The List of One Direction Albums in Order of Release

Having sold a total of 70 million records worldwide, One Direction is one of the best-selling boy bands of all time, released five studio albums, ten extended plays, seventeen singles (including two charity singles), two video albums, and seventeen music videos.

In a watershed moment in 1D history, Zayn Malik bailed on The X Factor’s dance segment because dancing made him feel weird. He eventually returned to the stage, but not before establishing a precedent: One Direction was a boy band, one of the most successful in pop history, but that didn’t mean they were going to dance. Whatever crazy things happened around them—95,000 fans packed into a South African soccer stadium, the Directioner who forced his way into Liam’s hotel room to steal his boxers and wear them around for a day, a shrine to where Harry got sick on the side of the LA freeway—the boys maintained an approachability that made them seem a little different. The silly videos, the way they laughed in interviews, Harry sitting behind Rihanna at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards and casually peeling an orange. (It’s an orange!) So, yes, a big show—but also five kids who won the lottery of life and were just as much a part of it as everyone else.

Of course, they knew how to write for their mostly female, mostly adolescent fans. More importantly, they made a point of treating their mostly female, mostly teenage fans with respect, bringing a sense of allyship to pop stardom that felt both refreshing and necessary. Reflecting on their success during the group’s hiatus, Harry would wonder why teenage girls’ tastes weren’t taken as seriously as, say, middle-aged men’s. Was there ever a more intense or committed love than that of a teenage girl?

Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson formed the London group in 2010 as a bunch of also-rans on The X Factor, finishing third to little fanfare. What they lacked in polish, they made up for in camaraderie, coming across less as a well-oiled machine and more as five guys who could gel without losing their individual personalities. They were already famous by the time they released their debut, 2011’s Up All Night, filling a void in the pop landscape left by the breakup of *NSYNC a decade earlier. Take Me Home was released a year later, to the month.

Midnight Memories, released in 2013, saw the band gain confidence, reconciling teen sheen with arena rock and Fleetwood Mac-style pop—a sound that bridged the moment with something more timeless. (It should be noted that they usually wrote or co-wrote their own songs, a departure from the conveyor-belt image of boy bands that made them all the more appealing to fans.) Between 2014’s Four and 2015’s Made in the A.M., Zayn Malik left the group, and the rest of the lineup announced their own hiatuses, with a final performance on New Year’s Eve 2016.

“It was like we were in our own little bubble and everyone else was outside,” Niall told Apple Music in 2019. “We were just a bunch of young lads having a good time.” I didn’t overthink it. I was just enjoying it for what it was.” So, if you are a die heart fan of One Direction Albums then check out here we have list of One Direction albums in order of release so far.