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One Direction On GRAMMY Camp — SoundCheck And Their First U.S. Tour

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THE GRAMMYs
GRAMMYs
Dec 2, 2014 - 3:22 pm

By Liam Payne

Hey everyone! We had a fantastic time at the GRAMMY Camp — SoundCheck in San Diego. This is our first time touring the United States and it's really great to to be involved with the GRAMMY Foundation's GRAMMY Camp — SoundCheck program. As for all of us in the band, this is something we never expected.

It's been great on the road so far and we have been able to visit so many exciting places and it's so great to be able to bring our tour here and perform to thousands of people. I think my favorite part on tour so far was when we stopped in Toronto and performed for 16,000 people. It was a huge indoor/outdoor space that was backed by a big lawn. It was amazing to see so many people having fun, and hearing them sing along with our songs was fantastic experience!

Another great city was Las Vegas. It really fascinated me. It's just so surreal to see all the huge buildings out there in the desert. Unfortunately, we are too young to go out, but hopefully in a few years we will come back and really experience the city.

One piece of advice I would give to anyone who wants to sing and perform is just go with it. You never really know what could happen until you give it a shot. Before all of this I never expected to hear my voice on a song on the radio, let alone be touring America, so you really should just try. Also, don't take it all too seriously. The reason I wanted to be a singer was to enjoy what I call "work" and have fun all the time, so never stop enjoying music.

UK pop band One Direction recently participated in a GRAMMY Camp — SoundCheck in San Diego. A GRAMMY Foundation GRAMMY in the Schools initiative, GRAMMY Camp — SoundCheck programs provide high school and college students a glimpse into the realities of music careers by offering them the opportunity to experience a soundcheck rehearsal with a recording artist, followed by an interactive and candid question-and-answer session. Following the soundcheck, One Direction's Liam Payne collected his thoughts on the experience and the band's current U.S. tour.

Formed in 2010 after individually appearing on the UK's "The X Factor," One Direction features Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson. The group finished third on the show and were subsequently signed to Simon Cowell's Syco record label. The group released their first single, "What Makes You Beautiful," in 2011. Released in 2012, their first album, Up All Night, debuted atop the Billboard 200, making One Direction the first British band to have a debut album enter the chart at No. 1.

Harry Styles

Harry Styles

Photo: Helene Pambrun

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How Harry Styles Emerged From Teen Pop Sensation To First-Time GRAMMY Nominee

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For British singer/songwriter Harry Styles, 2020 was a career-defining year, bolstered by the December 2019 release of his GRAMMY-nominated sophomore solo album, 'Fine Line'
Hedy Phillips
GRAMMYs
Mar 11, 2021 - 5:52 pm

Though many people might want to write off 2020 as a year that never existed, for others, it was a year of growth, change and even success. For Harry Styles, 2020 was a career-defining year, which is no easy feat when the entire world is shut down. The pandemic left him no choice but to put his world tour plans on pause and strategize a new way to not just promote his sophomore album, Fine Line, released in December 2019, but also keep fans' attention. 

What followed was a bit of a phenomenon.

Styles, who has been a star since his One Direction days, became a bigger star with every passing day. His album went multi-platinum, he got his first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single with "Watermelon Sugar," he was named Variety's 2020 Hitmaker of the Year, he landed his first-ever GRAMMY nominations of his career (Best Pop Solo Performance for "Watermelon Sugar," Best Music Video for "Adore You" and Best Pop Vocal Album for Fine Line at the 2021 GRAMMY Awards show). And the list goes on.

While these accomplishments would add up to a banner year for any artist, what makes it so unique for the British singer is twofold. For one, he's been in the business for a decade already, gaining fame at just 17 as a member of the huge boy band One Direction. While in the group, which came together in 2010 as part of "The X-Factor," Styles and his bandmates Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik found global success, selling millions of records, performing in sold-out stadiums around the world and winning many awards.

However, despite how massive the band became, they didn't quite crossover to listeners of all ages—they had a hard time shaking the boy band label. While their music evolved into a more mature rock sound over the years, they never got to a place where they were wholly appreciated by the public in a way that their fans knew they deserved.

Once the band went on hiatus in 2015, Styles went to work creating his first solo album, Harry Styles. It was released in 2017 to much fanfare (it also debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200), but it wasn't until his second solo album that he really hit his stride. With Fine Line he found his musical voice and shared an album that not only resonated with his core fanbase but also brought him further into the mainstream.

Read: How To Watch The 2021 GRAMMY Awards Show: A Viewer's Guide On Where To Watch Music's Biggest Night

From the first single released off the album ("Lights Up" in October 2019) all the way to the most recent video ("Treat People With Kindness" in January 2021), Fine Line has continued to grow. It was with this album that Styles became a household name, disconnected from his boy band roots in a way like never before. Gone are the days where people refer to him as "Harry Styles from One Direction." Now Styles stands alone, proud of where he came from but boldly moving forward on his own path.

