The world of pop music was shaken up in 2012 with the breakout of not one, but two boy bands from the UK. While both started out in different ways, One Direction and The Wanted have had their share of success. They have personally butt heads on some occasions, but we’ll leave that for another kind of combat corner. So how do these two size up against each other? Read on to find out!
ROUND 1: HUMBLE BEGINNINGSTHE WANTED – The group was formed through auditions by Jayne Collins, who has also put together girl group The Saturdays. Max, Tom and Nathan were originally involved; Siva and Jay joined later in the process. They got signed to Maximum Artist Management and Geffen Records.ONE DIRECTION – Harry, Niall, Zayn, Louis and Liam all auditioned as individual contestants on the X Factor UK but got rejected. However, guest judge Nicole Scherzinger suggested that they should form a group together. They formed One Direction, ultimately finishing in third place on the show and signing with Simon Cowell’s record label, Syco Records.
1D wins here for having a cool starting out story!SCORE: ONE DIRECTION – 1THE WANTED – 0
ROUND 2: BREAKOUT SINGLEONE DIRECTION – One Direction released “What Makes You Beautiful.” The song became a monster hit in the UK and quickly spread worldwide. With over five million copies sold, it is one of the best-selling singles of all time!THE WANTED – “All Time Low” was The Wanted’s first single in the UK, but it wasn’t until “Glad You Came” was released in North America that the group saw international success. The song became an instant hit on television and radio, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and sold three million copies in the US.
Both songs had us singing and dancing along all year, but The Wanted takes this one for having one of the best party songs of last summer!SCORE: ONE DIRECTION – 1THE WANTED – 1
ROUND 3: TOURTHE WANTED – Since 2011, The Wanted has done headlining tours in the UK and North America. They have played festivals in Australia and South America, and most recently opened for Justin Bieber on the North American dates of his Believe tour.ONE DIRECTION – Aside from promo tours, One Direction has had concert tours in the UK (The Up All Night Tour) and opened for Big Time Rush’s Better With You Tour in North America. They are about to embark on a world tour in 2013!
TW gets this point for supporting our favourite Canadian, Justin Bieber!SCORE: ONE DIRECTION – 1THE WANTED – 2
ROUND 4: BEST FANBASEONE DIRECTION – 1D fans like to call themselves Directioners! They are a highly dedicated and passionate group with one important thing in common – their love for One Direction. Whether or not they have been a fan since the X Factor days, they know all the inside jokes and little things about each member of the group. Wherever the band goes, you can guarantee that Directioners will be there waiting for them.THE WANTED – Fans of The Wanted are a part of the TW Fanmily. Max came up with this name. The Wanted fans consider themselves a family, hence Fanmily. They too are very dedicated and passionate about the group they share a common love for. The band keeps the Fanmily engaged with their video blog released on Wanted Wednesdays!
One Direction have gained so many fans over the past few years that probably the band themselves can’t even keep up. They win here!SCORE: ONE DIRECTION – 2THE WANTED – 2
ROUND 5: TWITTER FOLLOWING THE WANTED – All five members’ personal accounts plus the band’s official account adds up to over six million followers!ONE DIRECTION – With all five members’ personal accounts and the band’s official account, their follower total is a whopping 57 million!
No contest here! All of the members have great tweets but One Direction ultimately wins this round.SCORE: ONE DIRECTION – 3THE WANTED – 2
ROUND UP: When put up against ONE DIRECTION, THE WANTED is no match. Harry, Zayn, Liam, Niall and Louis have captured hearts around the world with their infectious hits and it doesn’t look like they’ll be stopping soon. Their massive success can be attributed to their Directioners, who they wouldn’t be anywhere without. With their world tour about to begin, it is no doubt that One Direction will continue to gain fans and success wherever they go. They are THE biggest boy band in the world right now!