Four (One Direction album)

Four
Studio album by One Direction
Released	17 November 2014
Recorded	April–September 2014
Genre	Pop[1][2]
Length	43:39
Label	Columbia Syco
Producer	Julian Bunetta Pär Westerlund John Ryan Teddy Geiger Steve Robson Matt Rad Jamie Scott Ian Franzino Afterhrs
One Direction chronology
Midnight Memories (2013) Four (2014) Made in the A.M. (2015)
Singles from Four
"Steal My Girl" Released: 29 September 2014 "Night Changes" Released: 14 November 2014

Four is the fourth studio album by English-Irish boy band One Direction, released on 17 November 2014 by Columbia Records and Syco Music.^[3] Two singles were released from the album, "Steal My Girl" and "Night Changes", both achieving platinum status in the US, and scoring the band their tenth and eleventh UK top-ten hits.

The album received generally positive reviews from music critics. It debuted at number one in 18 countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States. The album was also One Direction's last with member Zayn Malik, who announced he was leaving the band on 25 March 2015. In August 2015, Four became the band's fourth consecutive album to sell in excess of 1 million copies in the United States. The band became the first band to have their first four albums debut at number one in the United States.

Background and development

On 27 April 2014, it was confirmed that One Direction were working on their fourth studio album. Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne worked on the majority of the album with songwriters Julian Bunetta, John Ryan, and Jamie Scott, but members Harry Styles and Zayn Malik also co-wrote tracks with Bunetta, Ryan, Scott and producer Johan Carlson. Niall Horan, the fifth member of One Direction, was unable to be involved in writing due to a leg injury.

Malik has described the album as a way of growing with their fans, and having more mature lyrics without straying from their style too much. The album provides a place for each member to showcase their styles of writing, particularly Styles, whose four tracks on the album perfectly sum up the songwriting skills he has.

The name and cover of the album were announced on 8 September on One Direction's official website, along with a free download of a song called "Fireproof", which was available for 24 hours.^[4] Horan stated that the reason for the free download was "because you have supported us so much, we wanted to give a little something back".^[3] "Fireproof" was written by Payne and Tomlinson along with John Ryan, Jamie Scott and Julian Bunetta, who also wrote their single "Story of My Life".^[5] In the 24-hour span, 1.1 million downloads were generated.^[6] The song was put on the band's Vevo on 22 September.^[7]

In an interview with Simon Cowell, it was revealed that one of the songs for the album will be titled "18". The song was written by Ed Sheeran, who also wrote "Little Things" and "Moments" for the group.^[8][9]

Horan came up with the name of the album, commemorating the fact that it is the band's fourth album and that it has been four years since their formation.^[10]

Tour

The On the Road Again Tour was announced on the morning program Today, where the band gave a pre-recorded interview releasing the details of their return to Australia. It was later announced that the band would also be touring Asia and Africa. The group will be making debuts for some countries, particularly in the United Arab Emirates.

On 24 October 2014, the official One Direction site announced several more tour dates, with shows across Europe, the US, and Canada.^[11]

Singles

"Steal My Girl" was released as the album's first single on 29 September 2014 worldwide and on 19 October 2014 in the UK.^[12] "Night Changes" was then released as the album's second single on 14 November 2014.^[13]

Promotional singles

There were five promotional singles released on five different days; when fans pre-ordered the album, they received an instant download of the songs.^[14] "Ready to Run" was released as the first promotional single on 6 November.^[15] "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" was released as the second promotional single on 10 November.^[16] "18" was released as the third promotional single on 11 November.^[17] "Girl Almighty" was released as the fourth promotional single on 12 November.^[18] "Fool's Gold" was released as the fifth promotional single on 13 November.^[19]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	65/100[20]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The A.V. Club	B-[21]
Billboard	[22]
The Buffalo News	[23]
The Guardian	[2]
New York Daily News	[24]
Irish Independent	[25]
The Observer	[26]
Slant Magazine	[27]
The Daily Telegraph	[28]
Rolling Stone	[29]

Four received generally positive reviews from music critics. Some argued that the members' songwriting showed signs of maturity, while others claimed the musical content was too similar to the band's previous work. On Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100, the album received a score of 65, which indicates generally favorable reviews.

Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph found "an unlikely comparison to Bruce Springsteen in the quintet's latest offering", and that Four was "hard to dislike: it's cheery, uplifting, high spirited and good fun", but did still say it was "songwriting by numbers". AllMusic's review said it was the group's "fourth well-crafted, packed-with-great-pop-songs album in a row", although did cynically point out the pattern of each of said albums being released just in time for "optimal holiday-season gift-giving". Tshepo Mokoena of The Guardian gave the album a more mixed review of three-stars, again drawing comparisons with Springsteen but with the caveat of being "hardly groundbreaking pop", and Jim Faber of the New York Daily News also gave three stars and praised the group for "confronting their limitations" but at the same time questioned why whilst doing so they spent "so much time looking back with longing", pointed out an apparent "anxiety" and expressed disappointment that whilst Four represents a step forward in their history, it "represents a step back in both sound and sensibility".

More negative reviews came from Chuck Arnold of Billboard magazine and James Rainis of Slant Magazine, both awarding just two-and-a-half stars. The former claimed "One Direction aren't ready to let go of their bubble-gum days", whilst Rainis ended his take by saying "The album's irresistibly obvious choruses, hackneyed sentiments, and puppy-eyed earnestness can come off as endearing when the songwriting is clever enough, but every misstep is, despite the band's efforts to assert more control over their music, a painful reminder of One Direction's status as a manufactured, focus-grouped pop entity."

The album was placed at number eleven on Cosmopolitan's list of "The 20 Best Albums of 2014"^[30]

Jessica Goodman and Ryan Kistobak of The Huffington Post included the album on their list of 2014's best releases, claiming that "2014 will forever be known as the year that we realized One Direction was actually, dare we say, good." Goodman further complimented the album as a "complex, feel-good trip down young love lane".^[31]

Commercial performance

Released on 12 November 2014, the album quickly rose to the top of the UK Albums Chart, with 142,000 copies sold during its first week. The album scored One Direction their third consecutive number one album.^[32] Based on UK sales, it was certified Gold by the BPI in its first week, and certified Platinum in its fourth week.

The deluxe edition of Four became the top charted album on iTunes in some 67 countries.^[33][34] In the US, the album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart on the week ending 23 November 2014, with sales of 387,000. One Direction thus became the first musical group to have each of their first four studio albums debut at No. 1; the Monkees and the Kingston Trio also reached No. 1 with their first four albums but not in the first week of sales. One Direction follows three solo artists who have attained No. 1 status with their first four albums: Britney Spears and DMX in 2003, and Beyoncé in 2011. (In 2013, Beyoncé's fifth album also debuted at No. 1.)^[35] Four sold 814,000 copies in the US in 2014, the ninth best-selling album of the year.^[36] The album reached its millionth sales mark in the U.S. in August 2015,^[37] and has sold 1,016,000 as of October 2015.^[38]

Worldwide, Four sold over 3.2 million copies in 2014.^[39]

Track listing

Four – standard edition[3][40]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Steal My Girl"	Louis Tomlinson Liam Payne Wayne Hector Julian Bunetta Ed Drewett John Ryan	Julian Bunetta Pär Westerlund John Ryan	3:48
2.	"Ready to Run"	Tomlinson Payne Jamie Scott Bunetta Ryan[41]	Julian Bunetta John Ryan	3:16
3.	"Where Do Broken Hearts Go"	Harry Styles Bunetta Ruth-Anne Cunningham Theodore Geiger Ali Tamposi[42]	Julian Bunetta Pär Westerlund Teddy Geiger	3:49
4.	"18"	Ed Sheeran Oliver Frank[41]	Steve Robson Matt Rad^[a] Sam Miller^[b]	4:08
5.	"Girl Almighty"	Bunetta Ryan S. Pages Mehner	Julian Bunetta John Ryan Alexander Oriet^[a]	3:22
6.	"Fool's Gold"	Scott Maureen McDonald Niall Horan Zayn Malik Styles Tomlinson Payne	Matt Rad Jamie Scott Sam Miller^[a]	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 Payne Bunetta Ryan	Julian Bunetta Ian Franzino John Ryan Afterhrs	3:20
9.	"Fireproof"	Payne Tomlinson Ryan Scott Bunetta	Julian Bunetta John Ryan Ben "Bengineer" Chang^[b]	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 Malik Scott Bunetta Ryan	Julian Bunetta John Ryan	3:52

