{"id":75762,"date":"2026-10-26T14:20:40","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T14:20:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/26\/how-what-makes-you-beautiful-became-one-directions-perfect-intro\/"},"modified":"2026-10-26T14:20:40","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T14:20:40","slug":"how-what-makes-you-beautiful-became-one-directions-perfect-intro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/26\/how-what-makes-you-beautiful-became-one-directions-perfect-intro\/","title":{"rendered":"How &#8216;What Makes You Beautiful&#8217; Became One Direction&#8217;s Perfect Intro"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\t<em>When <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/one-direction\/\" id=\"auto-tag_one-direction\" data-tag=\"one-direction\">One Direction<\/a> were eliminated from <\/em>The X Factor UK <em>after 10 long weeks of learning to be in a band together, they made their exit with a promise: \u201cWe\u2019re definitely going to stay together. This isn\u2019t the last of One Direction.\u201d But it wasn\u2019t really up to them. The future of the band came down to the fans \u2014 not just the ones who voted them into third place on the competition series in 2010, but the millions who followed and continue to celebrate their legacy now, more than a decade after their final performance together. <\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\t<em>One Direction were ultimately right \u2014 and to the tune of more than 70 million records sold worldwide, five studio albums in as many years, and four world tours. Their music, an exhilarated fusion of pop, rock, and perennial hooks, is woven into the fabric of a generation. In his latest book, <\/em>A Whole Lotta History<em>, journalist and co-chief content officer at Billboard Jason Lipshutz pulls at the threads of the music left behind by one of the most defining acts in pop history. What unravels is a long overdue appraisal of one of this century\u2019s greatest pop-rock bands.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\t<em>In this exclusive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/excerpt\/\" id=\"auto-tag_excerpt\" data-tag=\"excerpt\">excerpt<\/a> from <\/em>A Whole Lotta History, <em>Lipshutz dives deep into the lightbulb moment that changed it all: \u201cWhat Makes You Beautiful.\u201d One Direction\u2019s debut single was released on Sept. 11, 2011, just under one year after their stint on <\/em>The X Factor <em>concluded<\/em>. <em>While their fans were online building the most complex and connected community in boy band fandom history, they were in the studio recording what would become the first official entry in a catalog that would completely override the boy band formula.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\t<strong>IT STARTS WITH <\/strong>a wave crashing, then a hand tapping in rhythm on a steering wheel. The music video for One Direction\u2019s \u201cWhat Makes You Beautiful\u201d opens by transporting us to an idyllic setting: a sun-kissed beach getaway, soundtracked by a shimmering guitar lick on a car stereo. The five boys are shown strolling on Malibu sand, sporting crisp T-shirts and rolled-up pant legs; they move in slow motion, careful not to get too close to the water\u2019s edge. The shot fades into a close-up of Liam, his perfect coif billowing in the ocean breeze. \u201cYou\u2019re insecure, don\u2019t know what for,\u201d he declares, letting his accent thicken his words and turning to the side in between lines to reestablish his smolder.<\/p>\n<section class=\"brands-most-popular \/\/ editors-pick-module lrv-u-margin-tb-2 lrv-u-border-a-2 u-box-shadow-5-5 lrv-u-padding-lr-1 a-span1 u-padding-b-1@tablet u-overflow-hidden\">\n<h2 id=\"section-heading\" class=\"c-heading larva  lrv-u-text-align-center u-border-color-black a-font-theme-primary-xxs lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-letter-spacing-0063 lrv-u-padding-t-050 u-padding-b-0375@tablet lrv-u-padding-b-050@mobile-max lrv-u-border-b-2\">\n<p>\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<p>\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful (Official Video)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QJO3ROT-A4E?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tFrom there, the video showcases Harry\u2019s radiant curls, Zayn\u2019s pierced-ear cool, Niall\u2019s gap-toothed smile, Louis\u2019s easygoing charm. The boys frolic in the sand, playfully wrestle with each other, and drive an orange camper van; some young women join the fun midway through, running across the dunes alongside the group. A fire burns as day bleeds into night, and everyone lifts sparklers toward the sky \u2014but not before Harry serenades one lucky lady, as he takes a serious-face solo turn during the bridge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tEvery facet of \u201cWhat Makes You Beautiful\u201d clicks on the first listen, from the disarming charm of the verses to the joyful propulsion of the chorus to the stomp-along of the bridge to Harry\u2019s stripped-down rendition of the hook before the production kicks back in. For as many fans were waiting for One Direction\u2019s debut single, \u201cWhat Makes You Beautiful\u201d is also a pitch-perfect introduction to a new group\u2014 instead of being defined by one sound or style, the members\u2019 combined chemistry, the way that their voices join together in ecstatic harmony, represents the song\u2019s driving force.