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Four
00
Information
Released

November 17, 2014

Recorded

April – September 2014

Genre

Pop, Rock

Length

43:39

Label

Syco Music, Columbia Records

Singles from Four
  1. "Steal My Girl"
    (Released: September 29, 2014)
  2. "Night Changes"
    (Released: November 14, 2014)

Four is the fourth album released by One Direction. It was released on November 17, 2014.

Four reached #1 in 67 countries and was the band's first criticially acclaimed album. After it debuted at #1 in the United States, One Direction became the first band ever to have all four albums debut at number one. It was the ninth best selling album in the US in 2014 and has sold over 3.2 million copies worldwide since 2014. On August 13 2015, Billboard announced the album had sold over a million copies in the USA[1]. On September 18 2015, bpi Music announced Four had gone double platinum.[2]

Background

Writing for the album primarily took place during the Where We Are Tour, and recording sometimes took place in the hotels the band were staying at between concerts. Niall stated in one interview that he recorded his verse for "Clouds" in a bus. In a leaked video of Zayn and Louis from May 2014, Zayn can be heard singing the chorus to "Stockholm Syndrome", indicating writing or production most likely begun in early 2014.

The album release was announced on September 8, along with a free download of a track from the album called "Fireproof", which garnered a million downloads in 24 hours.

The first single, "Steal My Girl", was released September 29, 2014 and the music video featured Hollywood actor Danny Devito. The second single, "Night Changes"[3], was released on November 14th. Album tracks "Fool's Gold"[4], "Where Do Broken Hearts Go"[5], "18"[6], "Ready To Run"[7], "Girl Almighty"[8] and "No Control"[9] were put onto the official One Direction Vevo Youtube channel on November 17th. "Act My Age"[10], "Stockholm Syndrome"[11], "Change Your Ticket"[12], "Once In a Lifetime"[13], "Illusion"[14] and "Clouds"[15] were also released to YouTube offiically on November 18th. On November 21st, the audio for "Spaces"[16] was released in the same manner.

It was believed "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" would become a single, after the band all claimed it to be a favorite of theirs, and it was performed on X Factor with Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood. It also received moderate radio airplay but was ultimately never released.

Singles

On September 8, 2014, a track titled "Fireproof" was released for free off the band's website for 24 hours only. "Fireproof" was released as a promotional single for the album, and was downloaded 1.1 million times. Fans were disgruntled when it did not become the album's lead single.

On September 29, 2014, the album's lead single "Steal My Girl" was released. It was a top 20 single around the world.

On October 29, 2014, the second and final single, "Night Changes", was announced. It was a top 30 single around the world.

In May 2015, fans worldwide tweeted song requests to radio stations to play unreleased album track "No Control". This was an attempt to emphasise the singing voice and songwriting talent of Louis Tomlinson, who fans felt was often treated unfairly by management and certain music industry figures. Louis sings lead vocal on the track which is unconventional for him. Fans also felt the album had not been promoted fairly, or enough, and wanted to showcase the band's more mature, rock-based sound. The sheer number of requests was so overwhelming that stations began to air the song, with some adding it to their playlists and rotation. At the project's peak, after about 7 days heavy campaigning, over 60 stations worldwide had aired the song, and the band thanked fans numerous times afterward for their efforts. Louis Tomlinson dubbed the project a "fan release"[17] and his mother, Johannah (Jay) Deakin, has spoken numerous times to fans of Louis's joy at seeing the project play out online, saying it was one of his proudest moments.

