Four by One Direction // 10 Year Anniversary Album Review

Does it ever drive you crazy just how fast the night changes? One Direction's fourth album, aptly titled Four, marked significant beginnings and ends for the band. In many ways it marked a new era for all five of them, as they were able to have significantly more creative freedom with the overall creation of these songs. In turn, that elevated the band's sound to something much closer to their own personal influences and life experiences.

It is the best album they made as a band, between the release of Midnight Memories in 2013 and Four in 2014, they showed such a huge leap in personal growth and were fully solidified as some of the greatest pop stars of all time. There was no one bigger than One Direction at that point in time, they fully dominated music for the five short years they were together and continue to make a lasting impact on the industry. There was nothing like it before and there will never be anything like it again. Four features quite a few of the best songs they ever made during their time together too.

Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne worked on the majority of Four with songwriters Julian Bunetta, John Ryan, and Jamie Scott, among others. Harry Styles and Zayn Malik also co-wrote several tracks with them as well along with producer Johan Carlsson. Four spawned some of the biggest hits of their entire career that to remain classics to this day. "Steal My Girl" was the album's anthemic lead single, which was so catchy and uplifting. So much of Four draws from 80's synth pop, especially this song in particular. Other moments on this album were more diverse in showcasing their wide range of influence. I personally love a lot of the deeper cuts from this album, songs like "Fireproof", "Fools Gold", "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" and "Ready To Run" are beautiful performances from all five of them, they are truly so timeless and continue to stand the test of time for me. I have also always loved "18", which was written by Ed Sheeran and is such a heartfelt and emotional love song.

They also experimented with more of a guitar-driven rock sound too, "Stockholm Syndrome" is probably my very favorite from this album for that reason. It has an amazing energy and a lot of lyrical complexity that just makes the entire song so compelling and addictive to listen to. Every single song is incredibly nostalgic for me though and the entirety of Four served as the soundtrack of my high school years in a lot of ways. "Girl Almighty" and "Act My Age" also have so many really great memories attached to them, so they're very sentimental to me in that way as well.

"Night Changes" is undoubtedly one of the very best songs of One Direction's entire discography. It is also one of the band's biggest hits too, I think this was the moment where a lot of people, at least outside of their fandom, started to view them as more than just another boyband and really take note of their incredible talents. Harry and Zayn's parts of this song sound gorgeous and really turn it into something so special. There is so much depth and richness to their voices that just worked so well on this song. The music video is also so iconic and only further elevated how amazing the song itself is. "Night Changes" has such a warm and intimate sound to it, the production of it just creates this really beautiful atmosphere for the listener.

Four also ultimately ended up being the final album the band would ever make with all five of the original members. Zayn Malik famously left the band less than six months after Four was released while they were on tour. Was the album title perhaps foreshadowing something there? I think anyone who was a teen girl in 2015 remembers exactly where they were when they found out he left the band, it was a cannon event for sure! One Direction went on for another year as a four-piece and released their final album Made In The AM in late 2015. Despite the challenges I'm sure they faced while making it, that is also still a really great record that continues to stand the test of time just as well as Four does.

In an interview with Rolling Stone in 2017, Harry Styles said he was the first to present the idea of the band going on hiatus soon after Four was released as to "not exhaust the fanbase". Zayn has later said that he left One Direction so he could go solo first, citing the competitive nature of the music industry. "I don't want to go into too much detail, but there was a lot of politics going on," Zayn said in a podcast interview with Call Her Daddy in 2023. "Certain people were doing certain things, certain people didn't want to sign contracts, so I knew something was happening. So I just got ahead of the curve, if I'm being honest with you."

As much as I love One Direction, it's good that it ended when it did because I have loved seeing them flourish in the solo careers in the years that followed their hiatus. Listening back to this album now, I hear glimmers of their future solo careers embedded into so much of this music. This band served as a launching pad for a few of the most talented and important male pop stars of our time, which is really cool that they all share this same origin story in that way.

