After tour, One Direction might be headed toward ‘Splitsville’

Boy bands will be boys.

First, Zayn Malik up and quits One Direction shortly
before the summer’s massive U.S. tour. Now, Louis
Tomlinson, the oldest member of One Direction, gets his
lady friend pregnant. Which direction is the band
headed?
“The splits are starting to show already. It’s the start of
the end of them as a group,” says Max Page, editor in
chief of Popdust.com, a pop-culture website.
Page wasn’t dissing One Direction. In fact, she praised
the British pop group for outlasting the usual expiration
date for boy bands, which is typically four years. One
Direction was big in Britain in 2010, and it’s still going
strong in the States, where it’s in the midst of a stadium
tour.
How has the band, which will perform on Tuesday in
Ohio Stadium, beaten the odds?
“I’ll be interested to see how many people they put in
the ’Shoe,” said Michael McCoy, program director for
Columbus pop station WNCI (97.9 FM) and a 25-year
veteran of the business.
“They haven’t had anywhere near the same success in
terms of radio play or record sales as the boy bands of
the past,” he said. At the moment, it would seem they
can’t fill a venue that seats 60,000 screaming girls:
Unsold tickets to the concert were being peddled last
week on Groupon for as little as $15 apiece — a 74
percent discount.
One Direction might not have scored as many radio hits
as ’N Sync and Backstreet Boys did 15 years ago, but it
has connected with fans — 24 million followers on
Twitter, 38 million likes on Facebook — to promote
songs, videos and other products.
“They have a whole social-media team and also each of
the boys tweets and Instagrams on their own,” Page
pointed out. “They’re very good at engaging their fans.”
And, of course, there’s the obvious: They’re cute.
In a rarity for boy bands, One Direction also seems to
make controversy work to its advantage.
Noted McCoy, of WNCI: “It’s less about the song with
the kids now. The group’s image, at times, is bigger
than their music.”
Now that the band members range in age from 21 to 23,
their fan base has also grown older.
Moreover, don’t underestimate the machine behind the
band.
Simon Cowell built One Direction from contestants on
the British X Factor TV talent contest. Page credits
Cowell for 1D being No. 1.
“He really does know music,” says Page, a Brit. “For a
manufactured boy band, their music is actually good. It’s
not just bubble-gum pop. As they’re growing older,
they’re bringing in other musical talents to help write,
like Ed Sheeran and Kelly Clarkson.”
The music might be improving, but the end of One
Direction is in sight. Every Directioner (that’s what the
fans are called) knows that it’s only a matter of time
before Harry Styles launches a solo career, right?
“After this tour, I can see them doing one more album
and then going their separate ways,” Page said.
Which, of course, leads to the inevitable reunion tour,
right?
From left: Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and
Louis Tomlinson performing last week on ABC’s Good
Morning America.