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Position 4: What Makes You Beautiful
One Direction releases "What Makes You Beautiful," their first ever single. It tops the charts at number 4... and feels like it stays on the radio for eternity. -
Position 39: One Thing
The second single off their first album (entitled Up All Night), One Thing doesn't do as well as WMYB. But it still breaks the Top 40! -
Position 3: Live While We're Young
Breaking WMYB's position at #4, "Live While We're Young" flies to #3 as it promotes the release of One Direction's second studio album, Take Me Home -
Position 33: Little Things
The only straight-up ballad in these 10 singles, "Little Things" shows One Direction's sensitive side with stripped-down instruments and a simple video. It levels off at position #33, still nothing to shake a stick at. -
Position 46: Kiss You
Unable to break the Top 40 is the third single from the Take Me Home album, "Kiss You." Its performance may well be due in part to the release on the same day (March 9th) of a charity cover single. Charity may have trumped pop on this one! -
Position 13: One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)
A cover-slash-mashup of Blondie's "One Way or Another" and the Undertones' "Teenage Kicks," this single was recorded to raise money for Comic Relief, a British charity that addresses humanitarian needs in many countries. One Direction focuses, in their low-budget music video, on poverty-ridden people in Ghana. -
Position 2: Best Song Ever
Just as LWWY placed one position higher than WMYB, "Best Song Ever" moves up another step to place at #2. It is the first single off of their third studio album, Midnight Memories -
Position 6: Story of My Life
The second single from Midnight Memories, "Story of My Life" has a much more instrumental, folksy sound to it, and has a longer life on the Hot 100 List and tops at #6. -
Position 12: Midnight Memories
For the third single off of their third album, One Direction releases the titular track, "Midnight Memories." Infinitely rockier than SOML, yet with less soul - it tops at #12. -
Position 13: Steal My Girl
The first single off of their fourth studio album (aptly entitled FOUR), "Steal My Girl," despite being their first new single for more than 10 months (and despite the Danny Devito cameo in the music video), still only manages to hit #13, a rank lower than Midnight Memories the year before.
