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One Direction
One Direction
One Direction skillfully blended hooky songs, slick production, and winning personalities together in a way that made them one of the most popular boy bands ever, regardless of era or region. Made up of five distinct vocalists, the group was formed on the U.K. talent show X-Factor and over the course of six years topped the charts with million-selling singles and albums while filling arenas around the world. Their initial songs, like 2011's "What Makes You Beautiful," were bubblegummy and sweet, but the band soon delved into other avenues including indie folk ("Story of My Life") and '80s rock. Despite their popularity never dipping, the band began to splinter in the mid-2000s, then went on hiatus in 2006. The group was formed by <a href="spotify:artist:1Hsdzj7Dlq2I7tHP7501T4">Niall Horan</a> from Mullingar, Ireland; <a href="spotify:artist:5ZsFI1h6hIdQRw2ti0hz81">Zayn Malik</a> from Bradford; <a href="spotify:artist:6KImCVD70vtIoJWnq6nGn3">Harry Styles</a> from Cheshire; <a href="spotify:artist:57WHJIHrjOE3iAxpihhMnp">Louis Tomlinson</a> from Doncaster, and <a href="spotify:artist:5pUo3fmmHT8bhCyHE52hA6">Liam Payne</a> from Wolverhampton (the latter had previously reached the judge's house stages of The X-Factor as a 14-year-old back in 2008). Each originally entered 2010's seventh series of The X Factor as individuals, but following a suggestion from guest judge <a href="spotify:artist:40xbWSB4JPdOkRyuTDy1oP">Nicole Scherzinger</a>, they were grouped together to become One Direction. Mentored by Simon Cowell, they soon became one of the favorites to win the show, thanks to renditions of <a href="spotify:artist:3BmGtnKgCSGYIUhmivXKWX">Kelly Clarkson</a>'s "My Life Would Suck Without You," <a href="spotify:artist:3PhoLpVuITZKcymswpck5b">Elton John</a>'s "Something About the Way You Look Tonight," and <a href="spotify:artist:0SD4eZCN4Kr0wQk56hCdh2">Bonnie Tyler</a>'s "Total Eclipse of the Heart." However, despite receiving a standing ovation for their duet with <a href="spotify:artist:2HcwFjNelS49kFbfvMxQYw">Robbie Williams</a> ("She's the One") in the live final, they eventually finished third behind <a href="spotify:artist:0CrCKxXekxMpkYfMEf8mca">Rebecca Ferguson</a> and winner <a href="spotify:artist:3906URNmNa1VCXEeiJ3DSH">Matt Cardle</a>. Spotting the potential of five <a href="spotify:artist:1uNFoZAHBGtllmzznpCI3s">Justin Bieber</a>-esque teen pin-ups, Cowell signed them to his <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Syco%22">Syco</a> label in a two-million dollar deal, and after performing on the X-Factor tour, the quintet began work on its debut album with Savan Kotecha (<a href="spotify:artist:26dSoYclwsYLMAKD3tpOr4">Britney Spears</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7qG3b048QCHVRO5Pv1T5lw">Enrique Iglesias</a>). Following a sponsorship deal with Nintendo DS and a book, Forever Young, named after their cover of the <a href="spotify:artist:0xliTEbFfy5HQHvsTknTkX">Alphaville</a> classic that was intended to be their winner's song, they released their first single, "What Makes You Beautiful," in late 2011. The full-length album Up All Night followed soon after. In 2012, One Direction became the first British band to debut on top of the Billboard 200 list when Up All Night sold over 176,000 copies during its first week of release in America. In late 2012, One Direction released their sophomore album, Take Me Home. Highlighting more of the band's melodic pop, Take Me Home featured songs and production from Sweden's Carl Falk, Rami Yacoub, and Savan Kotecha, who worked on Up All Night, as well as contributions from singer/songwriter <a href="spotify:artist:6eUKZXaKkcviH0Ku9w2n3V">Ed Sheeran</a>. The album proved to be another smash and topped charts around the world, earning multi-platinum certification in half-a-dozen countries. The singles "Live While We're Young" and "Little Things" also hit number one across the globe, and "Kiss You" reached the Top Ten in the U.S. One Direction then embarked on a globe-spanning tour in which the band played over 100 shows, including six sold-out nights at London's massive O2 Arena. At the same time, they were being filmed by director Morgan Spurlock for This Is Us, a mix of documentary and concert footage that proved to be successful at the box office when it was released in August of 2013. While they were touring, One Direction also began work on their third album, Midnight Memories. Released just in time for the 2013 holidays, the record featured songwriting input from all the members, a new production team, and some new folk and '80s hair metal influences. It nearly outdid Take Me Home and Up All Night, peaking at number one in seven countries and spawning the singles "Best Song Ever" and "Story of My Life." The group toured the world for most of 2014, but still found time to record a fourth album, which was released in late 2014. Produced by the same team who handled Midnight Memories, Four similarly looked back to the '80s for inspiration and featured a new song from old friend <a href="spotify:artist:6eUKZXaKkcviH0Ku9w2n3V">Ed Sheeran</a>. A pair of platinum singles, "Steal My Girl" and "Night Changes," helped the album hit number one in nearly 20 countries. The band returned to the road and a busy promotional schedule in 2015, during which <a href="spotify:artist:5ZsFI1h6hIdQRw2ti0hz81">Malik</a> was often absent. He left the tour due to stress in early March, then officially quit the band a few days later. (He went on to become the first to pursue a solo career.) The four remaining members continued touring, and in July released "Drag Me Down," the first single from their fifth album, Made in the A.M. Following the September announcement of the album, the bandmembers also revealed that, after the promotional efforts for the album were over, they'd be going on hiatus during 2016. Made in the A.M. was released in November of 2015, and featured the singles "Infinity," "Perfect," "What a Feeling," and "History." It performed very well commercially, peaking at number one in the U.K. and number two in the U.S. In 2016, the group went on hiatus, and the individual members all pursued solo careers to varying degrees of success. Hopes for a possible full band reunion were dashed when <a href="spotify:artist:5pUo3fmmHT8bhCyHE52hA6">Liam Payne</a> died on October 16, 2024, in Buenos Aires. Following his passing, all five of One Direction's studio albums returned to the charts as fans mourned around the globe. ~ Jon O'Brien, Rovi
Olivia Rodrigo
Olivia Rodrigo
After shattering records with her chart-topping, 4x Platinum debut album SOUR – the fastest album in history to have all of its songs certified RIAA Platinum or higher – Olivia Rodrigo makes a monumental return with her new album GUTS, revealing newly heightened sophistication as a vocalist and lyricist. Produced by and co-written with Daniel Nigro (her main creative partner on SOUR), each song intensifies the emotional honesty that’s always imbued her storytelling. Rodrigo expands her expressive palette, uncovering entirely new dimensions of her artistry, as exemplified by lead single “vampire.” Hailed by Pitchfork as the “Best New Track” upon release, “vampire” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 – as did SOUR hits “drivers license” and “good 4 u,” making Rodrigo the first artist ever to debut the lead singles from two career-opening albums atop the prestigious chart. The 20-year-old is the youngest artist in Hot 100 history to debut three hits at No. 1. Named the #1 Album of 2021 by Rolling Stone and hailed as one of the Best Albums of 2021 by The New York Times, among others, SOUR is now triple Platinum in the U.S. and has sold over 16.8 million global album adjusted units with over 66 billion streams worldwide. She received seven GRAMMY® Award nominations—including nods in each of the Big Four categories—and took home awards for Best New Artist, Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 64th GRAMMY® Awards.
Harry Styles
Harry Styles
Harry Styles’ third solo album, Harry's House, is breaking new ground for one of the most creative forces in pop music, a star who keeps refusing to stand still. It’s a deeply personal statement from an artist who has never sounded this joyous, this confident, this fearless in facing the future. Harry’s House debuted at Number One on the Billboard Charts and moved 521,00 equivalent album units in its first week. Harry's House is currently the best-selling album of 2022. “As It Was,” the critically acclaimed lead single, dropped on April 1st and became an instant record-breaking hit, debuting at Number One in both the U.S. and the U.K. “As It Was” became the most-streamed song in the U.S. in a single day in Spotify history and the most-streamed song globally in a single day of 2022. The British singer-songwriter dropped his blockbuster sophomore album Fine Line on Columbia Records in December 2019. It combined critical acclaim with record-setting commercial success, debuting at Number One on the Billboard charts. “Watermelon Sugar” became his first Number One single, winning Styles his first Grammy, for Best Pop Solo Performance and a 2021 BRIT Award for Best British Single. When Rolling Stone released its comprehensive list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Fine Line was the most recent album honored, taking its place in history. Harry is taking Love on Tour worldwide through 2022, in the aftermath of his historic Coachella set, in support of Harry’s House.
