One Direction (1D) as X-factor mentors likely advise acts that the music business is uncertain and that people should be true to themselves. They learned that the hard way.
Why I think the Take Me Home (TMH) tour could be a farewell tour for One Direction (1D) based on the PR and other things.
Anonymous asked you:
So you think that they’re preparing for One Direction to break up after the TMH tour, because of all the bad PR’ing? What do you think their reason is to do that?
The response to this ask is that -it’s complicated. The long response will be after the read more.
First of all, it’s important for everyone reading this to understand that I think that how 1D is being managed and their PR is absolutely CRAZY. While I will agree that the management and PR is effective if the ONLY goal is to make as much money as possible from the 1D brand, it doesn’t make as much sense when you think about the dreams of young boys and their wanting to establish long-term careers in the music business while being true to themselves.
One of the things that has caught my attention are the fan reports of the TMH concerts that the boys are crying during the performances. Why are the boys crying during the performances?
I think it could be the combination of fulfilling their dreams with arenas full of adoring fans singing along with them and knowing that after this year that it could all be over.
I wrote before about the lack of PR and social media support for the Take Me Home (TMH) tour. Fans reports are that the shows are entertaining and fun and that the boys are performing well. We have gotten a few fans clips of highlights but none from 1D. Most touring artist today do updates from the road in some fashion for their fans. 1D supposedly the leaders in social media have done none of that for the TMH tour so far. To me that is a very telling sign that they are on a farewell tour.
Also, little or no local press, appearances, interviews, etc, are being done for their fans. Acts interested in keeping fans and gaining new ones, always do press, meet and greets, radio shows visits before their shows when they tour. 1D is not doing that for the TMH tour. Dublin fans expressed disappointment about not having a chance to see the boys outside of the shows.
Everybody knows that their management company does not put the needs of the boys first—Nialls knee, Louis and Harry’s relationships, generally the personal relationships and well being of the boys, etc..they just focus on making as much money as they can.
While I know that Harry and now Louis say they like tattoos, I think they are sending messages to the fans with their tattoos. Louis and Harry have many couples tattoos. News reports today are saying that Harry “inadvertently,” got a gay tattoo. That my friends is masterful PR from Modest that is doing it’s best to keep Harry in the closet. Wouldn’t common sense tell most people that if a person gets a gay tattoo, maybe it’s because they are gay?
Then we have Harry singing “different dick every night,” and Louis singing “you have a big dick.” Ask yourselves, how many times could a male singer do that in public without someone asking the question “Are you gay.” Where I live. Once is the answer. Now think about people who have gay rumors swirling about them doing that. Could they be trying to tell they world they are gay, and the world isn’t listening? Actually, it demonstrates to me the scary control Modest seems to have over their images in the media. The media obviously does not print anything Modest does not want them to print.
VMAs was a prime example of how much control Modest has over the media and 1Ds images. Harry and Louis kissed on live TV and yet there is no clear proof and nobody who saw them is talking. We can’t get the shots of the kiss from the angle that would show everything, although for the later award we have shots from that angle. So likely pictures and video of the VMA kiss exist.
I personally think Harry and Louis WANT to be outed as evidenced by all the times their friends have done it. It never sticks though.
You also have to ask yourself, why is the biggest “boy band,” walking away while they could still have success? Even if they lost some fans, they could easily have the normal 5 year celebrity that is typical of past boybands. 1D formed Fall 2010 and seems to be ending Fall 2013, well short of the typical 5 years. Given their global success, going past the 5 year mark could have been possible.
So in summary, a lot about 1D is bananas.
Louis “gf” is not a normal college student—fans who have attended college/university don’t believe she is in school. If she is, she should forget being a “model,” and write a “How-to-attend college without actually being there book for every college student in the world—she would be rich.
Her going on tour with 1D last year and spending so much time with 1D while supposedly in school would be impossible for most students. 1D is the only band in the world that promotes it girlfriends. We know more about their girlfriend than bands who have been together for decades with wives they have raised children with. Are the girlfriends part of the business plan? Why?
