Liam, Zayn, Louis, Harry and Niall.
You’ve probably heard of them. Your little sister (or brother) is probably obsessed with them.
My name is Samantha Lapierre, I am 20 years old, and I am terribly infatuated with the boyband One Direction.
I can tell you how it started, but please bear with me.
It was a Friday night, I was up to my usual wild shenanigans (at home, on my couch, scrolling through Tumblr, chowing down on a cheese and cracker platter) when I noticed a link to a UK television special called One Direction: A Year in the Making on a friend’s blog.
Up until that point, I wasn’t super fond of 1D. I found their fandom on twitter incredibly obnoxious and instantly assumed that their music was the same bland, boring, over-produced crap that, apparently, I felt like I was above. I figured that young adults must only like them ironically or something. But I was bored, and I was curious. I thought to myself, “What on earth makes all of these tween girls so fanatic for these five guys?”
About 30 minutes in, I was hooked. The special documented the band’s journey from the X-Factor to their debut album release. There is a rather moving scene that features Harry Styles crying about receiving Twitter hate. I found myself crying along with him, sobbing for the hurt of a teenage boy. And please, if somebody as adorable as Harry Styles was crying, you would cry a little for him too. But I became confused. What on earth was happening to me?
It was that instant that sealed the deal. After watching interview after interview, I could not for the life of me believe how charming and hilarious they were. Their album soon became a staple on my daily shuffle soundtrack. I’ve purchased a coffee mug with their faces on it, and this Christmas I bought a One Direction blanket as a present…for myself.
In my lowest (or highest, depending on how you view this obsession) moment, I impulsively bought five pairs of 1D-themed socks. The day their second album Take Me Home came out, I made sure to reserve a copy at HMV in the fear that it would be sold out by the time I raced there after class. And of course, I have a favourite. Zayn Malik and his brooding stare have simultaneously captured my heart and ruined my life.
One Direction in sailor uniforms? Um, yes please.
To be fair, our childhoods have been filled with boy bands. You can’t tell me that you didn’t jam out to ‘N Sync back in the day, or believe that you were going to marry Nick Carter. The recent influx of boy bands have proved to be just as popular as they once were, maybe even more so with social media. One Direction has become the perfectly contrived boy band, yet they are so mischievous and charismatic that it is almost impossible not to look away. Despite their best efforts, they can’t really dance, there aren’t any crazy on-stage effects and their outfits don’t ever match – but, their stage presence is incredible.
Overall, I fully embrace this weird fixation, even though I’ve been made fun of more than once for it. And, considering I’m very publicly declaring this love, I am fully anticipating that the jokes will keep on coming. I have no shame. They are funny, adorable, quirky, and yes, talented. Is my obsession kind of weird? Absolutely. Am I alone? Not even. My best friends love them too, which makes our parties twice as fun when our favourite 1D songs come on shuffle.
Picture sources: http://ptloveonedirection.tumblr.com
http://dailyonedirection.tumblr.com