What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction reaches 1 billion streams on Spotify!

“What Makes You Beautiful” was One Direction’s first hit, a track from the band’s first album, “Up All Night”, from 2011, and today it reached the mark of one billion streams on Spotify.

The number shows the scale of the song's success, which continues to be heard today by a legion of fans. The success of the hit and the music video boosted the careers of the five original members: Harry, Zayn, Niall, Louis and Liam, who today continue as solo singers.

Shortly before the milestone was reached, Liam Payne took to Instagram with an old photo with all the members of One Direction to celebrate the success of the song and the band's trajectory, as well as thanking their fans.

_{Liam thanks his former companions for the success of “WMYB”, with almost a billion streams (Reproduction/Instagram/@liampayne)}

In the caption of the publication, Liam also wrote: “I'm so happy that for 5 years we made such a great soundtrack for life, for me and for everyone who could listen and share the pain of laughter and everything that was between us. I miss you guys”.

The first success

Released in 2011, the track is part of the first of the band's five albums and established One Direction as the boyband of the last decade. “What Makes You Beautiful” exploded as a song and video clip all over the world, and led the band to gain fans in the most diverse countries. Upon its release, the track set a Sony Music record with more than 53,965 copies in its first week.

In their five-year joint career, this is not the first song to achieve this feat. Previously the hits “Night Changes“and the classic”Story of My Life” also reached the mark of one billion streams. However, as it is a nostalgic song that represents the beginning of One Direction's success, the achievement has a sentimental tone for fans and former members.

Remember the band

Formed during the British program “The X Factor” in 2010, the band originally consisted of Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne. With a five-year trajectory, he achieved worldwide success and tours all over the world, as well as a group of loyal fans.

In 2015, after four successful albums, Zayn Malik retired from the band, which continued for another year with the four remaining members before disbanding in 2016. Fans, however, are always speculating about a possible return, and the members do not rule out the possibility in interviews.

Featured photo: One Direction's hit reaches a historic milestone of one billion streams after 12 years of release. Reproduction/Youtube/One Direction