Post 27: Freaking Out About Friday (1-29-14)

The fandom has been buzzing this week because One Direction announced that they are releasing their video for Midnight Memories on Friday. Videos are always really exciting because there are all the antics that come with a One Direction video, along with the excitement that comes with trying to break the Vevo Record.

This week the One Direction official Twitter account has been releasing gifs from the video to give a sneak peak. It always makes me really excited for the video because they give us peeks of all of the action that's going to happen in the video. I also really like the song "Midnight Memories" because it's the title song of the album and really sets up the sound for the entire album. Here are a few of the gifs I've seen so far with some of my own added commentary to go along with it.

Why are they riding scooters and why are they so slow? It reminds me of those supermarket scooters.

 

At first I thought it was smoke, but now I'm thinking baby powder and I'm so confused.

Who does he want to call him and why does he remind me of a Greaser from The Outsiders here?

 

Now they're on a boat. Why are they on a boat and why is Niall flashing a Titanic type pose?

"We have arrived!"

 

 



I find the fandom so much fun when a new video comes out because everyone is posting reaction videos, ranting on Tumblr, spamming on Twitter, trying to break the Vevo record, and overall, just freaking out. All I know is, I'm freaking out and I'm going to be freaking out even more on Friday.

Friendly warning: the video comes out at 4 P.M. GMT which is 11 A.M. EST so I'm most likely going to end up watching the video in Journalism. Don't be alarmed if you hear any strange inhumane sounds coming from my direction (One Direction).

Post 26: One Direction and Little Mix on Tour Together? (1-28-14)

Lately I've seen rumors surfacing that Little Mix is going to be going on tour as the opening act for One Direction's Where We Are tour this year. I'm trying not to get excited over it yet because rumors are called rumors for a reason and if it's not true, I'll get too disappointed.

There are a few things that I'm wary of. First off, I feel like Little Mix and One Direction would have conflicting fan bases. I could see Mixers purchasing tickets just to see Little Mix and then leaving after Little Mix performs. However, I think there are quite a few fans that like both and would be delighted if Little Mix opened up for One Direction.

Some people are saying Little Mix's tour dates conflict with One Direction's tour dates, but from what I've seen, they end their tour with Demi Lovato in March, and One Direction's tour starts sometime in August. So this could be possible. There is a possibility here.

It's strange because I don't even like Little Mix that much. I like a few of their songs and I think they're all gorgeous and very talented, but that's about it. I think it's very cool because both groups were formed in the same way. Both groups were composed of solo artists on the X-Factor who didn't make it as solo artists and then were both put into groups. Well, the groups made it, didn't they?

Also, maybe it's a bit of the fangirl in me, but Zayn from One Direction is engaged to Perrie from Little Mix, so they would be touring together, and that would just be amazing. Anyone up for a tour wedding?

Post 25: Grammys Grumblings (1-27-14)

As many people know, the Grammys were last night so a lo of people are bound to be talking about it. I'm here to talk not about the Grammys, but something that people have been talking about: the fact that One Direction was not nominated for a Grammy.

I didn't really care (I think my mom was more upset than I was) but a lot of fans were upset about that. I looked at an article and it said that there's a weird eligibility period where albums are not eligible for this year's Grammys unless they were released between September 2012 and October 2013. So Midnight Memories would not be eligible because it was released in November 2013. What confuses me though, is Take Me Home was released in November 2012 so that would be eligible. Maybe it just wasn't good enough.

This fandom has been pissing me off a little bit lately. They get so angry about stupid things and they're giving our fandom a bad name. I feel like I'm pretty chill. I think people need to stop getting so hung up on stupid things like Grammy nominations. So one Direction wasn't nominated for a Grammy, so what? They were nominated for a bunch of other things. 

I honestly think that people are kind of blowing it out proportion. Yeah, it stinks that they we're nominated, but there are plenty of other years to win Grammys. 

Post 24: My Own Superlatives (1-24-14)

Today the Seniors in my school are doing Senior Superlatives and naming the people in our grade as "Best Dressed," "Cutest Couple," etc. I decided to do my own Superlatives on here, but for One Direction.

Louis: Class Clown
I pick Louis for Class Clown because even he said that he was the rowdy boy in school. On tour he's always making jokes and pulling pranks on people. He's very funny and always wants to make people laugh.

Zayn: Most Calm, Cool, and Collected
I think Zayn would be a good fit for this category because he's very chill. One time in an interview the boys had to describe each other and they described Zayn as "relaxed, chill, chill, and relaxed." He's always very calm, and I think it's a very good quality to have when you have such a crazy job.

