One Direction is a band comprising of boys.
A boy band ( or boyband ) is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers , usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation , singing love songs marketed towards young females . Harry Styles . He is known as a member of the pop boy band One Direction . He made his debut as a singer with his band White Eskimo , who performed locally in Holmes Chapel , Cheshire . Liam Payne . He rose to fame as a member of the band One Direction . He reauditioned as a solo artist in 2010 , where he was put into a group along with four other contestants , to form the boy band that would later become known as One Direction . Louis Tomlinson . He is known as a member of the pop boy band One Direction . He also went on to appear in another ITV drama film If I Had You and the BBC drama Waterloo Road . He appeared on Debrett 's 2017 list of the most influential people in the UK . Niall Horan . He failed to progress to the `` Boys '' category at the `` judges ' houses '' , but after guest judge Nicole Scherzinger suggested that Niall join One Direction , with Harry Styles , Zayn Malik , Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson , the group became a reality . In his career as a member of One Direction , Horan co-wrote many songs , beginning with `` Taken '' , `` Everything About You '' , `` Same Mistakes '' , `` Back for You '' and `` Summer Love '' from their debut albums Up All Night and Take Me Home . He continued to co-write , including the songs `` Do n't Forget Where You Belong '' , `` Why Do n't We Go There '' and `` Story of My Life '' for the album Midnight Memories ; `` Night Changes '' , `` Fool 's Gold '' and `` Change Your Ticket '' for the album Four ; and `` Wolves '' , `` A.M. '' , `` Temporary Fix '' and `` Never Enough '' for the band 's fifth album Made in the A.M. . He released his first single as a solo artist , `` This Town '' , in 2016 . One Direction ( commonly abbreviated as 1D ) are an English-Irish pop boy band based in London , composed of Niall Horan , Liam Payne , Harry Styles , Louis Tomlinson , and previously , Zayn Malik until his departure from the band on 25 March 2015 . Zayn Malik . During his time in the group , they released the albums Up All Night ( 2011 ) , Take Me Home ( 2012 ) , Midnight Memories ( 2013 ) , and Four ( 2014 ) .