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\t\u201cWhat Makes You Beautiful\u201d landed as a watershed moment for One Direction \u2014 not only as their debut single, but as the first piece of original music that the group had ever performed. The song delivered on the hype produced by <em>The X Factor<\/em>, and justified the screams that One Direction had already invited with their performances of cover songs. It ended the extended wait for a tune of their own, stretching nearly nine months from the end of the show, and set up the group\u2019s first proper album era. And after only having a vague idea of what they might sound like for the entirety of their existence, a sonic blueprint for One Direction was at long last established and embraced.<\/p>\n<section class=\"brands-most-popular \/\/ recirculation-modules lrv-u-margin-tb-2 lrv-u-border-a-2 u-box-shadow-5-5 lrv-u-padding-lr-1 a-span1 u-padding-b-1@tablet u-overflow-hidden\">\n<h2 id=\"section-heading\" class=\"c-heading larva  lrv-u-text-align-center u-border-color-black a-font-theme-primary-xxs lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-letter-spacing-0063 lrv-u-padding-t-050 u-padding-b-0375@tablet lrv-u-padding-b-050@mobile-max lrv-u-border-b-2\">\n<p>\t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tAll these years later, \u201cWhat Makes You Beautiful\u201d is still a steamroller, but also an intricate machine: When it\u2019s not bowling you over with its size and spirit, it\u2019s full of newfound delights on the thousandth spin. It remains the type of pop song that leaps out of the speakers, capable of rearranging the brain chemistry of whoever interacts with its dizzying energy. It\u2019s still the type of pop song that makes people fall in love with pop music.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tWhen Simon Cowell began talking to Rami Yacoub and Carl Falk about producing for the group, he pointed away from turbo-pop, toward something with time-honored instrumentation. \u201cSimon\u2019s wish [for a sound] was more organic, more guitars, big drums,\u201d Rami recalled. They were tasked with creating a natural pop sound, at a moment when the mainstream was heavily synthetic. They also needed something that sounded current instead of a late-\u201990s retread \u2014 as Rami put it, \u201cWe couldn\u2019t go back and do One Direction like the Backstreet Boys.\u201d So their assignment was to come up with a current sound that didn\u2019t sound like anything that was huge at that moment, but that would <em>also <\/em>be huge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tEasy enough, right?<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tSavan Kotecha\u2019s kernel of an idea \u2014 a song about telling a girl that she\u2019s way more beautiful than she realizes, which in turn makes her even <em>more <\/em>beautiful \u2014 became the lyrical hook, and from there, the three producers spent a few weeks setting up the instrumental scaffolding around it. The tone for \u201cWhat Makes You Beautiful\u201d is set by its opening guitar riff, a clipped, stuttering little electric lick that not-too-subtly nods toward the sun-kissed guitar line from the <em>Grease <\/em>hit \u201cSummer Nights.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tThat \u201cBuh. Buh-NUH. Buh-NUH-NUH-NUH\u201d riff is paired with some echoing cowbell thwacks, a combination that quickly establishes a relaxed atmosphere, and steeps the song in a classic pop-rock mold. It\u2019s purposeful, too. That riff recalls the opening three-note piano hook of another song co-produced by Rami, Britney Spears\u2019s \u201c\u2026Baby One More Time,\u201d in terms of immediacy and confidence \u2014 as if declaring to the listener, you <em>will <\/em>remember this guitar lick.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tAnd melodically, \u201cWhat Makes You Beautiful\u201d contains a similarly crackling tension, typified by the duration of the notes: The choppiness of the verse lines (\u201cYou\u2019re turning heads \/ When you walk \/ Through the <em>do-o-or<\/em>\u201d) gets smoothed out on the pre-chorus (\u201cEveryone else in the room can see it\u201d). The conflict and resolution are also heard in how the solo verses yield the group chorus \u2014 individual voices on display, and then, collective power.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tThe song fully explodes as the stuttering drums slam down, the keys are stabbed with certainty, and the five members\u2019 voices slide upward on the opening line \u201cBaby you LIGHT UP MY WORLD LIKE NOBOD-D-DY ELSE!\u201d When the chorus to \u201cWhat Makes You Beautiful\u201d kicks in, it\u2019s like someone has adjusted the brightness setting on the entire world.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-content-image \/\/  \">\n<figure class=\"o-figure   size-large alignnone lrv-u-max-width-100p\" style=\"width:732px\">\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image  lrv-u-border-a-2\">\n<div class=\"lrv-a-crop-16x9\" style=\"padding-bottom:calc((1024\/732)*100%);\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div><figcaption class=\"c-figcaption  lrv-u-flex lrv-u-flex-direction-column lrv-u-align-items-center\">\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tBy the time he started working on \u201cWhat Makes You Beautiful,\u201d Savan had already spent years learning how to mold new hits under Max Martin \u2014 but his experience as a vocal coach on <em>The X Factor <\/em>exposed him to decades-old pop staples, too. Part of his job was scavenging through popular songbooks and figuring out how to present household-name songs for new audiences. \u201cWe constantly searched and rearranged classic pop songs for the contestants to sing,\u201d said Savan, \u201cso I got to do a lot of pop music \u2018research.