Liam: Most Musical
Liam auditioned for the X-Factor twice when he was in school and also went yo a lot of gigs on weekends just to sing. If they had Senior Superlatives at Liam's school, I'm sure he would win this. He's very serious and passionate about music and he deserves to be in this category.

Niall: Class Cutie
Niall is just adorable. He's very happy go lucky and makes everyone laugh and smile. They boys have said that if they're having a rough day, Niall is the one to make them feel better. There was one scene in their movie when one of the boys was talking to the camera and Niall just sticks his face in the camera, holds up a football (soccer ball) and screams, "Football!" He's very adorable.

Harry: Class Flirt
No doubt about it, Harry is the flirt of the group. He's very charming, cheeky, and flirty. One scene during the movie he went back to his hometown and went to a field. Then he started walking towards these woods and said, "I had my first kiss in these woods... up against a tree... It got pretty heated." Now that's a flirt if I've ever seen one.

This was just a fun little thing I wanted to do. Sometimes it's hard to imagine the boys being in High School because they're older now, but doing things like this makes it a little easier to imagine.

Post 22: Promotion for a Parody? (1-22-14)

So a while ago I had seen a video saying that One Direction was going to be on Sesame Street. I was extremely excited about this because after seeing Tom Hiddleston on Sesame Street with Cookie Monster, I thought celebrities on Sesame Street was pretty cute. 

Then today I see this video:

I really hope that it's only a promotion because it cut off quite suddenly and I really want more. I hope all of them end up singing because it's a pretty big pet peeve of mine when not all of them sing. I think they all have great voices and I want to hear them all equally.

I kind of hope that they do something else other than singing. Maybe they'll teach British words to a few of the characters while Niall sits there looking angry and slightly confused. Now that is something I want to see.

Post 20: Niall's Knee (1-17-14)

Recently, Niall had knee surgery to fix problems he had in his knee because of a soccer injury or something like that. He wrote these tweets on the matter. (Read from bottom up.)

Then photos surfaced after his surgery which was in the United States.

As long as he'll be okay for the upcoming tour, I'm fine. I guess he needs knee surgery considering he does a whole lot of this on stage.

Why does Niall need knee surgery? Hmm , I wonder why.

Post 19: Impersonators (1-16-14)

Last night Niall tweeted this (read from the bottom)

This isn't the first time that this has happened and I'm sure it won't be the last. People have pretended to be parents, siblings, and even girlfriends. Sometimes people go as far as to pose and say that people have died. Someone once posed as Sophia, Liam's girlfriend, and said that Liam's mom died. That's a little too far.

Why do people do this? Are people really that desperate for attention and followers that they will go as far as impersonating people and spreading horrible rumors? Yes, and that makes me kind of sick. People these days are so desperate for internet popularity that they will hurt their idols. This may not be their intent, but this does hurt their idols. I'm sure it doesn't make people feel very good to see people pretending to be someone they're not and getting rewarded for it.

I wish there was a way to stop this but I'm sure there's not. The only way I've seen that can stop it is when the celebrity finds out and tweets that these accounts aren't real. So for now, that's really the only way to determine who's real and who's fake. Maybe in a few years you will need fingerprint identification to sign up for Twitter. Now that would be the wave of the future.

Post 11: Better Than Words (1-8-14)

There's one song on their new album that stands out to me and that's "Better Than Words." I think it's because in the verses there are long breaks between each line and it seemed really strange to me. Why would there be such long pauses between lines in a song?

Then on Tumblr I saw this quote:

“We ran into the hotel room, where the studio was set up. We laid it down and as I was making the quick little beat Liam went [to the bathroom] and he came out and he was like ‘Bro, what if we write a song using all song titles?’ And I don’t know who it was [but] ‘better than words’ popped out somehow… And then were like, ‘Sh—, we got it. What if you’re saying that you can’t even describe how good someone’s love is because it’s better than words. So you can’t even use your own words. You have to use other people’s words [from songs] and even those words aren’t good enough.’ I love that song.”

— Julian Bunetta on writing “Better Than Words" with Liam Payne

That explains it. The lines in the verses are titles from song lyrics of other songs. I thought that was so creative because they used other people's words to explain things because the chorus says,
"I don't know how else to sum it up'Cause words ain't good enough, owI don't know how else to sum it up'Cause words ain't good enough, ow."

Furthermore, I found a list of the songs used in each line of the verses.

