Since recently releasing tickets for thier second world tour next year, the boys became millionaires over night. In just England alone, once the tickets were released to all UK fans, the boys made 19 million pounds overnight, all whilst they were sleeping.
However, to put a cloud over the boys sunshine, they are now being sued £630,000 by an American band....also named One Direction. The American band have said that, after the UK boys success in thier country, they feel like anytime anyone says anything about One Direction in America, they will be talking about the UK band and not the American band. They have said that they 'warned' their founder Simon Cowell that if they came to America with the same name, then they would be forced to sue. But Simon Cowell made no change to the name and carried on as normal, and it wasn't until the UK band scooped up that American number one, that the American band have now decided to take legal action.
As a fan of One Direction myself, I was shocked to here that this had happened. However, I did also understand why the American band were sueing the boys over this issue. The 5 UK millionaires, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Zayn Malik, have the help and support of Simon Cowell and were given a record deal even though they did not win The X Factor. However, the American band have had no support and do not have the money to promote themselves. So this money that they may gain will help them in rising in stardom, although I'm not sure people will even like them after being horrible to their favourite 5 British-Irish boys. And so I decided to ask a true One Direction fan, someone who has been there straight from the start and goes to see the boys with her fellow One Dirtection fan friends and scream down arenas and camp in sleeping bags just to catch a glimpse of them or go to a book signing 500 miles away from home. This person is none other than my siser, Daisy Wells.
- Hello Daisy, I am going to ask you a few questions about the band One Direction and for you to explain your views and opinions on the issue that has been raised about One Direction being sued over having the same name as an American Band, okay?
Yeah okay. (She fidgets on her chair, looking eager to tell her views on the issus and to stick up for the boys that she admires and is totally in love with, as I'm sure any 14 year old girl is at the moment)
- Okay. Firstly, when did your love and obsession for One Direction start?
It started in October 2011, when The X Factor had just started again. Firstly, I saw each of the boys audition seperately on television for their first ever audition. I liked Liam Payne at the time, he was really good looking and he had an amazing voice. All 5 boys made it to the next stage of auditioning, where they performed by themselves in front of just the judges. They were all then called in and told that they weren't going through to boot camp. I was really dissapointed because I was starting to like them and thought that people around my age group would have appreciated them.
-But then they were called back weren't they?
Yeah, Simon Cowell called all five of them back and told them that he was going to put them into Boot camp, but as a band. I was so happy because I had seen all of the other boys auditioning and thought that they were also really good, but together I thought they could have been amazing, and I still got to see Liam Payne! The fan groups started immediately, everyone dedicated their Twitter accounts to update people around the world of what was going on with them and where they could be seen next around the world. Their stardom was growing quickly.
-Although they didn't win The X Factor and only came 3rd, why do you think that they have had such big success and even more so than the winner, Matt cardle?
Third place is a really good place to come in the competition, out of all those thousands of people who auditioned, to come third overall isn't a good shout. But the main reason I think is because they were young, and people were starting to like them even more and so instead of finding the love for them myself, I sort of followed the crowd to begin with because everyone was talking about them and I wanted to be involved in that, so I started to become a fan and stay up to date with where they were and what they were doing. I also think because they were so nice to their fans, even when they were just starting out, that people couldn't help but love them. They always dedicated everything thatr ever happened to them on their fans, and that made us feel special to them.
-So, because of this love that you and millions of other girls around the world have for them, what are your views on the band being sued over having the same name as the American One Direction band?
I think that if the American boys would have complained sooner, when the UK One Direction weren't that famous and were slowly making a name for themselves, then it wouldn't have mattered and it could have been changed, because people wouldn't have become so attached to the name and associating the boys with that name. But I think it was all a game plan to wait until they became really famous and to wait until they came over to America and win that number one single, because that way the American band could get more money out of Simon Cowell and the boys,
-But apparently the American band asked Simon Cowell to change the name before they came out to America?
But they still waited too late. And they never did anything to follow it up when they first asked Simon Cowell. They could have made an issue out of it when the boys started to really become famous, but instead they waited until the boys came to America and were well known around the globe as this amazing boyband and then decided to deliver the killer blow. But I honestly don't think that they have done themselves any favours. The UK girls hate that American band now, saying that they are picking on One Direction when all they want to do is make music to please their fans.
-So leading on to my next question, do you think the American One Direction have ruined their changes of becoming a success by sueing the UK boys such a large amount of money?
Yes I do. If they had complained when the boys were only mildly famous then people wouldn't have minded so much. But they obviously thought that by complaining when they had so much money would mean that they could promotoe themselves with the money given to them and then make a living out of their band. But no one will want to listen to them now. People are angry at them for putting a downer on the boys trip to America and even the American fans are angry at them, saying they are ashamed to be American when people ruin other people's happiness.
-But can you understand why the boys wanted to sue? The UK One Direction have support from Simon Cowell and money coming in from every angle. But these guys created themselves and have no one there to promote them.
No I can't understand it really. If they are that passionate to become a band that is well known and is a huge success then they need to work for it. The UK band were just lucky that they were spotted at having great talent and then being put into a band. But they made that leap to sign up and audition for The X Factor. Those American boys need to stop complaining and get themselves noticed and get an agent and become promoted. That is the way to do it to become a 'real' band. Not complaining over silly things to get money. They need to move over and accept that One Direction will always belong to the UK boys and it is them that needs to change their band name now. Our boys beat them to it.
So after that interview I learnt that One Direction fans will probably all think the same. They are adament to stick behind their boys 100% and are prepared to say and do anything to make sure that they are happy. But they are biased in their opinions and I am sure that if I interviewed fans of the American One Direction, then they would say things which supported the American band and put down the UK band. From my perspective, I think they just need to figure it out between themselves and whatever is decided in court will be and the fans will have to accept it.
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