This past summer was like no other. It marked a milestone anniversary of one of the world’s most beloved boybands of the 2010’s. This was the decade anniversary of the day One Direction officially ended their X-Factor journey, signed their contract, and began their road to stardom.

Way back in 2010, five boys all auditioned separately for the singing competition the X-Factor. They didn’t pass the solo audition, but the judges saw something in them, something too good to just let walk away. The judges decided Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik would all compete together as one. They became known as One Direction. On July 23^rd, 2010 after their X-Factor Journey came to an end, One Direction signed their music contract with Simon Cowell’s label Sysco Records.

The group went on to release a string of EP albums. Within their first year as a band, they released Up All Night. The album sold over 176,000 copies during its first week released in America. This was when their journey really started to take off.

Their next album was Take me Home, released in 2012. This album added to their successes earning a multi-platinum certification in 6 countries. The boys didn’t stop here though.

The albums Midnight Memories in 2013, FOUR in 2014, and Made in the A.M in 2015 skyrocketed their success even further. Midnight Memories was number one in 7 different countries, FOUR produced two platinum singles, and Made in the AM reached number one in the U.K. and number two in the U.S.  This success didn’t last forever.

In March of 2015, Zayn Malik broke off his contract with One Direction to pursue a solo career. Later in the year, Made in the AM was confirmed to be the group’s last album. Shortly after, the band began a hiatus in 2016 that never ended.

Since 2016, the One Direction band members have all gone down different paths. Zayn, Harry, Liam, Niall, and Louis all have begun successful solo careers. Some of the boys have gotten engaged, or have broken off engagements. Three have had babies. All of these boys have definitely grown up since their One Direction days.

For the tenth anniversary, the band celebrating the week of with social media posts and video releases of old songs in higher quality. These led up the surprise release of special addition merchandise and the upload of “One Direction:  This Is Us” on YouTube for free to watch. This docu-film was produced during the height of One Direction and released in 2013, but was only available on pay-per-view.

“It’s really weird to think of a band that I loved so much, was created ten years ago. I watched them from X-Factor to the big stage and I’ve loved every minute of it,” sophomore Chloe Sackett said. “It’s also weird to think that they have been split up for five years. With all the hints of a reunion I would be extremely excited if they were true.”