Better Than Words- One Direction


but more than a feeling- Boston


crazy in love- Beyoncé


dancing on the ceiling- Lionel Richie



Every time we touch- Cascada


I`m all shook up- Elvis Presley


you make me wanna- Usher


How deep is your love- Take That


God only knows, baby- The beach boys/Justin Bieber



I don’t know how else to sum it up- Ozzy Osbourne/ Bribry


cause words aren’t good enough- Evanescence

there’s no way i can’t explain your love- The Who/ Outfield


No, It’s better than words- One direction


Better than words- One Direction



Better Than Words- One direction


you drive me crazy- Britney Spears


Someone like you,- Adele 

always be my baby- Mariah Carey



Best I ever had, - Gavin Degraw

 hips don’t lie- Shakira


you make me wanna- Usher


one more night- Maroon 5



I don’t know how else to sum it up- Ozzy Osbourne/ Bribry


cause words aren’t good enogh- Evanescence


i can’t explain your love- The Who/ Outfield


i don’t know how else to sum it up- Ozzy osbourne/ Bribry


cause words aren’t good enogh- Evanescence


i can’t explain your love- The Who/ Outfield

Everyone tried, they tried- Rascal Flatts


to see what it feels like, feels like


but they’ll never be right

cause it’s better, it’s better

it’s better

Oooh, one more time. Daft punk

oooh, Better than words- 1D

I find it really cool and creative how One Direction took different song titles and made them into their lyrics. Using this really reflected their song lyrics by showing they had no words of their own to describe this situation. I guess the bathroom is a good place to come up with ideas for songs.

Post 10: This Is Us (1-7-14)

Over the break I watched "This Is Us" for the second time. Ever since the movie came out I found a whole bunch of deleted scenes and things that they did not put in the movie (although some were to be included in the special features and extended edition of the movie). Watching all of these deleted scenes made me kind of upset, mainly because I loved the deleted scenes so much. The deleted scenes were a whole lot more of the boys going back home, interacting with family members, and talking about each other. There was on scene that ended up being a special feature on the DVD where the boys all talked about each other and described their band mates. That was probably my favorite scene because we really got to see the connection the boys have with each other and we even found out that Liam and Louis did not get along at first.

A lot of the movie was concert footage, and while I like this I would have rather had more of the personal scenes than concert footage. Even though not all Directioners have been lucky enough to see One Direction in concert, every Directioner has seen One Direction perform on television. While seeing One Direction performing is great, and probably one of my favorite things about them are their stage presences, I really enjoyed the personal scenes at home and would have loved to see more.

With the personal scenes we got to see Zayn buy his mom a house, Louis visit his old school, Niall be the best man in his brother's wedding, Harry and the place where he had his first kiss (it was up against a tree), and Liam with the cardboard cutout of himself his mom keeps in the house. This was a side of the boys I loved, and while I loved the movie, I wish it would've had more parts like this.

Post 9: One Direction Infection (1/6/14)

"Bieber Fever" is a pretty popular term nowadays. At least, it was when Justin Bieber was at the peak of his career. Now the use of the term "Bieber Fever" seems to be dwindling. "One Direction Infection," a pretty similar term when you think about it, probably isn't used as much. Think about it: when was the last time you heard someone say, "I have 'One Direction Infection' "? Probably never. However lately, I feel like my so-called "One Direction Infection" has been spreading.

The week the One Direction movie came out, I was secretly hoping that my mom would buy me the movie without me even asking. Of course that didn't happen, but I can certainly dream. On the Friday of that week, however, my dad texted me saying he had "gotten the DVD" which was quite weird considering we had never had any conversations about DVDs. Upon questioning about this, I found that he had found a man who sold bootleg copies of movies and purchased the movie for me. I was surprised. Up until that point I had thought that he just blocked out any of my One Direction talk. Apparently not.

I'd like to say that a few members of my family are closet Directioners, a term that I made up because it describes the situation very well. They like One Direction, but they don't want to admit it because they are too embarrassed to say so.

The first example is my brother. I sometimes play One Direction songs in the car and even though he always groans when I play them, I actually caught him humming songs while doing his homework. He denied it completely, but I definitely heard him humming "Happily" while doing Geometry problems.

My Aunt Debbie is another example. She's a bit better because while she'll never admit to any adult that she likes One Direction, she has admitted to me that she likes them. She has two of their songs downloaded on her iPod, and whenever I put a song on she likes trying to guess who it is who's singing. She's getting pretty good.

My mom is probably the worst. She denies liking them, much like my brother, but unlike my brother she doesn't just hum a few songs. Her case is much more severe and she's in complete denial. Over the break she watched the movie with me and sang along to the songs she knew. She admitted that Louis was adorable, sprayed on some of their perfume when we were in a store, started singing in a store with me when their song came on, and even went as far to make up her own version of "Story of My Life" when she didn't know the words. I feel bad because this woman has a problem and it's my fault.