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift is that rarest of pop phenomena: a superstar who managed to completely cross over from country to the mainstream. Others have performed similar moves -- notably, <a href="spotify:artist:32vWCbZh0xZ4o9gkz4PsEU">Dolly Parton</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:5W5bDNCqJ1jbCgTxDD0Cb3">Willie Nelson</a> both became enduring pop culture icons based on their 1970s work -- but Swift shed her country roots like they were a second skin; it was a necessary molting to reveal she was perhaps the sharpest, savviest populist singer/songwriter of her generation, one who could harness the zeitgeist, make it personal and, just as impressively, perform the reverse. These skills were evident on her earliest hits, especially the neo-tribute "Tim McGraw," but her second album, 2008's Fearless, showcased a songwriter discovering who she was and, in the process, finding a mass audience. Fearless wound up having considerable legs not only in the U.S., where it racked up six platinum singles on the strength of the Top Ten hits "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me," but throughout the world, performing particularly well in the U.K., Canada, and Australia. Speak Now, delivered almost two years later, consolidated that success and moved Swift into the stratosphere of superstardom. Her popularity only increased over her next three albums -- Red (2012), 1989 (2014), Reputation (2017) -- and found her moving assuredly into a pop realm where she already belonged. Even when she scaled back her approach with 2020's stripped-down sibling releases folklore and Evermore, she remained atop the pop world, a position she maintained with re-recordings of her back catalog along with Midnights, a moody album released in 2022. This sense of confidence had been apparent in Taylor Swift since the beginning. The daughter of two bankers -- her father, Scott Kingsley Swift, worked at Merrill Lynch; her mother, Andrea, spent time as a mutual fund marketing executive -- Swift was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, and raised in suburban Wyomissing. She began to show interest in music at the age of nine, and <a href="spotify:artist:5e4Dhzv426EvQe3aDb64jL">Shania Twain</a> wound up as her biggest formative influence. Swift started to work regularly at local talent contests, eventually winning a chance to open for <a href="spotify:artist:6UpFUXmXvDV7Qj1SPymamh">Charlie Daniels</a>. Soon, she learned how to play guitar and began writing songs, signing a music management deal with Dan Dymtrow; her family relocated to Nashville with the intent of furthering her music career. She was just 14 years old but on the radar of the music industry, signing a development deal with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22RCA+Records%22">RCA Records</a> in 2004. Swift sharpened her skills with a variety of professional songwriters, forming the strongest connections with <a href="spotify:artist:7pcKyVIatvXoHdZRr4Q3vT">Liz Rose</a>. Taylor's original songs earned her a deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing, but not long after that 2004 deal she parted ways with Dymtrow and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22RCA%22">RCA</a>, all with the intent of launching her recording career now, not later. Things started moving swiftly once Swift came to the attention of Scott Borchetta, a former <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22DreamWorks+Records%22">DreamWorks Records</a> exec about to launch <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Big+Machine+Records%22">Big Machine Records</a>. Borchetta saw Swift perform at a songwriters showcase at the Bluebird Cafe and he signed her to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Big+Machine%22">Big Machine</a> in 2005; shortly afterward, she started work on her debut with producer Nathan Chapman, who'd previously helmed demos for Taylor. Boasting original song credits on every one of the record's 11 songs (she penned three on her own), Taylor Swift appeared in October 2006 to strong reviews and Swift made sure to work the album hard, appearing at every radio or television event offered and marshaling a burgeoning fan base through the use of MySpace. "Tim McGraw," the first song from the album, did well, but "Teardrops on My Guitar" and "Our Song" did better on both the pop and country charts, where she racked up five consecutive Top Ten singles. Other successes followed in the wake of the debut -- a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist (she lost to <a href="spotify:artist:6Q192DXotxtaysaqNPy5yR">Amy Winehouse</a>), stopgap EPs of Christmas songs -- but Swift concentrated on delivering her sophomore set, Fearless. Appearing in November 2008, Fearless was certified gold by the RIAA in its first week of release, and the record gained momentum throughout 2009, earning several platinum certifications as "Love Story," "White Horse," "You Belong with Me," "Fifteen," and "Fearless" all scaled the upper reaches of the country charts while "You Belong with Me" nearly topped Billboard's Hot 100. Along with the success came some headlines, first in the form of an infamous appearance at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards where her acceptance speech was interrupted by <a href="spotify:artist:5K4W6rqBFWDnAN6FQUkS6x">Kanye West</a>, who burst on-stage to declare that Swift's rival <a href="spotify:artist:6vWDO969PvNqNYHIOW5v0m">Beyoncé</a> deserved the award more, but her romances also started gaining attention, notably a liaison with Twilight star Taylor Lautner, who appeared with the singer in the 2009 film Valentine's Day. Her flirtation with the silver screen proved brief, as she then poured herself into her third album, Speak Now. Released in October 2010, Speak Now was another massive first-week smash that refused to lose momentum. Hit singles like "Mine" and "Mean," which won two Grammy Awards, played a big factor in its success not just on the country charts but