10 One Direction songs you should hear

One Direction? I can predict the urge for some of you to click away. But please don't. Bear with me here. I know the reputation 1D have among some people probably more than anyone. Why? Because I've been a fan for a little over 2 years now, and I was once one of you. I thought 1D were awful, a band specifically created for teenage girls. While that is true to some extend, 1D has grown up a lot over the years as you can see in the picture above. But they didn't just grow up in appearance, they also grew up musically. Unfortunately that is not something everyone always knows. Many people still remember them from their first single What Makes You Beautiful. But their style has changed so much since then and since they're currently on a break I thought I'd show everyone a side of 1D that you probably don't know yet.

1D really started forming their own identity around their 3rd album Midnight Memories, so that's where I'll be starting today. One song from the album you might be familiar with is Story Of My Life which might be one of their best singles. Looking at the band's single choices it's easy to dismiss them on a musical scale, but if you look at their album tracks it's clear they have so much more to offer. You just have to be willing to look a little further. Now I'm not saying their singles are necessarily bad songs, you can catch me jamming out to Best Song Ever any time I hear it. All I'm saying is that there are better songs out there. Anyway's let continue to the songs now.

1. Happily

Midnight Memories is mostly consistent of 2 sounds. The acoustic based songs inspired by acts like Mumford and Sons and The Lumineers who were really popular at the time, and a more pop rock sound with roots in classic rock. Happily is a song that belongs in the first category. It makes you want to clap your hands and stomp your feet and therefor makes a real catchy song. Musically it gives off a very happy vibe, but if you pay attention the lyrics you will see that the song is much deeper than that. "We were meant to be but a twist of fate. Made it so we had to walk away." Now I'm not gonna sink deep into the meaning of the song, cause everyone should form their own opinion. But there's more to it than meets they eye.

2. Little Black Dress
 
Little Black Dress is a true jam. Billboard wrote the following about it in 2015: "How was one of the best rock songs of 2013 never released as a single?" And they weren't wrong if you ask me. The song makes you want to nod your head, it makes you want to strut in the streets. It's super catchy and just a great song in general. This could have been a huge hit even outside of their fan base had they released this as a single. Why they didn't is a mystery to me, but I hope this can bring some justice to the song.

3. Through The Dark
 
The next song falls into the same category as Story of My Life and Happily. It feeds on the acoustic based trend that was going on at the moment. Yet it still remains true to the One Direction sound. This is a clear sign of how the guys and their co-writers (yes, they actually write their own songs) actively pay attention to what's going on in the charts and are able to translate that to their own sound. Even though the lyrics are quite deep (just like Happily), the music still makes it feel light and prevents the song from getting to heavy. Which is easily achieved with lyrics like: "You tell me that you're sad and lost your way. You tell me that your tears are here to stay." Yet the song has a positive message despite the heavy lyrics. It's one person telling another everything will be alright. They're saying, I will help you get through these hard times and I'm there for you. A very mature song and another absolute jam from Midnight Memories.

4. Ready to Run

On their 2014 album FOUR One Direction go on where they left off with Midnight Memories. It shows an even more mature sounds, at times tapping in to the acoustic side we've already heard on their previous album. But also sometimes going into Classic Rock territory. Ready to Run is almost a Through The Dark part 2. It has a similar message and a similar sound. It's a great acoustic driven song that once again shows a lot of maturity.

5. Where Do Broken Hearts Go

Where Do Broken Hearts Go is pretty much a full on rock song. It's a real anthem that makes you want to be in a giant stadium singing along the lyrics with thousands of other people. It shows how diverse the boys can sound from one song to the other. All the members of the band really shine on this track in their own way. They even performed the song with no other than Ronnie Wood from The Rolling Stones on The X Factor Finals.

