is an energetic
pop rocksong which includes elements of
dance pop and
bubblegum pop.
[15][16] It encompasses of vocal harmonies,
hand claps, prominent
electric guitar riffs, and
synthesizer "bursts".
[17][14][18] The song contains a "quiet" chorus reprise in the bridge
[19] and the chorus samples layers of "whoa-oa-oa".
[20] The song's lyrics speak of living in the moment.
[21] The song received mostly positive reviews from
music critics. While it faced criticism for its opening guitar riff baring similarities with
The Clash's 1982 single "
Should I Stay or Should I Go", critics who favored the song cited its omnipresence and resemblance of happiness.
[22][20][19][23][21][24][25][26]
The song rocketed to worldwide success, peaking at number one in Ireland and New Zealand and the top ten in almost every country it charted.
[27][28][29] In the United States, "Live While We're Young" debuted at number 3 on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart, sold 341,000 downloads in its first week, and bowed at number one on the
Digital Songs chart. Its debut marks the highest bow by a British group and the second-highest debut among all UK acts, outpaced only by
Elton John's number one arrival with "
Candle in the Wind 1997". Its opening sales denote the biggest opening sales figures for a single by a non-US artist, and the third ever for a download by a group, surpassed by the arrivals of
Maroon 5's 2012 single "
Payphone" (493,000) and
The Black Eyed Peas' 2009 single "
Boom Boom Pow" (465,000).
[30][31]
On 15 October 2012, Tomlinson announced through his Twitter account that "
Little Things" is set be the next single of
Take Me Homeand that its accompanying music video was in production. "Little Things" is expected for release in November 2012.
[32] On 19 October 2012, the single cover art was revealed.
[33]
Promotion and release
The album is set for a global release on 12 November 2012 through
Syco Records (
Sony Music Entertainment), and 13 November 2012 in the United States through
Columbia Records (Sony Music Entertainment).
[12][34] Pre-order for the album was made available on 3 September 2012.
[12][35] The album's title was announced on 29 August 2012 by
Louis Tomlinson through his official
Twitter account.
[12][36] The revelation of the album artwork followed a similar template, being revealed the following day through One Direction's official Twitter account.
[12][35]
The group are featured in a commercial for
Pepsi alongside
New Orleans Saints' quarterback
Drew Brees.
[37] It premiered on
Fox in the United States on 10 October 2012.
[37] The advertisement starts off with Styles grabbing a can of the soda.
[37] When Brees assumes Styles will just hand him the drink based on his celebrity alone, upon asking just who Styles is, his band mates pop up and Brees is about to find out that the guys in One Direction are "like really, really famous."
[37] They reveal a platinum album, a
Billboard cover and screaming teenage fans.
[37] Not to be outdone, Brees points out he's won the
Super Bowl, been awarded
Most Valuable Player status and has plenty of his own painted-up, screaming fans.
[37] In the end, the guys decide to end their rivalry when Horan suggests, "If you give him the Pepsi, you can be in the band."
[37] An enticed Brees hands over the drink and the ends with all six members of One Direction belting out their tune, "Live While We're Young."
[37] Jocelyn Vena of
MTVcalled the clip comedic and wrote: "The brand-new commercial not only allows the group to show off their funny bones, but it also serves as a reminder that their new album Take Me Home, featuring "LWWY," is only a month away from dropping."
[37]
2013 World Tour
One Direction are also set to embark on their second concert tour, the
2013 World Tour, in February 2013.
[47] Announced by member
Liam Payne at the
2012 BRIT Awards in early 2012, the original concert tour was billed as the UK & Ireland Arena Tour. In mid-2012, the concert tour expanded with legs in
North America and
Australasia following the band's international breakthrough.
[48] The concert tour is set to visit arenas and stadiums from February through October 2013. The 2013 World Tour is scheduled to commence at
London's
The O2 Arena on 22 February 2013. The 2013 World Tour has been commercially successful, with sold-out shows and demand for tickets prompting organizers to add more dates to the itinerary. The concert tour consists of over 100 shows in Europe, North America and Australia. In the UK and Ireland, ticket sales reached 300,000 within a day of release, which included a six-date sell out at
London's
The O2 Arena.
[49] In North America, the group added additional shows due to "overwhelming demand".
[50] In Australian and New Zealand markets, tickets grossed
US$15.7 million, with all 190,000 tickets being sold for eighteen shows to be held in Australia and New Zealand.
[51]
Track listing
|
| 1. | "Live While We're Young" | Rami Yacoub, Carl Falk,Savan Kotecha | Yacoub, Falk | 3:20 |
| 2. | "Kiss You" | Yacoub, Falk, Kotecha, Shellback,Kristian Lundin, Albin Nedler, Kristoffer Fogelmark | Yacoub, Falk | 3:03 |
| 3. | "Little Things" | Ed Sheeran, Fiona Bevan[52] | Jake Gosling | 3:39 |
| 4. | "C'mon, C'mon" | Jamie Scott, John Ryan, Julian C. Bunetta [53] | Bunetta | 2:45 |
| 5. | "Last First Kiss" | Nedler, Fogelmark, Yacoub, Falk, Kotecha, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan | Yacoub, Falk, Fogelmark, Nedler, | 3:23 |
| 6. | "Heart Attack" | Yacoub, Falk, Kotecha, Shellback, Lundin | Yacoub, Falk | 2:56 |
| 7. | "Rock Me" | Lukasz Gottwald, Henry Walter, Peter Svensson, Allan Grigg, Sam Hollander | Dr. Luke, Cirkut, Emily Wright, KooolKojak | 3:20 |
| 8. | "Change My Mind" | Yacoub, Falk, Kotecha | Yacoub, Falk | 3:32 |
| 9. | "I Would" | Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Dougie Poynter | Bunetta, Sam Waters | 3:21 |
| 10. | "Over Again" | Sheeran, Robert Conlon | Gosling | 3:02 |
| 11. | "Back for You" | Fogelmark, Nedler, Kotecha, Payne, Styles, Tomlinson, Yacoub, Malik, Horan | Yacoub, Falk, Nedler, Fogelmark | 2:58 |
| 12. | "They Don't Know About Us" | Tebey, Tommy Lee James, Peter Wallevik, Tommy Gee | Ottoh, Bunetta | 3:20 |
| 13. | "Summer Love" | Horan, Hector, Steve Robson, Lindy Robbins, Malik, Payne, Tomlinson, Styles[54] | Robson | 3:28 |
When I’m awkward:
When I’m feeling sexually frustrated:
When I laugh:
And of course, When I feel like dancing:
