So we come to the first Eleanor week.
This one had been planned at the very least for a couple of weeks. The first trip wasn’t last minute, and the set-up was completely and hilariously intentional.
But Louis and especially Harry didn’t stop for anybody.
17: Louis tweets James Corden “Right then when I get back I wanna see how big Max has got ! Hope all is good with you.” ( x )
17: Boys arrive at Wal-Mart to board fire truck around 12:20PM
17: Eleanor begins to tweet her own update accounts and 1D Fans around 1:30 pm EST ( x )
17: Signing at Wal-Mart in Somerdale, NJ at 2PM Local time; “Harry, Harry, Harry, Hazza!” and “Are you and Louis dating” ( x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x )
17: Harry retweets Liam’s tweet tweeted during the signing: “Hey Dallas 1D fans we are selling MORE tickets to the @Bring1DtoUS grand prize event at the stone briar mall today. See u next sat!”
17: Louis also retweets Liam’s tweet tweeted during the signing: “Hey Dallas 1D fans we are selling MORE tickets to the @Bring1DtoUS grand prize event at the stone briar mall today. See u next sat!” ( x )
17: Harry tweets “#ReasonsToGetNaked” at 4:16PM ( x )
17: Dan tweets Eleanor “The lady that doesn’t tweet is now on Twitter! Hiya lovely how are you? Xx” to which Eleanor replies “I am indeed! Hello! I’m very well thank you :) how are you? Receovered from your lads holiday?! Haha x”
17: Woody Darling, Jay’s best friend, then tweets Eleanor for the first time 3 minutes later “@amassive1Dfan no @eleanorJCalder and @DaniellePeazer had their own party #nottobeseenwiththeoldies x” ( x )
17: About 45 minutes later, George, Woody’s son, tweets Eleanor for the first time “glad to see you have joined the revolution ell, hope you are ok :)” to which Eleanor replies “Georgeee! I’m fine thank you babe :) I recognise your picture, is that from new year?! Xx” ( x )
17: George replies to Eleanor “I am glad to hear it :) yes it is - it was such a good night! Hope all is well and you’re behaving yourself! Haha x” to which Eleanor replies “I’m always on my best behaviour! Hope your thumb has fixed itself! See you soon xx” ( x )
17: Boys leave Wal-Mart around 5:30-6PM to return to hotel
17: Eleanor begins to call out fake twitter accounts ( x )
17: Boys leave hotel around 7PM to drive to Q102 stations, approximately 10 minutes away
17: Harry tweets “Happy St. Paddy’s day!! Slightly worried that I enjoyed wearing the full green track suit a little too much…Might get a blue one.” likely in the car or just before they left ( x )
17: Harry retweets Ryan Secrest around 7:21 PM “.@onedirection ur fans are awesome…been blowing up my feed for 2 days! Who’s buying the album this weekend?” ( x )
17: Louis tweets Eleanor directly for the first time at 7:24PM “Miss you ! X” ( x )
17: Eleanor responds to Louis’ tweet 10 minutes later “Miss you too, got your biscuits! X” ( x )
17: 6ABC News at Q102 interview ( x )
17: Quirefire on Q102; When asked the craziest thing that happened on stage, Louis says “A girl once showed her breasts!” and Harry says “We loved it!”; When asked if they were a girl, what celebrity would they date, Louis stammers for about 23 years and Harry says “I’d date another girl.”; More use of the thumbs up signal to indicate a bad joke; Harry says his celebrity crush is Frankie Sanford; When asked if they have gotten used to Harry being naked all the time, Zayn says “We love it when Harry’s naked.” Harry is watching Louis who says dryly “I have gotten used to it. Wow.” And harry laughs.; When asked what their favorite TV show is, Louis says “At the moment, me and Harry have been watching Entourage.” ( x )
17: Q102 Interview & Performance for Saturday Night Online which tapes 7P-12M; At :40, they are talking about a girl who fainted at a show. Just as they are moving on, Harry mouths “She was fucked.” (????) causing the guitar man to slap him on the arm. Louis notices, but the host does not. Louis does the thumbs up to Harry as he’s turning to look at Louis. Harry mouths “Sorry” to Louis who just giggles; Niall and Liam rag on Harry as the “bus food thief” but Louis is quiet until Harry tries to defend himself and he interrupts. “Harry. Harry. Harry. D’you know what the difference is? I don’t mind sharing, mate, that’s fine.” And Harry responds “Thank you…sharing is caring and charity starts at home!” And they shake hands behind Liam’s back. Liam says to Louis “Remember, you said this the other day!” And Louis takes a drink. Harry points at Louis and laughs and says “That’s right.” And Louis laughs with him. Harry then turns back to Louis and mouths something seriously to Louis who wiggles his eyebrows once; Liam fake slaps Harry on the shoulder for it ( x )
17: Harry retweets a fan thanking Liam and Harry for making the “the most amazing music” and says “Thanks for listening to it :)” ( x )
