One Direction are tasked with saving the world’s domestic felines in a cartoon from the lead animator of FX show Archer.
Zayn, Louis, Niall, Harry and a brown-haired Liam are ordered by Psymon Cowell to battle the evil Lord Faptaguise in the video, which has nearly had 1 million YouTube views in just two days.
There are cheeky swipes that poke fun at the group, but generally it’s very fan-friendly. There’s even Niall in drag, for crying out loud.
Watch them use the “pussy magnet” (as in a literal magnet for cats – see what they did there) below.
Rebecca Ferguson’s Heaven topped the half-million sales barrier last week with her debut album Heaven.
The record is currently approaching double-platinum status (awarded for 600,000 shipments) and moved 13-6 on 9,901 sales in this week’s chart. It has now been constantly on the rise for the six consecutive weeks since it reached its lowest chart position to date (No. 60) back in April, and its overall sales tally now stands at 501,338.
‘Glitter & Gold’, benefiting from a performance on Alan Carr: Chatty Man, climbs 182-116, having sold 2,209 downloads.
In terms of sales from the X Factor 2010 season, Heaven remains the second best-selling album from an act of that year. One Direction’s Up All Night remains in front with 608,382 sales, while Matt Cardle’s Letters has managed a respectable 268,865 (though only 20,000 have been since January) and Cher Lloyd’s Sticks + Stones is close behind him.
At the top of the list this week, Keane’s Strangeland nets 47,839 sales to debut at No. 1 – an increase on Night Train‘s 28,063-copy start but down on the first-week figures their eponymous debut (155,373), Under The Iron Sea (222,297) and Perfect Symmetry (79,106).
From Cheryl’s big comeback to Aiden Grimshaw’s big debut, and Emeli Sande’s new music video to Will Young’s new book, it’s all here.
Plus, One Direction’s Harry Styles in the (near) nude, Parade in the studio, Nelly Furtado’s return to English language pop, and Jessie J’s massive sales bump.
Let’s just put our business hats on for a second. You’re in charge of the world’s most famous pop group. You have a tour DVD to shift. The members of the band aren’t exactly ugly, and demand to see them nearly naked is understandably sky-high.
So you can’t exactly blame One Direction’s ‘people’ for using Harry Styles in his underwear to flog a few extra copies, right?
It’s not even subtle. It is the main jist of this trailer. They literally are using a near-naked fit guy as a means of selling DVDs. It’s genius. And almost as transparent as our efforts to up our own traffic by talking about it.
IT’S A FUNNY OLD WORLD.
Join our poll to decide what 1D fans think should be their next single here.
With their record sales through the roof on both sides of the Atlantic, it’s hard to tell if One Direction need to release a fourth single from Up All Night. But then, on the other hand, seeing as it’s already been a hugely profitable album after only three singles, what harm can it do?
‘What Makes You Beautiful’ has been No. 1 in the UK and has sold something like a gazillion units globally, ‘Gotta Be You’ didn’t exactly set the charts on fire (apart from a very brief appearance in the UK Top 5) but it showed a slightly softer side, and ‘One Thing’ was almost as infectious as the debut. But the fact its chart placement was a bit of a struggle (No. 8 ) it’s tricky to predict if a fourth single would do that well.
The album is brimming with potential fourth singles – the title track for one is one of the best in their repertoire (“Katy Perry’s on replay” lyric aside), the Kelly Clarkson-penned ‘Tell Me A Lie’ is a treat, and ‘More Than This’ is fangirl-pleasing balladry at its best.
What would you choose for 1D’s fourth single? Or do you think they should abandon ship and get a move on with Album No. 2?
Modern Family legend Sophia Vergara was the host on SNL last night, and the musical guests – as every member of ’1D Family’ knows – were One Direction.
Harry’s ad-libs at the end aren’t entirely successful but on a scale of Lana Del Rey to Not Lana Del Rey they did really well. Also Zayn really goes for it, right?
Wow, time flies in the land of One Direction, eh? In last week’s first installment of The Weekly Directioner we told you how Niall is apparently the most popular member of the group with US fans, that Harry’s poor mum has been the victim of Twitter abuse and that Louis is occasionally woken up by a certain bandmate’s penis. Click here if you missed it.
A lot more has happened over the last seven days, so here’s your essential update on the comings-and-goings of 1D land. Bit of a quiet week for Zayn, right?
White House invitation turned down, Liam rates Michelle Obama 11/10
The group have been forced to turn down an invitation to hit the White House for an Easter Egg Hunt due to prior commitments in Australia. According to The Guardian, Liam gave Michelle Obama an 11/10, saying: ”[Michelle] is a very classy woman, very elegant,” while Harry added that he had “too much respect for Barack” to comment.
