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"Where We Are" redirects here. For the song by the same name, see Midnight Memories (song).
Midnight Memories (album)
Midnight Memories cover
Information
Released

November 25, 2013

Recorded

December 2012 – September 2013

Genre

Rock, Folk Rock, Folk Pop, Folk, Rock N Roll, Hard Rock, Pop

Length

47:51

Label

Syco, Columbia

Singles from Midnight Memories (album)
  1. "Best Song Ever"
    (Released: July 22, 2013)
  2. "Story of My Life"
    (Released: October 28, 2013)
  3. "Midnight Memories"
    (Released: January 24, 2014)
  4. "You & I"
    (Released: April 18, 2014)

Midnight Memories is One Direction's third studio album. It was released on November 25, 2013 and was available for pre-order from September 9, 2013.[1][2] It reached number one in over ninety countries including the United Kingdom and the USA.

Background[]

One Direction began work on their third studio album while embarking on their second world tour, the Take Me Home Tour.[3] The album was announced simultaneously with news of the band's third world tour, the Where We Are Tour. Louis described the album as "rockier". The track listing for the album was leaked on July 2, 2013.

The official album title was revealed on September 6, 2013, after Zayn tweeted a short video with Harry writing out the word "Mid..." from alphabet letters.[4] Later, the full video was posted on Instagram with Harry spelling the whole name of the album, Midnight Memories.[5] On September 17, 2013, Niall tweeted that he will be playing guitar on some of the tracks on the album.[6]

The artwork was released early exclusively by tabloid newspaper The Sun's Twitter account[7]. The early access was only available to those people who had a membership with the online version of the newspaper.

On October 11, 2013, One Direction revealed the track listing for the album via a "#MidnightMemoriesTrackQuiz" on Twitter.[8] The tracks were revealed with a mixture of hints and fill in the gap questions. 

One Direction collaborated with iHeartRadio for an album release party on November 22, 2013 in Los Angeles, where songs were previewed.

On October 17, 2013, it was revealed in a video[9] posted in a news article on the One Direction website[10] that:

  • If you had pre-ordered any of the singles from Midnight Memories and you wanted to buy the album then you wouldn't be charged for the track you'd already bought.
  • If you had pre-ordered the album you would automatically get a copy of:

A lyric video and images were posted for Story of My Life and Diana.

A TV advert[11] was released and seen on YouTube as well as on TV. There were also posters in bus stops and on billboards. There were countdown videos till the day of the album release on November 25th. The album was leaked on November 18, 2013, seven days ahead of its official release.[12]. The band participated in a seven hour long livestream called 1D Day as part of promotion for the album. It was released on November 25, 2013 and a video[13] posted on their channel. It reached number 1 in over 90 countries and all 18 tracks appeared on the iTunes Top 100 chart in America by the end of the day.

Singles[]

Tour[]

Main article: Where We Are Tour

Editions[]

Main article: Editions of Midnight Memories

Track listing[]

Standard Edition
# Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
1. "Best Song Ever" Wayne Hector, John Ryan, Haille Walker, Julian Bunetta, Ed Drewett Julian Bunetta, John Ryan, Matt Rad 3:20
2. "Story of My Life" Jamie Scott, John Ryan, Julian Bunetta, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles Julian Bunetta, John Ryan 4:05
3. "Diana" John Ryan, Julian Bunetta, Jamie Scott, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne Julian Bunetta, John Ryan 3:05
4. "Midnight Memories" Julian Bunetta, Jamie Scott, John Ryan, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne Julian Bunetta, John Ryan 2:56
5. "You & I" Julian Bunetta, Jamie Scott, John Ryan Julian Bunetta, John Ryan 3:57
6. "Don't Forget Where You Belong" Niall Horan, Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Dougie Poynter Danny Jones, Dougie Poynter, Tom Fletcher 4:01
7. "Strong" Louis Tomlinson, John Ryan, Jamie Scott, Julian Bunetta Julian Bunetta, John Ryan 3:04
8. "Happily" Harry Styles, Savan Kotecha, Carl Falk Carl Falk,

Krstian Lundin

2:55
9. "Right Now" Ryan Tedder, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson Ryan Tedder, Jake Gosling 3:20
10. "Little Black Dress" Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Julian Bunetta, John Ryan, and John Theodore Geiger Julian Bunetta, John Ryan, John Theodore Geiger 2:37
11. "Through The Dark" Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Jamie Scott, Toby Smith Jamie Scott, Toby Smith, John Ryan 3:41
12. "Something Great" Harry Styles, Jacknife Lee, Gary Lightbody (of Snow Patrol) Jacknife Lee 3:56
13. "Little White Lies" Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Julian Bunetta, Ed Drewett, John Ryan, Wayne Hector Julian Bunetta, John Ryan 3:17
14. "Better Than Words" Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Julian Bunetta, John Ryan, and Jamie Scott Julian Bunetta, John Ryan 3:27