The even more stunning part of Styles' year, though, and the second reason 2020 was so out of this world for him, he largely let his fanbase spread the good word about his art. Fans on social media hosted streaming parties for "Watermelon Sugar" to ensure it hit Billboard's No. 1 spot. They've created and sold their own merchandise to advertise his music. As only a dedicated stan army can do, they've made sure that every single thing he does goes viral. Even though Styles himself has a limited social media presence, he's still one of the most noteworthy internet personalities, simply because his fans have kept him there. In a world where social media reigns supreme, he lets his work speak for itself and trusts in his partnership with his fans to help him succeed.

The impact of Fine Line was substantial. Because of it, he is currently in the running for his first three GRAMMYs--Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Music Video for "Adore You" and Best Pop Solo Performance for "Watermelon Sugar." And the numbers also back up his work. Fine Line is RIAA certified double platinum, has over 4 billion worldwide streams and spawned six songs that cracked the Billboard Top 100 chart.

Before the album's release, to promote "Adore You," Styles and Columbia Records created a mysterious world called Eroda that trended before anyone even knew it was for a music video. "Watermelon Sugar" became one of the songs of the pandemic summer after the video dedicated to human touch—which has over 194 million views on YouTube—was released in May 2020.

Related: 2021 GRAMMYs Awards Show: Complete Nominees List

Not one to ever let the album get stale, Styles continued to remind listeners of its existence throughout 2020, even though the world had shut down and in-person promo wasn't an option. Before that, though, Styles caused a buzz as he took double duty on "Saturday Night Live" in November 2019 as the host and musical guest, as well as performing in BBC Radio1's Live Lounge the following month. After a few shows in Los Angeles, London, and New York in late 2019 and early 2020, Styles hunkered down amid COVID and let his music videos do the talking. Aside from "Watermelon Sugar," he released a video for "Falling" in February and "Golden" in October. Fans may not have gotten to see Styles on the road in 2020, but he made sure to keep popping up on their screens, including a virtual appearance at iHeart Radio's Jingle Ball in December, one of his only in 2020.

But 2020 wasn't only a great year for Styles' music, he also graced multiple fashion magazine covers, continued his relationship with Gucci, and even landed a second major movie role, in Olivia Wilde's upcoming Don't Worry Darling. Not only was he Vogue's first man to pose on a cover alone, he did it wearing a dress. He's continued to quietly advocate for genderless fashion by wearing what makes him happy, whether it's fishnets for Beauty Papers or his everyday pearl necklace. Though many rock stars before him pushed similar gender-bending trends, he's become that person for his generation.

Styles even influenced countless people in lockdown to take up knitting, simply to recreate the J.W. Anderson rainbow patchwork cardigan he wore during a rehearsal for the "Today" show in February. After a few fans fumbled through knitting a copycat, the fashion house published a pattern that spread like wildfire. Suddenly TikTok was flooded with people knitting "The Sweater," and fans all over the world showed off their matching rainbow cardigans in their Instagram selfies from home.

As much as the phrase has been bandied about in recent months, it still holds true: It's Harry Styles' world and we're all just living in it. Despite all the setbacks and hardships, 2020 defined Styles as an artist—not just a musician, but a whole artist. It seems inevitable that Styles will only continue to grow his star power as he draws in more fans for this journey. For those devoted fans who have been there for him since he was just a teenager singing "What Makes You Beautiful," though, his meteoric rise in 2020 just made sense.

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SHAED

 SHAED

Photo: Andrew Lee

News

Up Close & Personal: SHAED Talk New Music, Allyship & Collabs With ZAYN, Sting & Steve Aoki

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The "Melt" band reveal how fun it was working with Sting and Steve Aoki on the dance producer's 2019's track "2 In A Million"
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Sep 22, 2020 - 12:27 pm

Alt-pop trio SHAED consisting of twin brothers Max and Spencer Ernst and Chelsea Lee (who is married to Spencer), had their big break in summer 2018 with their infectious hit "Trampoline." It was followed by a whirlwind 2019, where they played major festivals and shows around the world and dropped some big collabs, including a ZAYN remix of "Trampoline," whose vocals brought new life—and his massive fan base—to it.

Like so many other artists, COVID-19 put a sudden halt on their packed, globe-trotting schedule. The pause and new perspective have proven productive for them, and resulted in a lot of new, yet-to-be-released music.

"We had a group of songs before this whole quarantine situation and we kind of took a deep listen and realized that we wanted to change it up a bit," Chelsea told us. "Most of the songs we've written for this album, we wrote during these crazy months, so it definitely reflects, emotionally and mentally, what we were feeling. These songs really hit home for us and we're super excited to release them."