17: Harry tweets example who says “Watching Blood Diamond for the first time on the tour bus” with “sick film” ( x )
17: Harry replies to a fan talking about Blood Diamond who says “this movie is one of the best Leo is so amazing in it” with “I agree…so good.” ( x )
17: Boys arrive back at hotel around 10PM, meaning they left radio station at about 9:30PM if they came straight back
17: Video of “are you and louis dating?” hits the internet ( x )
18: Louis tweets at 12:11AM local time “Happy mothers day to my incredible Mum @jaytommo :) Lots of love !!” ( x )
18: Louis finally follows Eleanor on Twitter ( x )
18: Eleanor wakes up, tweets a fan ( x )
18: Em, Eleanor’s cousin and a 1D fan, tweets her for the first time “You have so many followers already, lordy Lord!xx” to which Eleanor replies “Crazy!! Xx” ( x )
18: To make sure she authenticates who Em is, Eleanor tweets her 6 minutes later “Don’t forget it’s Grandma’s birthday today toooo! Xx” ( x )
18: Danielle (Liam’s then girlfriend) tweets Eleanor like Eleanor just got a twitter account yesterday “Really happy to have @EleanorJCalder join the Twitter World! I can now tweet about our antics and tag her in it! Xx” to which Eleanor replies “Woohoooo! :) #coffeeeverywhere xx” ( x )
18: Louis tweets “Give Me Love - @edsheeran is such a good song! Still not bored of the whole album.” ( x )
18: Harry tweets “Happy Mothers Day!! get down to walmart TODAY and get the album with special pack of specialness! It’s pretty special..” ( x )
18: Louis retweets Harry “”Happy Mothers Day!! get down to walmart TODAY and get the album with special pack of specialness! It’s pretty special..” ( x )
18: Danielle tweets “@Real_Liam_Payne has said he’s not going to follow @EleanorJCalder unless we can get #therewasacrazymoose trending….let’s gooo! Xx” ( x )
18: Harry replies to a fan who tweets about Harry never noticing her with “hiiii!” ( x )
18: Eleanor follows @DeleanorArmy ( x )
18: Girl tweets “Still cannot believe I saw @Harry_Styles riding his bike! Shutouts from the girl on her rollerblades :)” ( x )
18: Picture of Harry riding his bike ( x )
18: Eleanor arrives in NYC around 7PM local time
18: Harry tweets “On the way to the airport this morning…i saw a man wearing a glass cowboy hat.” ( x )
19: MTV: “One Direction Recall Crazy American Fan Encounters” ( x )
19: Harry tweets ”UK please download JLS ‘Proud’ http://bit.ly/ProudiTunes It’s for an amazing cause! Every download makes a difference #BUYPROUDandSAVELIVES” ( x )
19: Louis retweets Harry ”UK please download JLS ‘Proud’ http://bit.ly/ProudiTunes It’s for an amazing cause! Every download makes a difference #BUYPROUDandSAVELIVES” ( x )
19: Harry tweets “Fro Yo!!!” ( x )
19: Harry retweets tweet from WOW Music Facts on Mar 3 “Niall Horan from One Direction is actually 46 years old but suffers from a pituitary disorder that leads to stunted growth” ( x )
19: Harry tweets fan “Happy Birthdayyyyyy!!!” ( x )
20: Sugarscape posts article about the boys becoming financial directors in one of their companies and quoted a source in the Sun who said the boys were “on the road to superstardom in the US too” and closed the article by saying “This means Harry should be able to commission that artist to make a wax figurine of Louis for his bedroom within the next few months then. Excellent news.” ( x )
20: Harry tweets Brie Tracey “Happy Birthday Guuuuuuuurrrllll!!!! i shouldn’t say that again.” ( x )
20: Harry goes sightseeing; Rents bike; Gets phone call the album is number 1 while returning his bike ( x | x | x )
20: Harry is seen in a “Love is Equal” shirt fan supposedly gave him on the 13th; Shirt appears to be from Opening Ceremony boutique in NYC ans says “Opening Ceremony Believes in Love” with symbols for lesbian, heterosexual and gay marriage on the back to commemorate June 24, 2011 court decision legalizing same-sex marriage in New York ( x | x | x | x )
20: Fans try and trend #loveisequal
20: Billboard announced “Up All Night” makes history with No. 1 debut on Billboard 200 chart; 1D is the first British act to ever debut at No. 1, besting the Beatles and Spice Girls ( x )
20: Liam, Danielle, Niall and Harry (maybe) attend Knicks game at MSG versus Toronto; Tickets comped by Sony Music; Pap pics of Liam and Niall returning to the hotel ( x | x )
21: ”Boy Band Best the Beatles, Debuts Atop Billboard Charts” ( x )
21: Caroline Flack tweets about Number 1 album, does not tag Harry in the tweet ( x )
21: US Tour Dates May/June Announcement Video Released ( x )
21: Sirius XM US/UK Tour Contest Announcemnt (filmed 3/16) ( x )
21: Louis and Niall supposedly do a radio interview with In Demand and deny they are getting their own show on Nickelodeon. When asked about Harry & Kim Kardashian, Louis says “That’s a good one.” According to fan reports. I can’t find the actual interview anywhere. ( x | x )