Tracklist

Standard Edition
# Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
1. "Steal My Girl" Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, Wayne Hector, Julian Bunetta, Ed Drewett Julian Bunetta, Pär Westerlund, John Ryan 3:48
2. "Ready to Run" Tomlinson, Payne, Jamie Scott, Bunetta, Ryan Julian Bunetta, John Ryan 3:16
3. "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" Harry Styles, Bunetta, Ruth-Anne Cunningham, Theodore Geiger, Ali Tamposi Julian Bunetta, Pär Westerlund, Teddy Geiger 3:49
4. "18" Ed Sheeran, Oliver Frank Steve Robson, Matt Rad, Sam Miller 4:08
5. "Girl Almighty" Bunetta, Ryan, S. Pages Mehner Julian Bunetta, John Ryan, Alexander Oriet 3:22
6. "Fool's Gold" Scott, Maureen McDonald, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Styles, Tomlinson, Payne Matt Rad, Jamie Scott, Sam Miller 3:31
7. "Night Changes" Scott, Bunetta, Ryan, Horan, Malik, Styles, Payne, Tomlinson Julian Bunetta, John Ryan 3:47
8. "No Control" Tomlinson, Cunningham, Scott, Bunetta, Ryan Julian Bunetta, Ian Franzino, John Ryan, Afterhrs 3:20
9. "Fireproof" Payne, Tomlinson, Ryan, Scott, Bunetta Julian Bunetta, John Ryan, Ben Chang 2:54
10. "Spaces" Tomlinson, Payne, Scott, Bunetta, Ryan Julian Bunetta, Afterhrs, John Ryan 4:17
11. "Stockholm Syndrome" Styles, Bunetta, Ryan, Johan Carlsson Julian Bunetta, John Ryan 3:35
12. "Clouds" Tomlinson, Payne, Scott, Bunetta, Ryan Julian Bunetta, John Ryan 3:52

Chart Performance

Weekly Charts

Charts (2014) Peak

Position

Argentine Albums (CAPIF) 1
Australian Albums (ARIA) 1
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) 1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) 3
Brazilian Albums (ABPD) 2
Canadian Albums (Billboard) 1
Chinese Albums (Sino Chart) 17
Croatian Albums (HDU) 3
Croatian International Albums (HDU) 2
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI) 8
Danish Albums (Hitlisten) 1
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts) 1
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) 3
French Albums (SNEP) 2
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 5
Greek Albums (IFPI) 5
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ) 6
Irish Albums (IRMA) 1
Italian Albums (FIMI) 1
Japanese Albums (Oricon) 1
Mexican Albums (AMPROFON) 1
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 1
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) 1
Polish Albums (ZPAV) 3
Portuguese Albums (AFP) 1
Scottish Albums (OCC) 1
South African Albums (RISA) 3
South Korean Albums (Gaon) 24
South Korean International Albums (Gaon) 4
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) 2
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) 1
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) 2
Taiwanese Albums (G-Music) 4
Taiwanese International Albums (G-Music) 2
Taiwanese Western Albums (G-Music) 2
UK Albums (OCC) 1
US Billboard 200 1

Year - End Charts

Charts (2014) Peak

Position

Australian Albums (ARIA) 14
Brazilian Albums (ABPD) 7
Italian Albums (FIMI) 7
Mexican Albums (AMPROFON) 3
Polish Albums (ZPAV) 27
UK Albums (OCC) 7
Charts (2015) Peak

Position

Australian Albums (ARIA) 71
Canadian Albums (Billboard) 4
Italian Albums (FIMI) 60
Mexican Albums (AMPROFON) 30
US Billboard 200 10

Additional Credits

(Credits taken from Four's liner notes.)

  • Vocal coach: Helene Horlyck
  • Album mastered by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound
  • Assisted by Randy Merrill
  • Photography: R.J. Shaughnessy
  • Design: Fluidesign.co.uk

References

  1. Billboard Tweet
  2. bpi Tweet
  3. Youtube Night Changes audio
  4. Youtube Fool's Gold audio
  5. Youtube Where Do Broken Hearts Go audio
  6. Youtube 18 audio
  7. Youtube Ready To Run audio
  8. Youtube Girl Almighty audio
  9. Youtube No Control audio
  10. Youtube Act My Age audio
  11. Youtube Stockholm Syndrome audio
  12. Youtube Change Your Ticket audio
  13. Youtube Once In a Lifetime audio
  14. Youtube Illusion audio
  15. Youtube Clouds audio
  16. Youtube Spaces audio
  17. One Direction & James Talk 'No Control'
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