1D is a multi-million pound business/brand, why is Louis’ and only Louis’ college student girlfriend allowed to address fans about band business? She tweets to debunk rumors and speak for Louis. The other boys ALWAYS address rumors themselves. Louis is supposed to be the leader but in his personal life, he allows his college student girlfriend (and his mother) to address his fans on his behalf? Why has she been promoted from day 1 by her full name when the other girlfriends who actually have careers in show business have not been?
Why so many HQ photoshoots with her and not the other girlfriends? Why doesn’t she speak? Why was she promoted as the sixth member of 1D? What about the actual band—the ones that play instruments—-we have heard less from them than Louis’ “gf,” surely if anyone or anything was a sixth member of 1D it would the band members?
Most disturbing is that when you Google Louis Tomlinson, in the images you don’t just get Louis Tomlinson. You get Louis Tomlinson and his college student “gf,” and interestingly, some Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles. When you type in Brad Pitt who has been married twice. You get Brad Pitt.
So in summary Louis’ “gf” needs to share her secrets of attending university without being physically present with university and college students worldwide. Then she could buy her own Burberry, Zara, and Topshop clothes without relying on her “sugar daddy.” I read somewhere that Louis’ “gf” calls him sugar daddy. Obvious much? She could be her own Richie Rich. Louis also needs to shave his beard.
If 1D really take 9-12 months off next year, it likely means the end of their popularity. Even now they aren’t religiously doing the talk show rounds, being public figures, etc. If they disappear, fans will move on and forget them.
Joking aside that they are taking a 9-12 month break so that Harry can get pregnant and have a baby with Louis, it’s likely something contract related.
Summary. 1D will likely retire at the end of the TMH tour. At least they will be able to keep themselves occupied taking turns counting to a billion with their money.
Fans have notices that Louis and Harry try not to interact together on stage during the TMH tour. This along with the photoban where they are not allowed to be photographed together outside of professional activities is not healthy. It also doesn’t produce the best shows/performances, since for the UAN tour many of the highlights were when Harry and Louis were in cahoots and played off the rest of the boys.
Summary. I miss seeing Louis and Harry in their natural state having fun on stage and letting us enjoy the moment with them. It’s management’s fault.
Negative treatment by their management company.
Fans can almost predict when Louis and Harry are going to be punished with Louis “gf” making an appearance or Harry having to do something that can be misconstrued to support his hipsta image and womanizer image. Negative PR and PR images are part of how the 1D boys are marketed. They are not respected by music industry peers. Reports are that well-known acts are shunning One Direction when the boys request to meet them. It was confirmed that at the BRITS this year that they were told to go away by some high profile people. Last year, everyone was interested in One Direction, wanting to collaborate with them and find out more about them. instead of taking advantage of that opportunity, their management company made them into bait for criticism from their industry and peers.
Hi Kevin. Don’t worry we know management is to blame not you.
What I wish they would do.
Play hardball with Modest immediately. They are one of the biggest acts on the planet, they could leverage that to force a negotiation at the very least.
Hire a great lawyer & advisor/floor manager they trust to look out for ALL levels of their interests not just trying to find ways to make the most money. So even while they are still with Modest have someone with them 24/7 that can advise them on the spot if there are problems.
End the unnecessary over-the-top media manipulations and PR lies. While this make them money in exposure it also hurts them long-term because they are getting a negative reputation.
Go back to being the band of brothers. Feature all five guys, not just Harry Styles. Retire the girlfriends club. The band should be about the band. Not the band, their girlfriends, friends, and family, and anyone else they want to try to make famous. They need to make themselves into the band they want to be and then take the risk to try for longevity. There are those who think they could make it. Currently, they have potential. With the right advisors, who knows what could happen.
An aside: Harry and Louis need to make an appearance on Top Gear! Louis because of driving in videos and Harry because of his love of cars. If any fans know how to make that happen, please get on it. #1DonTopGear
Concrete moves needed to try for longer-term success beyond the end of 2013.