21: 1D Mania in the USA video released; Filmed in various cities February 26-March 9; Footage from Boston on 3/3 shows Harry & Louis in the background of a Liam shot possibly grabbing hands in a hallway and Stan and Harry dancing together ( x | x | x )
21: Louis tweets “Actually can’t believe we got a number 1 album in America. Thank you to the fans all over the world ! Big love x” ( x )
21: Harry tweets “Hi guys! This news is incredibly humbling and I feel so lucky to be part of this..Would be nowhere without you. Thank you so much!! GAAAHHH!” ( x )
21: Harry replies to Matt Selley who says “well done man! You and the boys have done us proud! GET IN! :D xxxx” with “thank you mate! Thanks for being part of my amazing family. Even if you are crap at golf.” ( x )
21: Harry tweets Carl Falk “Kottbullar!!” ( x )
21: Harry replies to Savan who said “@Harry_Styles Now that you’re number 1, you should change your last name to Balls for a day! I’ll change mine to Eleven and sell milk.” with “I like jokes like that. Might steal it…even if it doesn’t work with my name :/ ah balls.” ( x )
21: Harry replies to tweet “Much love to @Harry_Styles and the boys of @onedirection for their number 1 in the US! X” with “thanks!!!! X.” ( x )
21: Harry replies to a fan “cause I ate my crusts.” ( x )
21: Harry says “I feel like its only a matter of time before I take part in the Cinnamon challenge.” ( x )
21: Harry responds to someone warning him he could die eating an excessive amount of cinnamon with “you can? Zayn said that about the 7 Banana challenge though and I completed that with only minor stomach pains.” ( x )
21: Harry responds to someone congratulating him and Niall on number 1 and asks about cinnamon challenge with “thanks!! I’ pretty sure you just put a spoonful in your mouth. Not sure if the aim is to hold or swallow but it’s a tricky one.” ( x )
21: Harry tweets Savan “I love this..” ( x )
21: Harry tweets fan who tweeted him selfie of Paul with “where…..the hell…..is this from?!?!?!” ( x )
21: Harry replies to fan “they’re not that big….are they?” ( x )
21: Paul tweets “Truly amazing times. So proud of my boys @NiallOfficial@Real_Liam_Payne@Harry_Styles@Louis_Tomlinson@zaynmalik.US #1. Hardest working band!” ( x )
22: Hollywood Reporter “One Direction, The Wanted and Big Time Rush: Breaking Down the Boyband Renaissance” ( x )
22: US Up All Night Tour pre-sale VIP tickets released
22: Louis & Eleanor take a selfie in Central Park and Eleanor later uses it as her Twitter icon ( x )
22: Eleanor and Louis arrive back at the hotel after shopping for Topman underwear for Louis ( x )
22: Louis tweets he saw Lion King on this day…presumably with Eleanor at 8PM ( x | x )
22: Harry, Louis and Liam take a picture with Paul’s son in the lobby of the London Hotel ( x )
22: Fans try and trend #proofthatlarrystylinsonisreal at 4PM GMT
22: Harry tweets “@drop4drop #cleanwaterforall” ( x )
22: Harry tweets “‘Has anyone ever told you that your nose is shaped like a penis?’ They have now…” ( x )
22: Harry tweets “@edsheeran look who I found.. pic.twitter.com/8wMLzK0D” ( x )
23: Sugarscape posts an article “Harry Styles to celebrate American Success with New Matress” with by-line “His old one just can’t take anymore Larry Stylinson action.” In article ““I’m going to treat myself to a new one. I need a good one. The one I’m using is still the one that was there when I moved in. The springs have gone.” Harry, we’ve warned you a million times, if you keep inviting Louis to have sleepovers with you, the springs WILL wear down. Jeez. Harry continued: “I hear those memory foam ones are good. I need one of those.” (Perfect for all those Larry Stylinson moments he never wants to forget.)” ( x )
23: Harry tweets “Liam has just said the word ‘lingerie’ for the first time….he said (linger-ee).” ( x )
23: Eleanor tweets for the first time in 4 days and replies to Jay’s tweet “Cakes are ready - just waiting for the birthday girls x x pic.twitter.com/npv50q0S” with “They look so yummy! Tell the girls I said happy birthday! Hope you all had a lovely day xxx” ( x )
23: Woody replies to Eleanor’s tweet to Jay and says “They were yummy!!! She makes the best cupcakes” to which Eleanor replies “Ahh I’m jealous! I’ve been living off hotdogs for a week! Xx” ( x )
23: Louis tweets “Had a lovely week with @EleanorJCalder :) Now back on the twitter vibes! X” ( x )
23: Louis tweets “Saw Lion Kind the music yesterday, have to say it was amazing!” ( x )
23: Louis tweets Zayn “looking forward to seeing you man!” as Zayn had gone back to the UK for their week off ( x )
NOTES:
ELEANOR WELCOME WAGON: Eleanor had been on Twitter for over a month at this point and had, in fact, tweeted 260 times before Dan, Danielle, Woody, George and her own cousin (all established, fandom-followed accounts) tweeted her ‘welcoming’ her to Twitter the day before she arrived in NYC.