SHAED On New Music, Allyship & Collabs

Read: Aminé Talks New Album 'Limbo,' Portland Protests And Black Lives Matter

We catch up with the Washington D.C.-based group for the latest episode of GRAMMY.com Up Close & Personal interview video series to learn what they've been up to during quarantine—in addition to creating a new album, they've also protesting with local Black Lives Matter marches and been relaxing in their backyard.

Sharing what he learned about being an ally to the Black community, Max said, "I think it's important to listen. There's all these kind of sub-movements within the Black Lives Matter movement that are really important. Black Trans lives Matter, is super important… I think it's important that all these communities within Black Lives Matter, their voices are being elevated."

The "Melt" band also reveal how fun it was like working with Sting and Steve Aoki on the dance producer's 2019's track "2 In A Million." Watch the full conversation above!

"Chelsea loves Sting," Spencer said, smiling. "Steve Aoki is a fan of ours, and he reached out and said he'd love for us to feature on a song. So we were listening to some demos and trying to figure out which one made sense. And then he said, 'Hey, actually hold on, I got a song with Sting.' And that's when Chelsea was like 'We're doing this right away!'"

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Harry Styles

Harry Styles 

Photo: Will Heath/NBC/Getty Images

News

Harry Styles' 'Fine Line' Debuts At No. 1 With The 3rd Biggest Week For A 2019 Album

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With a huge first week for his anticipated sophomore solo album, the pop powerhouse has landed his second No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200, with the biggest male pop release in four years
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Dec 23, 2019 - 12:56 pm

Billboard's latest chart data reveals British pop act Harry Styles' sophomore album Fine Line has debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, its all-genre album chart. This marks the former One Direction bandmember's second No. 1 album (out of two to date) as a solo artist and sixth overall, as the popular boy band saw four No. 1 album releases (out of five LPs) in their time together.

Billboard highlights the massiveness of Fine Line's first week, noting, at 478,000 units, it has had the third-biggest album week of 2019, only following Taylor Swift's currently GRAMMY-nominated Lover (869,000 units on the Sept. 7 chart) and Post Malone's Hollywood's Bleeding (489,000 units on the Sept. 21 chart). Additionally, just one week in, it is already the sixth-best selling album of 2019. The data was revealed by Billboard yesterday, Dec. 20, for its forthcoming Dec. 28 Billboard 200 chart.

Related: Billboard 200 Album Chart To Count Video Plays From Streaming Services Starting In 2020

In the first week since its release on Dec. 13, Fine Line sold 393,000 albums (including CDs, vinyl and digital downloads, including concert ticket and merchandise bundles) and racked up 108.7 million on-demand audio streams among its 12 tracks, which equals 83,000 Streaming Equivalent Units. The impressive 478,000 album units is rounded out by 3,000 Track Equivalent Album sales, meaning 30,000 tracks from the albums were downloaded during its first week.

The album follows Styles' self-titled 2017 solo debut album, which also debuted at No. 1 with 230,000 equivalent album sales in its first week. Now, with his anticipated sophomore follow up, the pop powerhouse has not only landed his second No. 1 solo debut, but he's also seen the best week for male pop release, only behind Justin Bieber's Purpose in 2015. It is also the biggest week ever for a U.K. male solo artist since Nielsen began tracking sales electronically back in 1991.

The big achievement for Styles' follows a busy schedule filled with appearances on Saturday Night Live, The Late Late Show With James Corden and BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge and surprise shows in London in Los Angeles. For BBC, he performed two Fine Line's "Adore You" and "Lights Up," as well as a Lizzo-approved cover of "Juice" and a cheerful rendition of Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime," both of which you can peep below.

 

He will kick off his Love On Tour 2020 in the spring, with King Princess opening in Europe, Jenny Lewis supporting the U.S. and Canada dates and current GRAMMY nominee Koffee joining in Mexico. You can check out his website to see if tickets are still available near you.

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Niall Horan

Niall Horan

Interview

Niall Horan Talks "Too Much To Ask," Maren Morris Duet & Harry Styles

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The One Direction alum talks his debut solo album, 'Flicker,' the genesis of the songs "Too Much To Ask" and "Seeing Blind," and what he misses most about his former group
Tim McPhate
GRAMMYs
Oct 12, 2017 - 10:25 am

These are exciting times for Niall Horan.

Niall Horan on "Seeing Blind" With Maren Morris

The One Direction alumnus is readying his debut studio album, Flicker, for release on Oct. 20. Featuring collaborations with producer/songwriter Greg Kurstin, the LP has been preceded by a trio of singles, including "Too Much To Ask" and "This Town," which in Horan's words, gives fans an "idea of where I'm headed."