Four – The Ultimate Edition[43]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Change Your Ticket"	Payne Tomlinson Horan Malik Styles Sam Martin Bunetta Ryan[44]	Julian Bunetta Afterhrs	4:26
14.	"Illusion"	Payne Scott Bunetta Ryan	Julian Bunetta John Ryan	3:14
15.	"Once in a Lifetime"	Scott Bunetta Ryan	Julian Bunetta John Ryan	2:38
16.	"Act My Age"	Bunetta Drewett Ryan	Julian Bunetta John Ryan	3:18

Four – Japanese Edition[45]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
17.	"Steal My Girl" (Big Payno & Aftrhrs Pool Party Remix)	Tomlinson Payne Hector Bunetta Drewett Ryan	Bunetta Westerlund Ryan Payne^[a] Aftrhrs^[a]	5:20
18.	"Steal My Girl" (Acoustic Version)	Tomlinson Payne Hector Julian Bunetta Drewett Ryan	Bunetta Westerlund Ryan	3:48
19.	"Story of My Life" (Live from San Siro)	Scott Ryan Horan Malik Payne Styles Tomlinson	Bunetta Ryan

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies an additional producer
• ^{^[b]} signifies a vocal producer

Additional credits

(Credits taken from Four's liner notes.^[46])

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

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2014) Peak position Argentine Albums (CAPIF)[47] 1 Australian Albums (ARIA)[48] 1 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[49] 1 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[50] 1 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[51] 3 Brazilian Albums (ABPD)[52] 2 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[53] 1 Chinese Albums (Sino Chart)[54] 17 Croatian Albums (HDU)[55] 3 Croatian International Albums (HDU)[56] 2 Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[57] 8 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[58] 1 Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[59] 1 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[60] 3 French Albums (SNEP)[61] 2 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[62] 5 Greek Albums (IFPI)[63] 5 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[64] 6 Irish Albums (IRMA)[65] 1 Italian Albums (FIMI)[66] 1 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[67] 1 Mexican Albums (AMPROFON)[68] 1 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[69] 1 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[70] 1 Polish Albums (ZPAV)[71] 3 Portuguese Albums (AFP)[72] 1 Scottish Albums (OCC)[73] 1 South African Albums (RISA)[74] 3 South Korean Albums (Gaon)[75] 24 South Korean International Albums (Gaon)[76] 4 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[77] 2 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[78] 1 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[79] 2 Taiwanese Albums (G-Music)[80] 4 Taiwanese International Albums (G-Music)[81] 2 Taiwanese Western Albums (G-Music)[82] 2 UK Albums (OCC)[83] 1 US Billboard 200[84] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2014) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[85] 14 Brazilian Albums (ABPD)[86] 7 Italian Albums (FIMI)[87] 7 Mexican Albums (AMPROFON)[88] 3 Polish Albums (ZPAV)[89] 27 UK Albums (OCC)[90] 7 Chart (2015) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[91] 71 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[92] 4 Italian Albums (FIMI)[93] 60 Mexican Albums (AMPROFON)[94] 30 US Billboard 200[95] 10

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[96]	2× Platinum	140,000
Austria (IFPI Austria)[97]	Gold	7,500
Brazil (ABPD)[98]	3× Platinum	120,000
Canada (Music Canada)[99]	Platinum	98,000[100]
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[101]	Platinum	20,000
France (SNEP)[102]	Platinum	100,000
Hungary (MAHASZ)[103]	Gold	1,000
Italy (FIMI)[104]	2× Platinum	100,000
Japan (RIAJ)[105]	Gold	100,000
Mexico (AMPROFON)[106]	2× Platinum	120,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)[107]	Platinum	15,000
Philippines (PARI)[108]	Platinum	15,000
Poland (ZPAV)[109]	Platinum	20,000
South Africa (RISA)[110]	Gold	20,000^^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[111]	Platinum	40,000
Sweden (GLF)[112]	Platinum	40,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[113]	2× Platinum	600,000
United States (RIAA)[114]	Platinum	1,016,000[38]
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone ^xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Release history

Country	Date	Format(s)	Edition(s)	Label	Ref.
Canada	17 November 2014	CD Digital download	Standard Deluxe	Syco	[115]
France					[116]
Germany					[117]
Italy					[118]
United Kingdom					[119]
United States				Columbia	[120]
Spain	18 November 2014			Syco	[121]
Japan	19 November 2014			Sony	[122]
United Kingdom	15 December 2014	Vinyl	Standard	Syco	[123]

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