A Breakdown of One Direction: Which Member Really Did The Most?
For a 10 minute breakdown of this story, please listen to my podcast “On That Note”!
Googling One Direction in their heyday would produce a cacophony of content. Larry Stylinson rumors, creative fan-fiction and, of course, debates on who the best member was.
Although there is no definitive answer for that last one, I still wanted to know “Who actually did the most work in One Direction?” So, I broke down their entire discography to find out: who sang the most, and who wrote the most.
Read on to find out!
One Direction released 17 singles. Sixteen were originals, and one was a cover of “One Way or Another” by Blondie, which they recorded and released as part of Red Nose Day in 2013.
***Disclaimer I have given the title “lead singer” to whoever started the song off. It is by no means a perfect method, but it is the easiest to abide by and understand.***
Of their official singles released, this is the breakdown of lead singer to songs:
On the US charts, only four of their ever reached #1. Those songs were:
What Makes You Beautiful
Little Things
One Way or Another
Drag Me Down
Surprisingly, none of their singles ever reached #1 in the UK.
Liam took the crown for most utilized singer, opening up 42% of their songs (36 songs total). Louis accounted for the least, with only four lead singer credits total. Those were on: Perfect, Little Black Dress, Right Now and Change My Mind.
As the band progressed however, each singer began singing more. Niall, who had zero lead singer credits on the bands debut album, ended his One Direction career with 13% of song openings. Harry and Liam combined tallied 74% of the bands lead singing credits.
As for writing, the tie for first place went to Liam and Louis, who had credits on 14 songs each. Zayn (4), understandably, has the least, considering he left the band before they wrote and recorded their last album.
Ed Sheeran also penned 3 songs for the band:
Little Things
Over Again
18
Overall it’s hard to say who did the most work, because without any of the boys the band wouldn’t have been the same.
If you want to know which famous musician DIDN’T like working with One Direction, tune into my podcast to find out!