on pop radio as well. Following a 2011 live album called World Tour Live: Speak Now, Swift turned toward following a pop path on her fourth album, hiring such mainstream musicians as <a href="spotify:artist:045EiHd7X7cCjlamF0LV2M">Dan Wilson</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7qKoy46vPnmIxKCN6ewBG4">Butch Walker</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:26dSoYclwsYLMAKD3tpOr4">Britney Spears</a> producer <a href="spotify:artist:4e1KgW8FCqVytLFSzEYEKo">Max Martin</a>. This mainstream pulse was evident on "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," the first single from Red. Upon its October 2012 release, Red shattered expectations by selling over a million copies in its first week, a notable achievement that was doubly impressive in an era of declining sales. Once again, Swift's album had legs: it was certified platinum four times in the U.S. and its international sales outstripped those of Speak Now. She supported Red with an international tour in 2013 and more hits came, including "I Knew You Were Trouble" and "22." As Swift geared up for the release of her fifth album in 2014, she made it clear that 1989 was designed as her first "documented, official" pop album and that there would be no country marketing push for the record. "Shake It Off," an ebullient dance-pop throwback, hit number one upon its August 2014 release. When 1989 appeared in late October 2014, it once again shot to number one and became her third straight album to sell one million copies in its first week (a new record for any artist). Swift gathered many awards during the subsequent year, including Billboard's Woman of the Year, the Award for Excellence at the American Music Awards, and a special 50th Anniversary Milestone Award from the CMAs. Her 1989 World Tour crossed Asia, North America, and Europe during the last half of 2015, and she won three Grammy Awards at the 2016 ceremonies, including Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, and Best Music Video for "Bad Blood." At the end of 2016, she released "I Don't Wanna Live Forever," a duet with ZAYN from the soundtrack for Fifty Shades Darker. The single reached the Top Five across the world. Swift returned with her sixth album, Reputation, in November 2017. Preceded by the number one hit single "Look What You Made Me Do," Reputation debuted at number one, and while it didn't replicate the success of 1989, the album did help underscore her popularity while also pushing her toward mature musicality. Reputation was Swift's final record for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Big+Machine%22">Big Machine</a>. In November 2018, she signed with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Universal+Music+Group%22">Universal Music Group</a>, which distributed her new albums under its <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Republic+Records%22">Republic Records</a> banner. The first album in this contract was Lover. Released in August 2019, Lover was preceded by two singles, "Me!" and "You Need to Calm Down," which both reached number two on the Hot 100 and helped push the album to number one. The acclaimed LP and two of its singles received a total of three nominations at the 62nd Grammy Awards. Swift's plans to support Lover with a tour in 2020 were scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With some unexpected time on her hands, she wrote and recorded a new set of songs, many in collaboration with <a href="spotify:artist:2hSyEBc9TBb9j38FOCdkIf">Aaron Dessner</a> of <a href="spotify:artist:2cCUtGK9sDU2EoElnk0GNB">the National</a>; <a href="spotify:artist:4LEiUm1SRbFMgfqnQTwUbQ">Bon Iver</a> and longtime Swift associate <a href="spotify:artist:414TS3VqZf1XPCBixdmX9n">Jack Antonoff</a> also contributed. The resulting album, folklore, was released on July 24, 2020, and went straight to the top of the Billboard 200. Less than five months later, Swift released a companion album to folklore called Evermore. Featuring many of the same collaborators as its predecessor, the Grammy-nominated Evermore debuted at number one upon its December 11, 2020 release. Altogether, the sibling LPs planted Swift atop the U.S. charts for a combined 11 weeks, and folklore became the best-selling album of 2020. In 2021, she began the process of re-recording her back catalog after her <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Big+Machine%22">Big Machine</a> masters were sold off in 2019, starting with 2008's Fearless. The first of these tracks -- "Love Story (Taylor's Version)" -- arrived that February, with Fearless [Taylor's Version] arriving in April. The new version of Fearless contained cameos from <a href="spotify:artist:6aZyMrc4doVtZyKNilOmwu">Colbie Caillat</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0u2FHSq3ln94y5Q57xazwf">Keith Urban</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:6WY7D3jk8zTrHtmkqqo5GI">Maren Morris</a>, along with several previously unheard tunes originally written during the same time period; it debuted at number one on Billboard upon its release. Swift next revisited Red, releasing Red [Taylor's Version] in November 2021. This revamp of the 2012 album featured new duets with <a href="spotify:artist:1r1uxoy19fzMxunt3ONAkG">Phoebe Bridgers</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4YLtscXsxbVgi031ovDDdh">Chris Stapleton</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:6eUKZXaKkcviH0Ku9w2n3V">Ed Sheeran</a>, along with a ten-minute version of the ballad "All Too Well." Another re-recording, "This Love (Taylor's Version)" (originally off 1989), arrived in May 2022 and was included in the soundtrack to the coming-of-age drama The Summer I Turned Pretty. Swift opened up another chapter in her career with the October 2022 release of Midnights, an album co-produced by <a href="spotify:artist:414TS3VqZf1XPCBixdmX9n">Jack Antonoff</a> and featuring a duet with <a href="spotify:artist:00FQb4jTyendYWaN8pK0wa">Lana Del Rey</a> on "Snow on the Beach." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
