Images may be subject to copyright
On this day, 8 April 2011, UK boy band One Direction played Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena on the X Factor Live tour. Also included on the bill were other X Factor performers, Rebecca Ferguson, Aidan Grimshaw and Cher Lloyd.
One Direction, often shortened to 1D, are an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group is composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously Zayn Malik until his departure from the group in March 2015. They became one of the best-selling boy groups of all time before going on an indefinite hiatus in 2016.
The group signed with Simon Cowell's record label Syco Records after forming and placing third in the seventh series of the British televised singing competition The X Factor in 2010. Propelled to global success by social media, One Direction's five albums, Up All Night (2011), Take Me Home (2012), Midnight Memories (2013), Four (2014), and Made in the A.M. (2015), topped charts in several countries, and generated hit singles including "What Makes You Beautiful", "Live While We're Young", "Best Song Ever", "Story of My Life" and "Drag Me Down".
After the release of Four, One Direction became the first band in the US Billboard 200 history to have their first four albums debut at number one. Their third album, Midnight Memories, was the best-selling album worldwide of 2013.