The boys call for Bruno Mars collaboration At the Kids’ Choice Awards last week the band revealed that their dream collab would be with ‘Grenade’ hitmaker Bruno Mars. ”If we could work with anyone in the world, I think we’d pick Bruno Mars,” Harry told E!. “He’s just incredible. He’s got the voice. And he’s a great performer.” And if that doesn’t work out, Louis joked that they could happily settle for… “Susan Boyle”.
Harry to visit “mystery former lover”?!
Now that the tabloids seem to have grown tired of talking about Harry’s brief fling with Caroline Flack, a new “mystery woman” appears to be of interest. A source tells the Daily Star that he will be visiting the family of an old flame when the group visit New Zealand. The so-called insider said: “‘He still carries a flame for her. It’s a secret trip and the lads in the band have agreed to go, too.” Who is this lady?!
Demi Lovato calls Niall “adorable”, fans speculate on potential romance
Teen queen Demi Lovato has singled out Niall as her favourite member of the group, calling him “adorable”. The former Sonny With A Chance star is in the UK at the moment to promote her new album Unbroken, and is alleged by HollywoodLife to have called him her “celebrity crush”. And what does Niall have to say to that? “She’s of a similar age, she seems to be a nice girl.” GET IN THERE NIALLER.
Songwriters battle for second album
SyCo’s eyes are already on the follow-up to Up All Night, and hitmakers are lining up out the door to pen tracks for the surefire smash record. The Independent reports that Scandanavia is the current geographical hotspot, seeing as Carl Falk and Rami Yacoub, who wrote ‘What Makes You Beautiful’, are Swedish. They are already working on new 1D songs with no less than Max Martin and Kristian Lundin, the Stockholm double-act behind some of Britney Spears’ biggest hits. Dee Demirbag, who works with BMG in Scandinavia, said: “Breaking a boy band in the US is about as big as it gets in the music industry, so you can imagine the competition to get cuts on the next One Direction album is immense.”
Louis tricks fans with dad joke on April Fools’ Day
Louis Tomlinson convinced many fans that he is expecting his first child on April Fools’ Day. “Can’t believe I’m going to be a Dad! Wow!!”, he tweeted. And the expectant mother? Harry, of course. The official X Factor UK Twitter account posted: ”We can confirm that Harry Styles IS pregnant. If it’s a girl he’s calling it Anne. If it’s a boy, Juan Direction Styles. #HarrysPregnant.” It’s a tongue-in-cheek reference to the gay rumours surrounding the pair.
Is Harry going bald?
Harry’s hair is almost as famous as he is, but the 18-year-old is apparently worried he’s going to lose it in the very near future. He told The Sun: “I am a little concerned I might go bald soon. It worries me it might fall out. I am just watching how much I put on it now.” Do you reckon Harry could pull off the hairless look? Hmm, we’re not too sure on that one…
Niall “raging” at US sex ban
Niall may be the alleged Most Popular Directioner with North American fans, but record label bosses have allegedly banned him from any kind of sexual activity. A source claiming to be close to the Irish singer told The Sun: “He’s raging about it — all the lads are. Four of them are single and they’ve been told to stay that way as it appeals to their American teen fans. Niall is fighting off the women with his Irish accent and good looks so he’s having to live like a monk.” But the insider insists: “Quite simply a sex scandal over there would be the end of the band.”
Britain’s Got Talent xylophone player impresses the boys
The band are impressed with Britain’s Got Talent contestant Ashley Elliot who played ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ on a xylophone at the weekend. Britain’s Got More Talent host Stephen Mulhern put in a call to Harry, asking: “Just a quickie, do you need a xylophone player for the group?” He replied: “Do you know what, we were actually having this exact conversation the other day. We think that’s the problem, the missing link.”
Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez dance to ‘What Makes You Beautiful’
Aaaaaand finally, check out this cute video of Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez going nuts to the boys’ performance at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards. Stay with it right until the end to see them get down:
In a change from the norm, Little Mix will be the first X Factor winners since Shayne Ward to put out their first proper single just a few months after their victory, and it is speculated that they will perform it on a Britain’s Got Talent live show.
What’s more, Simon Cowell seems to be putting pressure on the quartet – Perrie, Leigh-Anne, Jesy and Jade – to match the ridonkulous success of One Direction.
Jesy told the Daily Star: ”We had a meeting with Simon three weeks ago so he could listen to the track, and it was like sitting in the headmaster’s office. We were so nervous before going in, it was surreal.”
Jade added: ”He really liked it. He’s happy with the progress we’ve made in such a short time and just wants us to be as successful as One Direction.
“The album’s going to be so different. No-one’s expecting what it sounds like.”
The BGT live shows will roll around in May and are thought to be considered a giant platform on which to launch the tune. It’s alleged by various outlets that contributors to the album include Gary Barlow (OH NO), One Direction writer Biff Stannard and production team TMS, who created Dappy’s ‘No Regrets’.
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