In the meantime, he has plotted a 2018 world tour in support of Flicker with GRAMMY winner Maren Morris, who coincidentally joins Horan on a duet for the track "Seeing Blind" on his album.

In this exclusive interview, the Irish singer/songwriter opens up about the biggest hurdle he overcame with his debut album, how "Too Much To Ask" and "Seeing Blind" materialized, what he thinks of Harry Styles' debut album, and what he misses the most about his days in 1D.

What was the biggest challenge you encountered with making your first solo album?

Trying to get people to bring the songs to life in the way that I pictured them. Explaining it to people was obviously harder than I thought. I wanted to make the album with a live band; that was a big thing for me. I had some people that I really wanted to [collaborate] with and with the help of my A&R I got the chance to work with some great people. But I think, initially for me, [the biggest challenge was] trying to get people to understand how I wanted it to sound.

 

What was the inspiration for the single "Too Much To Ask"?

There's obviously a lot of autobiographical stuff. And it was kind of from the heart. It actually took me probably three or four [tries] at it to actually write the song. It had been a line here or there for a while, and musically it wasn't really coming together. And one day I just sat down at the piano with a friend of mine [Jamie Scott] and sometimes you just need a second mind to bring [a song] to life. And he helped big time. Actually, I wrote "This Town" with him as well. Musically, we work well together. It's another special song for me and, with the three songs that I've released, it's kind of starting to sum up the album. I think people are starting to get the idea of where I'm headed.

What was it about Maren Morris that led you to want to collaborate with her on the track "Seeing Blind"?

With "Seeing Blind," I had written the song with a friend of mine, who is a female singer as well. And literally after the first couple of lines I was like, "This has to be a duet." She sung on the demo and then I was like, "Alright, I want to find someone to sing on this." I was going through the motions in my head and picking people out ... I really wanted the song to come to life because it was another personal one to me. … I had heard a lot about Maren and she was making a lot of noise clearly with her album. And I watched the GRAMMYs, she performs with Alicia Keys, she wins a GRAMMY. I'm like, "That is right up my street there." I literally don't know how I didn't think of it before. This song is kind of country based so it makes sense.

I got her email address and sent her the song. We'd never met before or anything. I was like, "Listen, no pressure. If you don't want to do it, it's completely fine. But just let me know what you think." And she was like, "Yeah, it's right up my street." So she recorded it. And we've met a couple of times, now that I've been to Nashville. She's great and I look forward to hopefully performing with her — she's coming on tour with me next year. I'm sure we'll be onstage every night singing it. I can't wait.

You worked with GRAMMY winner Greg Kurstin on the album. What did you learn from collaborating with him?

First of all, I couldn't believe I got in the door with Greg. He just finished the Foo Fighters record. And he's worked with Paul McCartney and Beck and me. I'm like, "Are you for real?" Even just to spend 20 minutes talking to him would have been enough for me. I just think the guy is a musical genius, watching him in action. To meet Greg, you wouldn't even think he worked in music. He's very calm — you know, everyone in music seems to be mad. But he's very calm, collected, goes about his business. He can play every instrument under the sun.

I wrote a song called "Since We're Alone" for my album and I was leaving the studio at 5 p.m. and it was like 10 minutes to 5. I'd been doing a session there all day with another writer and I didn't feel like it was going anywhere or whatever. And Greg sat down at the piano and he started playing these few chords. I said, "Greg, could you just put the mic on? I'll go in there and just let me sing over what you're playing." And I just started mumbling stuff, random melodies and within four or five hours Greg had created a full-on track, played every instrument and just sent me all the best bits of what he thought were good melodies. And off the back of those melodies, it's a song on my album.

I don't know anyone that could curate just me mumbling — it was incredible to be in touch with that. He produced "Too Much To Ask," he's produced "This Town" and he produced "Since We're Alone." So I worked with him on a few songs on the record and it's just been an amazing experience.

Harry Styles released his first solo album in May. Have you had a chance to chat with Harry and compare first-album notes?

Harry's album is great. … Harry [and I] would have — out of all the boys — the closest taste in music. We would always be passing around different bands that we found or just share old classics together. So I'd say that, just in general, we would be fans of each other's music. I love Harry's rockier stuff.

One Direction is currently on a hiatus. What's the one thing you miss most about being in the band?

The day-to-day general madness of One Direction [I] miss. I guess, in a way, it's been quite calm for me. It's been quite chilled-out, a kind of normal life at some level. The whole idea of anytime we rolled into town, everyone knew we were there. It was a lot of screaming people everywhere. It was all kind of high-energy stuff. But I gave myself a year and a half, basically, to make an album and really hone in on everything music, which has been great.