For most us, the One Direction phenomenon is likely pretty baffling – what is it about this most harmless of boy bands, one-time 2nd runners-up in a TV reality show, that whip their fans into such a genuine frenzy?
Like them or not, though, they’re a force to be reckoned with at the moment. Here are some figures that illuminate the scale of One Direction Mania. Please feel free to rejoice or despair appropriately as you read:
1 Direction (obviously)
2 albums released to date
3rd place - final position in X-Factor 2010/11
3 headlining concert tours, including the one announced for 2014
5 members (Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson)
19 years - average age of the band’s five members (average formulated through the scientific data offered by Wikipedia)
1,000,000+ tweets sent in 80-minutes yesterday following the announcement of their latest tour (including many under the 'scathing' #ONEBIGDSIAPPOINTMENT)
5,000,000+ copies sold of single What Makes You Beautiful
€6,000,000+ - estimate of money earned by each member in 2012
€12,000,000+ - estimated earnings of each band member over the next six months
12,000,000+ - albums, singles and DVDs sold during the band’s first year
11,453,139 - Niall Horan’s twitter followers, making him the most followed Irish celebrity, by a considerable distance (The Script and Rory McIlroy are both around 10,000,000 followers behind).
12,977,054 - Horan is still not quite as popular a tweeter as band-mate Harry Styles, though
7,084,000,000 - people the band need to convert to conclusively achieve world domination
