One Direction plan on celebrating their 10th anniversary on July 23rd with a trove of new content for their passionate fans. The date marks when Simon Cowell put the five teens in a group together on The X-Factor after they all auditioned as solo artists.
For their anniversary, a brand-new, interactive 10 Years of One Direction website will launch next week. The site will function as a “timeline” from their audition up until 2016 when they released the song “History” and revealed that they would begin their “hiatus.” Each era will feature music videos, art and rarely seen content. The site will also generate a mixtape for fans based on how they interact with the content, weighted by each era. A new video will also be released on July 23rd that will show highlights from the group’s time together.
Across streaming platforms, new 1D playlists will emerge along with updates on old ones. There will also be “reformatted EPs” released containing B-sides, rarities, acoustic performances, live recordings and remixes.
Although they started off as strangers on the UK’s reality competition series, One Direction quickly became notable for their chemistry. They lost that season, but fan demand led to a recording contract soon after. In 2011, the group released their debut album Up All Night and over the following years became a stadium-filling touring act. In 2015, Zayn Malik abruptly left the group, leaving them as a quartet. The remaining members released one final album later that year — Made in the A.M. — before announcing their hiatus. Since then, each member has released at least one full-length solo album.