Think longterm—Let people know they want to be around long-term and that they are going to make the moves needed to make that happen.
Don’t make 2014 about being on hiatus—instead use it to perform small sets at small venues at least once a month while they are writing, recording and working on other technical skills.
Appear on as many talk shows in 2014 as they can talking about how their group is maturing and getting people of all ages excited for their more mature album and next tour.
Let people see the work in progress—A lot of music industry people call 1D karaoke and don’t believe they work hard. 1D needs to show their peers their talent and hard work. If they could execute a simple song they wrote where they played instruments, it would likely go viral on YouTube.
Hire a fulltime music director—hire the best of the best with extensive knowledge of current and past trends in the music industry to hone their sound and music selection in the direction they want it to go.
Work on technical music skills religiously—Hire someone who will give Louis the confidence to sing and if that doesn’t work—make Louis sing. As a professional singer, Louis must gain the confidence to sing anytime, anywhere. Nobody expects him to sing opera so I don’t understand why he won’t sing on demand like the other do. The others aren’t always that great so his refusal to sing doesn’t make sense to me. Make sure all boys can read music, are learning instruments, working on song writing skills, etc. Learning the skills of their profession. ALL of their free time should be spent on these activities when they are not performing for the foreseeable future. They should not have time in the next few years to maintain and promote girlfriends or spend every night getting drunk with hipsta friends.
Gig like Ed Sheeran-Sing as much as they can at small venues and sing for older crowds by showcasing their covers (learn hundreds of covers not just a handful). Don’t just do arena tours where they can rely on backing tracks and screaming teens to cover bad performances. 1D sang a few impromptu lines of Islands on a Stream during a Twitter session for the TMH tour and it was good. Again—they have good potential that still needs to be developed into a mature sound. It would be great if they made it a habit during the TMH tour to make a guest appearance at a over 21 small venue at least once a week to sing a few songs and try to gain fan support outside of their current demographic. They could also do some live acoustic performances for radio and television stations like they used to.
Network and make peace with industry peers—there’s 5 guys available to help with this task with 5 different personalities. If they make gaining acceptance in their industry a priority, they are likely to have some success, especially if they move away from the other-the-top PR focus on their personal relationships and instead focus their PR on their professional accomplishments.
Why Louis and Harry should already be secretly married or should get married immediately if they aren’t already.
Everyone can see that Harry and Louis are soulmates and despite their young ages, marriage is one of the few ways they can prevent Modest from totally destroying that special relationship by demanding they not see each other outside of work or telling them they can’t live together. As a married couple, there are limits to how much Modest can interfere with their marriage when they are not working.
Note: I know it’s controversial but I believe that Harry and Louis are already married. I think they got married in NYC December 2012 and that Louis’ “21st birthday,” was a cover for a family party since it was reported that both Louis’ and Harry’s families attend that party as well as some of Harry’s childhood friends. The super secret nature of the party is strange as well. Consider every other 1D party where we have gotten plenty of pictures. From that party there are maybe 5 posed shots. Just think about it. I know few will agree with me on this.
Summary: In order for long-term success, 1D need to act and present itself like a band of brothers focused on one goal. They should stop all the over-the-top media manipulations and focus on the music and being the type of band they want to be while being themselves. I hope they use the picture below as inspiration.
1D relationships between band members impacts the success of the band.
1D should value their relationships with each above all as a band—the friendship, bromances, and romances—regardless of the cost. In particular, Harry and Louis are in a relationship (maybe even married ) that should be celebrated not hidden and denied.
Most bands who have longevity mention that doing the thing they love with people they love is the key to success.
Summary: I hope the boys will be acting silly on stage and doing strange things like making a pile with all five guys for many years to come.
One of the first Larry Stylinson, the romance moments. I hope that Louis and Harry can do this again freely in public soon.
1D loves the Rolling Stones hopfully they will use their longevity as inspiration.
Maybe someday we will get a picture like this of 1D. Good luck boys.
The end.
Thanks for reading if you got this far. I realize, it’s a long read.