Contrary to popular belief, I do have my priorities in an appropriate order. For example, I had a public emotional breakdown when my sister got engaged, and I distinctly remember crying from happiness when I was accepted into Kenyon. And when I witness the birth of my nieces and nephews, or the election of the first female President, I will imprint those memories in my mind. However, I will also eternally remember where I was when I heard the news that Zayn Malik had left One Direction in mid-March of this year. (In case you were wondering, I was leaving gym class. I proceeded to display a lot of feelings in my high school cafeteria. A passerby wondered at the shrieks of, “TRAITOR!” But I digress.)
Source: Entertainment Weekly
September 22nd could have come and gone like any other day; there are no surprises in September. Then, fate struck. I checked Instagram and my world exploded.
“Infinity” is the newest track off One Direction’s unreleased album, “Made In The A.M.,” and was dropped on the fateful Tuesday of last week. The song is notable for obvious reasons: it is the second single in the “post-Zayn” period, and marks the official new album announcement. This will be One Direction’s fifth album, and their last one before they take a year long hiatus.
There are other significant details surrounding this release: the gender neutral pronoun of the chorus and the vocal prowess thrust upon Harry without Zayn’s range. The details of who carries the riffs and where the hints fall aren’t important to everyone. But, then again, I’ve always been known to pay attention to the small things.
Source: Telegraph.co.uk
The thing about One Direction is that they are prepackaged for perfection. They have been engineered, from their hair, to their genuine and vague love songs to make us – make me – love them. (Their being from the United Kingdom is just an inherent bonus.) The influence of their handlers has weakened as the boys have grown up, but, in truth, I was always supposed to love them. I was the target audience four years ago, and their magic worked. It continues to work. And there is no shame in that.
Today, sitting in an elite college library surrounded by the brightest minds of my generation, I listen to “Infinity” and I know what I’ve been told: its production is weak, its concept unoriginal, and its vocals expected. There is absolute truth to that. Who hasn’t heard a song about love and loss and falling until it hurts? And who hasn’t refused to count their nights because they are afraid that it might all feel a little too much like infinity?
There is something beautiful in most things and a preconceived notion of a boy band plays by the same rules. Happily, I will do as I please and rock on to One Direction.