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tIn addition, Savan\u2019s familiarity with the members\u2019 individual skills from the <em>X Factor <\/em>days helped put them in a position to succeed when it was time to arrange their first original music. He knew the contours of Harry, Niall, Louis, Liam, and Zayn\u2019s voices, and how they could be utilized in a hit single \u2014 even thinking about the balance within Backstreet Boys\u2019 biggest hits, as a reference point for arranging One Direction\u2019s vocal delineation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\t\u201cHarry\u2019s got that raspy thing that A.J. McLean had, and Liam\u2019s got the Nick Carter kind of reliability,\u201d Savan noted. \u201cI used to study Backstreet\u2019s songs, so when I got to write for One Direction, I was like, \u2018Finally, a group that I can sink my teeth into.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tOne Direction deliver \u201cWhat Makes You Beautiful\u201d without an ounce of irony, but their earnestness never feels cringey, or overly family friendly. Perhaps that\u2019s because the five members practice persuasion on multiple levels throughout its entire run time \u2014 trying to cajole a girl into understanding how beautiful she is, and to get their unseen listener to join in on the song\u2019s fun. In addition to the gang-vocal chorus and the \u201cCome on!\u201d interjections, the bridge is designed for arena sing-alongs, with clapping percussion and \u201cna-na-na\u201d vocals that beg its audience to participate. They presented an all-ages brand of pop on the song, but made sure to convey that their brand was a blast.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tThe \u201cWhat Makes You Beautiful\u201d music video, which was filmed across two days in July 2011, underlines that persona: The boys are dashing and well-dressed, but they\u2019re eminently approachable, presented as teens playing around in the warm sunlight rather than models hulking across the dunes. Instead of striking poses \u2014 or engaging in any coordinated dance moves \u2014 they run up a hill, kick around a soccer ball, push each other off a log, and swing Niall on a beach blanket. These images would become online iconography, in the same way that a previous generation memorized *NSYNC\u2019s \u201cBye Bye Bye\u201d choreography or BSB\u2019s \u201cI Want It That Way\u201d outfits \u2014 a new type of timeless boy band visual, primed for Tumblr instead of <em>TRL<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tThe innocent fun of the \u201cWhat Makes You Beautiful\u201d music video felt like a throwback to a different time in popular music, especially as it landed at a moment when Top 40 radio was being dominated by hedonistic dance-pop. When One Direction\u2019s debut single was being prepped for release over the summer of 2011, some of the biggest hits in the world were LMFAO\u2019s \u201cParty Rock Anthem,\u201d Pitbull\u2019s \u201cGive Me Everything,\u201d and Katy Perry\u2019s \u201cLast Friday Night (T.G.I.F.).\u201d Compare those songs to the linchpin chorus lyric \u201cThe way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed!\u201d and it\u2019s clear that \u201cWhat Makes You Beautiful\u201d would arrive in the world as a smart piece of pop counterprogramming.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tThe members of One Direction knew that \u201cWhat Makes You Beautiful\u201d was special before its release. After Savan sent Harry a demo of the track, he quickly received a text message back: \u201cI think you got it. I think you got the one here.\u201d In the weeks leading up to its release, the boys\u2019 excitement to share what they had come up with was palpable. \u201cI think we\u2019ve found the perfect song,\u201d said Liam, \u201cso hopefully it all goes well and everybody loves it.\u201d<\/p>\n<section class=\"brands-most-popular \/\/ recirculation-modules trending-in-article lrv-u-margin-tb-2 lrv-u-border-a-2 u-box-shadow-5-5 lrv-u-padding-lr-1 a-span1 u-padding-b-1@tablet u-overflow-hidden\">\n<h2 id=\"section-heading\" class=\"c-heading larva  lrv-u-text-align-center u-border-color-black a-font-theme-primary-xxs lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-letter-spacing-0063 lrv-u-padding-t-050 u-padding-b-0375@tablet lrv-u-padding-b-050@mobile-max lrv-u-border-b-2\">\n<p>\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tThat\u2019s . . . pretty much what happened. When \u201cWhat Makes You Beautiful\u201d was released on September 11, 2011, the immediate commercial returns were staggering: The song became the fastest-selling single of the year in the UK, debuting at Number One on the singles chart with over 153,000 downloads in its first week. One Direction burst into the mainstream with what remains a defining single, and one of the best all-around pop songs of the twenty-first century.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tThe wave crashed down with \u201cWhat Makes You Beautiful.\u201d And then, One Direction soared upward.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-features\/one-direction-harry-styles-book-excerpt-1235631167\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When One Direction were eliminated from The X Factor UK after 10 long weeks of learning to be in a band together, they made&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":75763,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop","article","has-excerpt","has-avatar","has-author","has-date","has-comment-count","has-category-meta","has-read-more","thumbnail-"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}