WATCH: #TBT to Our 2012 Interview with One Direction
Ah, 2012, when things were so much simpler.
Remember 2012?
It was a simpler time (at least in the sense that we had yet to reckon with our culture's collective failings). Even better, in 2012 no one had heard of murder hornets, having a slight cough didn't make anyone reckon with their mortality, and we were all bumping 1D's break out hit "What Makes You Beautiful." Life was good.
In March of that year, One Direction's hit single was shooting up the charts all over the world, Their album Up All Night was set to hit No. 1 in the United States, and the now iconic boy band stopped by Popdust for an interview.
Zayn had a bizarrely-buttoned shirt on; Louis seemed to be concerned that his hoodie would fall off his shoulders; and Harry, Liam, and Niall all still had their trademark haircuts.
The boy band got their start in 2010 on The X Factor after Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson all auditioned for the program. None of them made the cut, but producers saw a cash cow in the five boys combined, and One Direction was soon born. They went on to become the first group to have its first four albums debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and they put out four UK number one singles and 14 UK top 10s over the course of their time together.
Of course, now we know that One Direction was a band that was never meant to last forever. Instead, the fivesome burned hot and bright for only a few short years, disbanding in 2015. But even now, the band's YouTube channel has more than 31 million subscribers and more than 10 billion views. Additionally, the combined reach of the band's official social media pages is 85.9 million.The band has sold more than 200 million records worldwide and has had more than 21 billion streams across all platforms, according to CNN.
Since 2015, all five members of One Direction have embarked on solo careers to varying degrees of success, Donald Trump was elected president to the dismay of millions, a bat in China gave a pig a cold and then people all over the world started to die, we finally began to realize that racism in America was not solved by Obama's election, and every second that passes sends us careening closer towards annihilation at the hands of the climate crisis.
So we treasure that 10 years ago today, on July 23rd 2010, One Direction was born. They represented a youthful innocence that America was still clinging to. They were curated, charming, and adorable. They were destined to go on to sell out stadiums and face screaming crowds that conjured up comparisons to The Beatles. These cherubic kids went on to release infectious songs, young girls all over the country began to write the names Harry, Zayn, Liam, Niall, and Louis on their notebooks, and it looked like the world had a bonafide boyband sensation on their hands.
When they stopped by Popdust in 2012, young and innocent of where their lives would take them, we quizzed them on the legacy of the boy band tradition they were stepping into. We wanted to know: Did they know the Jackson 5 from 5ive? Could they tell us what an MMMbop was and spot "the cute one" on sight? What did they really think about The Wanted?
As we celebrate 10 years of 1D, take a moment to step back in time and watch this interview. Maybe, just for a second, you can pretend it's 2012 again.