One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful

So c-come on

Spyke
It's getting around to that time of year where all the previous X Factor entrants begin to release their new material, conveniently timed so that they just happen to get to return to the show for a Sunday night performance (to give them a lovely boost in sales). I think it has got to the point where it is getting a little bit ridiculous and it seems to be a given that it can be relied on to support the campaign. This year expect performances from Matt Cardle, JLS, Leona Lewis, Cher Lloyd, Olly Murs and Joe McElderry to name but a few (A total of 3 judges and 8 X Factor acts will each be performing). Obviously some of these acts have earned their place in the charts and have gone on to become quite established acts. But when it gets to the stage that you are relying on that coveted spot to take you to(wards) #1 then I think it gets a bit too predictable. I do think it is a great way to establish a wider audience a few singles in, but it doesn't always work as we saw with Joe McElderry's Ambitions last year.

JLS manage to use the show to optimise their exposure really effectively; going for the summer lead single which is followed up with a ballad to launch the album and concluded with a good album-cut early the following year. Obviously I don't think it's perfect as nobody wants to hear a brand new single a staggering 3 months prior to being able to buy it - but it does work for them. So it would appear that One Direction are about to try a similar tact. With a really summery song (that should have been released in summer) they are ready to tackle the charts and without the immediate support of a live show.

The song itself is energetic, fun and just that tiny bit cringey. It's like Simon Cowell has managed to recreate Summer Nights forward 30 years from appearing in Grease! The video shows the five lads out on their travels across America and it looks like they've been enjoying themselves; it does amuse me at the 2:20 mark when we get enlightened to Harry Styles' pulling technique which is just a bit awkward to watch as he sings "Baby you light up my world like nobody else; The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed; But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell; You don't know, You don't know you're beautiful". However when you have a track writen by Carl Falk, Savan Kotecha and none other than Rami Yacoub (co-wrote: Baby One More Time, It's Gonna Be Me & Larger Than Life) the future is looking great!

It has also been under contention between some of my friends for the past year on how you would rank the members of One Direction. So after a year of deliberation we've (semi)agreed on:

1 Zayn
2 Harry
3 Louis
4 Liam (with his new haircut)
5 Niall (pause the video at 1:13)

The release of the track has been delayed so I presume they are just looking for the optimal week for release to give it the best chance at that #1 spot; a feat it should achieve given that Cher Lloyd has already topped the charts on a quiet week this year, but I'm more intrigued as to how well Matt will do with his less than inspiring Letters.

Chart Predictions:
Spyke 1
McLovin 1
Actual 1