I honestly think that "One Direction Infection" actually exists. It seems pretty corny to call it that, but my obsession with One Direction has definitely transferred to some of my family members. What have I done?

Post 7: A Line has Been Crossed (12/16/13)

*Words bolded are links*
For some reason it seems like holidays alway bring even more drama into the One Direction fandom. Last year in December was when Harry Styles first started to date Taylor Swift. Now this year as the holidays are near, Harry has been linked with Kendall Jenner and Niall has recently been linked with Barbara Palvin.

One thing that's annoying about being in a big fandom, is that no one ever seems to be calm. Don't get me wrong, that has an upside because almost anytime I'm with a Directioner, it's a blast, but it also has its downsides. It'a like Directioners have a maternal instinct towards the boys. Whenever someone or something threatens to hurt their babies, they go wild. 

It's not clear if Harry is with Kendall or if Niall is with Barbara. The media, as always, has conflicting articles and I can't find a source I trust. For things like this, I usually wait for for the One Direction Twitter account or the boy himself to confirm or deny whatever rumors happen to go around.  Since neither relationship has been confirmed yet, I figure it's pretty safe for now.

Here's what's unsettling to me. Even though nothing has been confirmed, I have noticed that people are very quick to hate. I understand that no one wants the boys to be hurt, but is it really necessary to hate on the girls, especially with the strong possibility that they might only be friends with Niall and Harry?

This isn't even the first time this has happened and it certainly won't be the last. Sophia Smith, Liam's girlfriend, is no stranger to hate, and there have been times where Liam has had to post on Twitter saying that enough was enough. Sometimes these posts are mean and offensive to the fans, but people need to remember that Liam is only normal, and if you cross a line, sometimes it's hard to stay in control. Similar things have happened with Louis when his girlfriend Eleanor Calder gets hate. And of course, Perrie Edwards, Zayn's fiance has gotten her fair share of hate especially after they announced their engagement. It's basically a non stop chain of hate, and it's not only in this fandom.

Here's what really sparked the idea for the post. Over the weekend, while scrolling through Twitter, I came across a series of tweets from Liam's older sister, Ruth.

 

Read from bottom to top

Read from bottom to top

 

These Tweets really upset me. I don't exactly know what happened but from what Ruth said, I can basically assume that people said mean things to her and it finally got enough. This probably a really hard position to be in for Ruth as well as One Direction's other family members and friends. The family members and friends are really understanding when it comes to fans. They know how much we love the boys and they understand that without the fans the boys would be no where.

The line has to end somewhere though. If a fan oversteps a boundary, it upsets me, because yes, sometimes it's hard to see one of the family members, friends, and even members of One Direction, blow up after the hate got to be too much, but fans also have to respect the little privacy these people do get. Overall, this blog post isn't going to change anything because this hate is a form of bullying in its own right, and bullying is still an issue. However, it is important to realize that no matter how silly it may seem to write a post like this, one voice can turn into many, and if this silly post can inspire one person to hold down the backspace key the next time they're about to send hate to someone online, then I consider it a post well written.

 

Post 6: Introducing the Members (First one Direction related post) (12/12/13)

Since a lot of my journalism classmates are going to be viewing my blog, I only find it fair to introduce the members of one Direction. While many people know who One Direction are, I know a lot of people probably don't know their names or the difference between them.

Louis Tomlinson

• Hometown: Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England
• Age: 21
• Birthday: December 24th 
• Fun Fact: Louis's birth name is Louis Troy Austin. His mother officially changed it when he was very young after her divorce. She wanted him to have the same last as the rest of his later siblings when she got remarried. 

Zayn Malik

• Hometown: Bradford, West Yorkshire, England
• Age: 20
• Birthday: January 12th
• Fun Fact: Zayn's real name is spelled "Zain" but he legally changed it before he auditioned for the X-Factor because he thought it was more unique.

Liam Payne

• Hometown: Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England
• Age: 20
• Birthday: August 29th
• Fun Fact: Liam was born without a functioning kidney, but years later he found out it was functioning again. he shared this news with his fans via Twitter.

Niall Horan

• Hometown: Mullingar, County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland
• Age:20
• Birthday: September 13th
• Fun Fact: There are many things that make Niall unique compared to his bandmates. He's the only Irish member, he's the only left handed member, and he's the only member without any sisters.

Harry Styles

• Hometown: Holmes Chapel, Chesire, England
• Age: 19
• Birthday: February 1st
• Fun Fact: Harry dated Taylor Swift in December 2012. They broke up about two months later. When she was opening for the Grammys she mocked him during here song, "We Are Never Getting Back Together." (video here).

*Words bolded (besides the members' names) are links*