6. No Control

Moving on to No Control. This one is a special one and requires a bit of an explanation for those who aren't familiar with One Direction. This song is a fan favorite among a huge group of fans. The main reason (besides it being a great song) is that it features Louis Tomlinson on vocals and his voice is loved by many fans. In the early days of One Direction him and Niall Horan were branded as the lesser singers of the group. Therefor they didn't have many solo's, especially on their first album Up All Night. As time went by both Tomlinson and Horan improved a lot and especially Tomlinson's voice became loved under many fans for it's unique sound. Fans decided that even though this song was not chosen as a single by the record company that they wanted to some sort of fans release for the song. So together they decided to promote the song online and request it at radio stations across the world. The effort payed off and with the hashtag #ProjectNoControl trending worldwide they manged to get many radio stations across the world to play the song. Without any help from the record company. The guys eventually took notice of the fans their actions as well and spoke highly of it on Twitter and in interviews. In the end the song even got added to the setlist of One Direction's On The Road Again Tour.

As said before, this song highly features Louis Tomlinson on the chorus of the song. Besides that the song shows a very mature side for a boyband who is expected to have sort of a squeaky clean image. Which is hard to imagine with lyrics like "Waking up beside you I'm a loaded gun". But that is also one of the things that made the fans choose this song. To show the world that 1D aren't a standard boyband and should be seen as a serious musical force in the music industry. With the catchy guitar intro and great bassline No Control is an amazing song and Tomlinson's vocals really make this song even better. The song makes you want to dance and clap and stomp your feet all at the same time. All while singing the song at the top of your lungs. For those who think Tomlinson's vocals are all just clever studio tricks and that he probably can't deliver live. Let me silence you right now, cause even live Tomlinson delivers a fantastic performance.

7. Fireproof

Another great song fro the album FOUR is Fireproof. The song digs further into the classic rock sound One Direction seems to have made their own. If you play this to a real classic rock fan there's a sure chance they will actually enjoy it. The bass and drums almost sounds like the unmistaken sound of John McVie and Mick Fleetwood. If you pretend hard enough you might even believe this is a previously unheard Fleetwood Mac song. It's exactly what makes the song another fan favorite. Without a doubt this song should have been a single as well instead of some of the other songs that were chosen instead.

8. What a Feeling

Mix the classic rock vibe from Fireproof with a light disco vibe and you get What A Feeling. This smooth song with a driving beat is a real classic from 1D's last album Made In The A.M. I'm not sure what more to say about this song. Everything about it is just smooth, the vocals, the bass and drums, the guitars. Not quite a ballad, not quite an high tempo song, but something in between. It just feels so pleasant to listen to. Everything fits so well. Down to the amazing harmonies on the chorus. I sometimes tend to underestimate this song myself, but then there's times like today and I listen to the song and it just hits you. You realize what an amazing this song really is.

9. I Want to Write You A Song

I Want to Write You A Song is by far the most simple One Direction song, but it's so beautiful. On the verses it almost sounds like a children's song (in a good way) with how simple the lyrics are. Then the chorus gets a little more poetic, but the simple acoustic guitar remains the main melody in the song. From the first time I heard this song it reminded me of Blackbird by The Beatles. Which is probably the best song to compare it to. Which is a risk, I know. But let's not forget that The Beatles were also a boyband, just because they held instruments that doesn't chance the fact that they were. Although this song may be simple it doesn't mean no thought went into it. If you listen carefully (use some good head/earphones) you will hear a soft scribbling sound in the background. As if the song is being written in the background as you listen.

10. Walking In The Wind

When you press play for this song it's immediately clear which artist inspired the sound of this song if you're familiar with classic rock history. This song has the unmistakable sound of Paul Simon written all over it. But without explicitly copying any songs. The guys seem to have found a way to cleverly adapt the sound of the song as if it was an unreleased track of Paul Simon's album Graceland. In the lyrics the song talks about the loss of someone close and realizing they are really no longer there. But in good One Direction fashion it does give it a hopeful touch with the lyrics "But it's not the end. I'll see your face again." The sound on the chorus is again mostly acoustically driven as we've heard on many of the songs in this article.

With this song we arrive at the end of this article. I truly hope that even the none 1D fans that may read this will now have a different view on the band. There were many more songs I could have put in this article but I had to make a selection or the article would have been 100 songs long. If you want to hear more One Direction I suggest checking out their albums, in particular Midnight Memories, FOUR and Made in The A.M. Let me know in the comments what you think about this songs, I would love to hear from you.