The band’s catalog drew 21 million U.S. on-demand streams on July 23, the day of the band’s formation 10 years prior.
In celebration of the 10-year anniversary of the formation of One Direction, the boy band’s catalog saw a 173.6 percent gain in U.S. on-demand streams the day of the anniversary (July 23), according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.
On July 23, One Direction’s catalog, which includes five full-length albums, drew 21 million U.S. streams. That’s up 173.6 percent from July 22, which saw the band garner 7.7 million.
Assisting in the streaming boost: One Direction’s Twitter account, which had been dormant for nearly two years, posted multiple times about the anniversary, as did the most recent lineup of the group — Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson.
“What Makes You Beautiful,” the band’s debut single and a No. 4-peaking hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 2012, led the way in on-demand streams on July 23, with 1.2 million streams that day.
“Story of My Life,” a No. 6-peaking single on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 2013, followed with 725,000 streams.
Meanwhile, the group’s digital download count for July 23? 2,000 downloads, up 109.2 percent from July 22.
One Direction formed July 23, 2010, via the seventh season of Great Britain’s The X Factor. Zayn Malik recorded with the band for its first four albums before departing prior to 2015’s Made in the A.M., to date the group’s final studio album, as it is currently on an indefinite hiatus.
Each member has gone on to solo careers, with Styles in particular nabbing two Hot 100 top 10s (“Adore You,” No. 6; “Watermelon Sugar,” No. 7) in 2020 alone, the latter likely to be in contention for the top 10 on the upcoming Hot 100 chart dated Aug. 1.
