A Definitive Ranking of One Direction’s Most Underrated Songs
One Direction has been gone from our lives for quite some time now, yet we're still not over their breakup.
We love all the solo music the guys have been working on, yet they were so much better as a group. They belong together like PB&J.
After listening to their entire discography to help us move past the fact that they might never get back together, we realized there were a handful of songs that unfortunately flew under the radar.
Because of that, we decided to rank 1D's 10 most underrated songs to make ourselves feel better—and also to get them to reunite. Whad'ya say, lads?
10. 'Up All Night'
The titular track on their debut album, "Up All Night" is arguably one of the best songs off that record. We love "What Makes You Beautiful" and "One Thing," but this track is so much more fun than the two combined. We know what we said. Just try listening to this tune without dancing about like a complete fool. It's near impossible.
9. 'Girl Almighty'
We didn't love Four as much as most fans (sue us), but we were all about this track right here. It was a fairly empowering anthem coming from a boy band, which is something we didn't expect, but would love to see more of. All male-driven pop groups should appreciate women this much, if not more than they already do.
8. 'She's Not Afraid'
The second the guitars start on "She's Not Afraid," we're ready to dance till we drop. One of the reasons we love it so much is because it feels like it belongs in a musical. Every time we listen to it, we envision a huge choreographed dance number taking place in the middle of a busy street. It truly is a crime that this masterpiece wasn't gifted with a music video of that caliber.
7. 'Nobody Compares'
We know "Nobody Compares" is on the same record as "She's Not Afraid," and literally just one song away from each other, but it deserves a spot on this list. The song is so incredibly catchy that you can pick up the chorus within one listen. We might've learned the lyrics to this tune faster than any other 1D song out there. We can't even read the song title without finishing the lyric.
6. 'Little Black Dress'
Any time we don a black dress, this song plays on repeat in our head the entire time we're wearing it. Reminiscent of the iconic band Queen's style, "Little Black Dress" is an upbeat pop anthem if there ever was one. Plus, we like to think it was written about us. We know that's a long shot, but we can dream.
5. 'Stand Up'
From the moment we heard this song, everything changed. See what we did there? Up All Night really was their best album, and all the proof is in songs like this one. We know that's a pretty controversial opinion, but it's our opinion and we stand by it. Or should we say, stand up for it?
4. 'Strong'
Is it so wrong that this song makes us strong? Wow, we're really crushing it with the lyrical references thus far. In all seriousness, this song did help us realize it's perfectly okay to be vulnerable when it comes to love. We tend to be guarded, but thanks to this lovey-dovey anthem, we've learned that there's so much strength in tearing down those walls to let someone else in.
3. 'Still the One'
All of the songs from Take You Home that were featured on this list were bonus tracks for the deluxe version of the album, and we have yet another to add. Additional tracks don't always do it for us, mainly because we can tell they were simply created to extend the album and therefore market it as being "deluxe," but this song right here deserved to be the opener for the record it was on. It grabs you and won't let you go the whole way through. Of all the songs on the list, this will be the hardest to get out of our heads. Not that we'd ever want it to leave.
2. 'Tell Me a Lie'
One of the best parts about this pop-rock masterpiece is that it was written by country queen Kelly Clarkson. Though Kelly would've sounded fantastic as ever singing this upbeat hit, the boys really did find a way to make it their own. And for that, it ranks higher up on this list. Again, it's a song off Up All Night, which we feel is underappreciated in its own right. This album kicked it off for the band, so it deserves to be played more often than their recent stuff.
1. 'History'
Yes, "History" was a single. Yes, it's loved dearly by so many fans, but we wholeheartedly believe it could be way more appreciated. We've gotten fairly misty-eyed during many 1D songs, but none of them left us drowning in a pool of our own tears quite like this one. Not only is it a representation of all they accomplished during their time as a group, but it was the perfect final goodbye to all of us, the fans. And that music video was everything. We still cry every single time we watch it. You'll forever be in our hearts, 1D.
Listen to these songs whenever you want by following the playlist below:
Based on your One Direction preferences, we bet we can guess your favorite Harry Styles song. All you have to do is take THIS quiz.