LIST OF PEOPLE ELEANOR FOLLOWED ON THE 17th-19th of MARCH: Eleanor followed Dan, George and Woody right after they tweeted her. She followed all the boys (except Louis who she already followed), Jay and Anne at the same time, as well. She followed her own cousin almost a full month later.
LOUIS FINALLY FOLLOWS ELEANOR: Louis finally and hilariously followed his girlfriend of (at this point) 4-7 months very late on the 17th or very early the 18th, basically the day she arrived in NYC and immediately after several of his own friends and family weirdly began to welcome Eleanor to Twitter, even though she’d been using her account significantly and continuously for over a month. Amazing timing, as always!
ELEANOR’S ‘COMING OUT’: When looking specifically at the Eleanor narrative from Fall 2011 until March 2012, it becomes glaringly obvious just to what extent Eleanor became a marketing tool for the American debut. She was introduced right as the album promo in the United Kingdom was picking up steam, but her Twitter account wasn’t created until mid-January, right as the band was in talks to do the iCarly episode for Nickelodeon. She first tweeted the day One Direction flew to America to film the iCarly episode and do their first real round of American promo, predominantly for Nickelodeon. Her trip to NYC was openly referenced on her own Twitter account. Amazingly, she began to tweet fans and her own update accounts the day before she arrived in NYC, and this happened to coincide with Dan, Danielle, a couple of Jay’s friends and Eleanor’s own cousin ‘welcoming’ Eleanor to twitter just before she took off. Finally, her trip to NYC coincided with the announcement and leak of the American leg of the Up All Night tour. This first trip was less about damage control and more about fulfilling and supporting the narrative that One Direction was a band with a ladies’ man and a guy in a committed relationship with a pretty female student back home in England, rather than a band that included a pretty obvious inter-band, same-sex relationship.
TIMING OF MEET & GREET EVENTS IN SOMERDALE: The timing of the first tweets from Eleanor’s account to her own update accounts and other One Direction fans on the 17th appears to be strategic. The boys arrived to do promo around 12:30PM, and pictures of them on top of the fire truck began to be posted online. Then, about an hour later, Eleanor began to tweet her update accounts and other fans, probably knowing this is when Twitter and Tumblr would be most active as fans began to check for updates from the signing and wait for the livestream at Q102 later that evening.
HARRY PLEASE!!! It should not be ignored that the meet and greet on the 17th is also the one where Harry was asked if he was dating Louis, to which he nodded and said “yup” and then smiled like the sunshine when the fan said “I figured.” All in the midst of Eleanor’s welcome party on Twitter and just 24 hours before she arrived in NYC.
WTF DID ELEANOR DO IN NYC?: It is impossible to know everything Eleanor and/or Louis did in New York City during this week, especially given their still burgeoning level of fame. However, there are things we can discern from tweets and later comments about this week in New York. First of all, fans managed to photograph Eleanor and Louis only one time the entire week, returning to the hotel after they went across the street to Central Park to take a picture that Eleanor later used as her Twitter icon, and after they had gone shopping. Louis mentioned in a radio interview the week after this that he went to Topman in New York to buy some new underwear, so they presumably went to Topman during this shopping trip. Eleanor also later referenced doing this with Louis. Eleanor also tweeted that she had been “living off hotdogs for a week! Xx” at about 6:30 pm on the 23rd, her last day in New York, which sort of implies Louis didn’t wine and dine her while they were in NYC. The other boys were out and about: Harry riding bikes and sightseeing, Niall and Liam went to the Knick’s game, Zayn went home to the England, but nobody saw Louis outside the hotel except the afternoon and evening of the 22nd. Sounds a lot like the patterns we’ve been noticing the last year.
LOVE IS EQUAL SHIRT: A fan supposedly gave Harry the ‘Love is Equal’ shirt at the signing on the 13th of March, but we didn’t see him wear it until 8 days later. He wore it the second full day Eleanor was in NYC, likely one of the first chances he got to wear it in their week off.