I really love Niall Horan's solo music and think he is the one who has shown the most growth post-1D. He was so underrated and underused as a vocalist and songwriter during much of his time in the band, so I love seeing all of the ways he thrives as a solo artist over the past several years. "Fools Gold" is one of the few he is credited as a co-writer for on this album and I especially hear his influence in that song shine through. He is known as a beautiful singer-songwriter today, who just keeps getting better and better with each release. Niall has consistently made some of my favorite solo music out of all of the former band members and I am always looking forward to hearing what he releases next.

Harry Styles is one of my favorite artists ever, he always has been and always will be, so I love looking back to this album in particular and hear the glimmers of what would eventually shape the sound of his debut solo album a couple of years later. I have really loved seeing Harry continue to flourish on his own and really carve out his own path in the music industry. Honestly, Harry as a solo artist completely transcended his work with One Direction over the past seven years. He is truly one of the greatest entertainers of all time, he's worth all the hype and deserves it all. There is no one else like him, he is such a star in every sense of the word. When I listen to "Stockholm Syndrome", "Clouds" and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go?" I hear bits and pieces of what would eventually shape the sound of his self-titled debut album three years later.

One Direction was made up of five very different people who came from very different backgrounds and drew from different influences in their music. They started off as strangers auditioning as solo artists in a singing competition and were put together by chance. As I'm sure you know, it is incredibly rare for that to turn into a viable opportunity for a long-term career in the music industry, especially considering they didn't even win X Factor. Not only that, but a few of them even turned into some of the biggest pop stars in music history as solo artists as well. A success story akin to One Direction's is very rare to see and likely won't ever happen in the same way again. It shouldn't have worked as well as it did, but somehow the five of them were perfect together, even if it was just for a brief moment. Four is the album that turned them into something so much more than just another boyband and a prime example of why they continue to be the blueprint behind so much pop music that continues to be made in the decade to follow their disbandment.

Although there were many that still held out hope for a full reunion down the line, Four unfortunately stands as the final album that all five of the original members of One Direction will ever make together.

In the wake of Liam Payne's recent passing, this ten-year album anniversary comes at a particularly difficult time for fans of One Direction. As someone who grew up loving One Direction so much and have so many amazing memories with their music as a teenager, the very tragic passing of Liam really hit hard. Liam will forever be a crucial part of One Direction and was one of the most prolific songwriters within the band at the time. He is credited as a co-writer on a number of their best songs in the band's history. His talents have been undeniable from the beginning. From the start of their X Factor days, Liam has always been an incredibly talented vocalist and an entertainer that lit up every stage he was on. He will forever be at the heart of everything the band ever made.

Once the band went their separate ways at the end of 2015 and paved new solo careers for themselves, I didn't necessarily connect with any of Liam's solo music or public persona anymore. It's very complicated and conflicting for a lot of reasons, but I think so many that grew up loving 1D were always going to be rooting for him, hoping that he would find his way and get the help he needed. I hate that he didn't get to have that chance at redemption and his story ended much too soon. The news of his passing was really heartbreaking and such a shock. Liam seemed to have the most difficulty finding his own voice as an artist once the band was done, which reflected in much of his public appearances and news coverage of the last few years. It is ultimately a tragic story of the dangers of having that level of fame at a very young age. He was put on this pedestal as a teenager and overnight was seen as one of the most famous people in the world for a moment in time, just to have that all stop kind of abruptly. It must be hard to reckon with just how temporary it all is and suddenly have to start all over again. Fame is fleeting and it is always very sad to hear the stories of child stars that grew up and struggled with addiction and weren't able to find that balance in their lives. I sympathize with anyone who has gone through anything like that and in Liam's case especially, it was very sad to see that unfold in the public eye over the past few years.

All five members of One Direction would usually take turns singing line by line throughout each song, but there is a lyric that particularly stands out to me from "Story Of My Life" that is sung solely by Liam that has been hitting so much harder lately. "She told me in the morning she don't feel the same about us in her bones, it seems to me that when I die these words will be written on my stone." I first discovered One Direction when I was about 11 years old, right when Up All Night was released, like many other young girls my age, there is this bond that was created to their music that will never be broken. Their music brought so much joy and connected so many people together around the world during a very formative time. I mourn that version of him, but I know his legacy will continue to live on in the hearts of all who have been touched by their music. Rest in Peace, Liam.🤍