All of One Direction’s Albums Return to Charts Following Liam Payne’s Death
Following Liam Payne’s death on Oct. 16, One Direction’s music has seen a significant surge on the charts, with all five of the group’s albums returning to the Billboard 200.
Each of the boy band’s albums has reemerged on the tally this week, with 2014’s “Four” leaping the highest to No. 31. “Midnight Memories,” which released in 2013, reenters at No. 38, while 2015’s “Made in the A.M.” lands at No. 62, 2011’s “Up All Night” pops back to No. 88 and 2012’s “Take Me Home” comes in at No. 103.
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Upon initial release, four of One Direction’s albums bowed at No. 1, with the exception of the group’s debut “Up All Night” that entered at No. 2. “Made in the A.M.” was the band’s final release, and sole album without member Zayn Malik who left the group in early 2015.
Just a day after Payne’s death, on-demand U.S. streams of One Direction’s catalog skyrocketed, rising from 5.9 million to 22.2 million, or a 278 percent increase. On the day of his death, Payne’s solo catalog surged 472 percent, plus an additional 120 percent the next day.
Reignited interest in the band’s music can be linked to Payne’s death, which shocked the world earlier this month. The singer died after falling three floors from a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and authorities later determined that the cause of death was multiple trauma as well as internal and external bleeding.
Payne was best known in One Direction — which also included Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Malik — for his recognizable falsettos that became an integral part of the band’s chart-topping bubblegum pop hits including “What Makes You Beautiful,” “Best Song Ever,” “Story of My Life,” “Night Changes,” among numerous others. As one of the highest-selling boy bands in modern history, the quintet sold over 70 million records worldwide during their time together between 2010 and 2016.
In the days following his death, each of the One Direction members shared personal tributes to Payne, as did the band as a whole. “In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say,” the band said. “But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly. The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever. For now, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and the fans who loved him alongside us. We will miss him terribly. We love you Liam.”
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