BY RENEE RAMIREZ
Four years ago, I remember watching X-Factor UK. There were these five boys who called themselves One Direction. And although they didn't win -- only came in third place, actually -- the funny thing is that no one can remember who actually won.
(Believe it or not, a guy named Matt Curdle was the winner. His name ring a bell? Thought not.)
For Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Louis Tomlinson, their journey didn't end after X-Factor; it was just the first step toward a life they never could have imagined. Today, One Direction has four albums under their belt. For a band to release a new album for every year they have been together is astonishing. Most artists that have been together don't even come close to the success they have accomplished with Up All Night, Take Me Home, Midnight Memories, and their most recent and most successful, FOUR, which the boys say "was mostly inspired by 80's rock."
Being the most successful and wanted band in the world can definitely put a lot of pressure on a person, which is why these boys are constantly asked, "How do you stay so grounded?" Their main responses are the people they keep close and the way their parents raised them. I believe this is why they are so popular and still keep us interested after all these years. They stay true to themselves, and aren't trying to be what the media wants them to be. They don't let anyone tell them what to wear or what to say. That "realness" is what we tend to love and attach on to.
Although people are always trying to find the little things wrong with them, the media never tries to acknowledge the good as much as they should. All in all, people will always try to criticize those who they see as giant, perfect superstars, and tend to forget they are human beings just like me and you.
No matter what, though, the "fans" will always stay true. One Direction may have lost the X-Factor, but they won the world.