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Social Media's One Direction

Posted by Megrose from Cardiff - Published on 26/11/2012 at 11:37
6 comments » - Tagged as Art, Creative Writing, Music, Technology

  • One Direction

This article is pending translation.

For many of you, seeing the words 'One Direction' makes you groan, moan and complain about Simon Cowell.

I have no shame in saying that a once guilty pleasure has turned into a pleasure and most of the songs from their album are now in my top 25 most played playlist. This is completely beside the point.

Somehow, from the gruesome, vicious cycle that is The X-Factor, this boy band has managed to go from nothing to everything. Well, sort of. Simon Cowell has managed to produce a money-scheming system, which has led these five lads to riches and luxury.

To have a number one debut single in the UK is pretty good, but to do what even The Beatles didn't do and have their album debut at number one in the Billboard charts is amazing. Some argue that their flying success is down to their good looks, others that they have genuine talent but the real answer is social media.

Back in the 60s there was none of this iTunes, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr, which has led many to the limelight; it was all down to records. Seems a long world away from what we have now. Harry Styles, One Direction's curly haired member once said, "We owe all of our career to electricity". He's spot on. Hate to say it but real talent, something that a nation has never seen before would make it in the music world, now it's down to how many followers on Twitter you have or how many hits you've had on YouTube.

How much farther will One Direction's success go? No clue, but with the way the media and social networking sites are going, nothing can really bring them down. The music world has been changed in a way people could never have imagined, and this is only the start of it.

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6 CommentsPost a comment

DanielleNicole15

DanielleNicole15

Commented 42 months ago - 26th November 2012 - 12:32pm

I really enjoyed reading this article because it made me ask questions about media in relation to the success of artists. I wonder if the Beatles would've been ten times more successful if Twitter was around at that time?

MarshMallo

MarshMallo

Commented 42 months ago - 27th November 2012 - 18:16pm

I think the same goes for politics. The presidential candidates for 2012 were able to connect with regular people with websites like Tumblr, and they did so. Obama had a much better online presence than Romney, and that might be why he won.

End0fDarkness

End0fDarkness

Commented 42 months ago - 27th November 2012 - 22:27pm

Totally agree. One Direction, Justin Bieber, Boyce Avenue.
It's a shame that MySpace isn't as big as it was.

BethanTheBarmy

BethanTheBarmy

Commented 42 months ago - 28th November 2012 - 02:31am

Brilliant article - it raises a very good point about how music and media are far more joined at the hip than they used to be.

Although One Direction don't produce the kind of music I usually listen to, you've really got to hand it to them - they've done pretty darn well to get where they are. All squealing fan-girls aside, we could have far worse young musicians representing the UK all over the world.

But of course, you're absolutely right. The reason that 1D are so big is largely down to the fact that their target audience are part of the internet generation. A big reason behind why other artists aren't top of the charts is not because they don't have a big enough fanbase, but because their fans aren't as Twitter- or Facebook-orientated as today's generation. I sound like such an old fart.

I mean, look at Alex Day, who came fourth in the race for Christmas Number 1 last year. It was the first time he'd breached the Top 100, let alone Top 10, and at Christmas at all times. There is no way he would have been able to do that if he wasn't such a popular vlogger on YouTube, regardless of his talent.

And yes, MarshMallo, you've also raised an interesting point. Obama's presence online through mediums such as meme sites is (and I'm a little ashamed to admit this) my main source of information on the Presidential election. He, unlike Romney, was largely supported worldwide, and that was very much to do with the influence of the internet.


Apologies for the essay of a comment. I may as well have written another article!

quantumafro

quantumafro

Commented 42 months ago - 28th November 2012 - 17:01pm

I thoroughly enjoyed this article, very well written and it explained everything i've been trying to tell people. Well done! :-)

scrubychicken

Commented 28 months ago - 10th January 2014 - 09:32am

love them all

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