Commercial Success[]

United Kingdom[]

  • Within the first week of its release, Midnight Memories sold more than 237,000 copies, making it the fastest selling album in the UK of 2013, beating Daft Punk's Random Access Memories, with 165,000 copies. It spent two weeks at number one.
  • At the end of 2013, it was the highest selling album of 2013, shifting 685,000 copies, after only five weeks since it's release.
  • “This tops an amazing year for us!” Liam Payne told OfficialCharts.com.“We're so excited to have the biggest selling album in the UK this year, especially with a record we are all so proud of. We'd like to thank everyone who has bought the album, it really means a lot to us.”

Worldwide[]

  • In August 2014, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) announced Midnight Memories to the biggest selling album of 2013, selling a total of 4 million copies in only 5 weeks, beating Eminem and Justin Timberlake to the top of the chart.

Promotion

Live performances[]

2013
Date Event Song(s) Watch Country
November 21, 2013 The X Factor (U.S.) "Story Of My Life" Tv United States
November 24, 2013 The X Factor (UK) "Story Of My Life" England
December 19, 2013 The X Factor (UK) "Midnight Memories" Tv England

Chart Performance[]

Weekly Charts[]

Charts (2013) Peak

Position

Australian Albums (ARIA) 1
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) 2
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) 2
Brazilian Albums (ABPD) 3
Canadian Albums (Billboard) 1
China Albums (Sino Chart) 4
Croatian Albums (Croatian Albums Chart) 1
Cypriot Albums (Official Cyprus Charts) 1
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI) 1
Danish Albums (Hitlisten) 1
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts) 2
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) 2
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) 2
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 5
Greek Albums (IFPI) 1
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ) 1
Irish Albums (IRMA) 1
Italian Albums (FIMI) 2
Japanese Albums (Oricon) 3
Mexican Albums (AMPROFON) 1
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 2
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) 1
Polish Albums (ZPAV) 2
Portuguese Albums (AFP) 1
South African Albums (RISA) 4
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) 1
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) 1
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) 2
Taiwanese Albums (G-Music) 1
UK Albums (OCC) 1
US Billboard 200 1

Monthly Charts[]

Chart (2013) Peak

Position

Argentine Monthly Albums (CAPIF) 1

Year - End Charts[]

Charts (2013) Peak

Position

Argentine Albums Chart 4
Australian Albums Chart 6
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders) 29
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia) 67
Brazilian Albums Chart 10
Danish Albums Chart 4
Hungarian Albums Chart 27
Italian Albums Chart 8
Irish Albums Chart 2
Japanese Albums Chart 73
Mexican Albums Chart 2
New Zealand Albums Chart 8
Polish Albums Chart 12
Spanish Albums Chart 6
Swedish Albums Chart 10
Swiss Albums Chart 69
UK Albums Chart 1
Charts (2014) Peak

Position

Australian Albums Chart 86
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders) 39
Canadian Albums Chart 4
Italian Albums (FIMI) 33
Mexican Albums Chart 14
New Zealand Albums Chart 45
UK Albums Chart 39
US Billboard 200 4

Additional Credits[]

(Credits taken from Midnight Memories's liner notes.)

  • Photography: R.J. Shaughnessy, Calvin Aurand
  • Design: Fluidesign
  • Album Mastered by: Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound

References[]

  1. Twitter Harry's Tweet
  2. Twitter One Direction's Tweet
  3. Capitalfm.com Third studio album
  4. Twitter Zayn's Tweet
  5. Instagram Video by onedirection
  6. Twitter Niall's tweet
  7. Twitter The Sun's tweet
  8. Twitter One Direction tracklist quiz tweet
  9. YouTube One Direction - Pre-release tracks
  10. Onedirectionmusic.com One Direction - "Have You Pre-Ordered Midnight Memories Yet?"
  11. Youtube.com TV Advert - Midnight Memories by One Direction
  12. Mirror.co.uk Midnight Memories leaked ahead of its release
  13. Youtube.com Midnight Memories Countdown Calendar November 25th - Midnight Memories OUT NOW!
  14. Officialcharts.com One Direction sore fastest selling album of their career
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