"Midnight Memories"
Single by One Direction
from the album Midnight Memories
Released9 March 2014 (2014-03-09)
Recorded2013
Genre
Length2:56
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Jamie Scott
  • Julian Bunetta
  • John Ryan
One Direction singles chronology
"Story of My Life"
(2013)		 "Midnight Memories"
(2014)		 "You & I"
(2014)
Music video
"Midnight Memories" on YouTube

"Midnight Memories" is a song by the English-Irish boy band One Direction from their third studio album of the same name. It was co-written by Julian Bunetta, Jamie Scott,[1] John Ryan and band members Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson.

The song was released on 20 November 2013, five days prior to the release of the album,[2] and debuted at number three on the Irish Singles Chart the following day. It has since peaked in the top 10 of nine other countries around the world, including Australia,[3] New Zealand,[4] Denmark,[5] the Netherlands[6] and Spain.[7]

On 25 January 2014, it was announced that "Midnight Memories" would be the third single from the album. It received an official release on 9 March 2014.

Background and release

"Midnight Memories" was written by John Ryan, Jamie Scott, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Julian Bunetta and produced by Bunetta.[8] It is the second single to be written by members of the band, following the previous single of the same album, "Story of My Life". Talking to MTV News about the track, Bunetta said, "It's the title of the album and it just happens to fall in line with Up All Night, Take Me Home, it's all references to in the evening. And midnight memories are where most of the memories of this record were made. [It] was between midnight and 5 in the morning. We have so many memories of just being in the studio or being after a show or being in the back of the bus or going to one of the guys' places and hanging and writing. Or, just when you're young and that's when you kind of have all your experiences."[9]

On 24 January 2014, Payne revealed through a video on the band's YouTube channel that "Midnight Memories" would serve as the third single of the album outside the US.[10][11]

Critical reception

On 25 November, in a track-by-track review on Billboard writer Chris Payne and by Michael Craigg on the Daily Mirror opined that "it opens with groovy guitar licks, leads into a peppy pre-chorus, and rocks out in the chorus behind a riff reminiscent of Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar on Me."[12][13]

Chart performance

The song was released on 20 November 2013, five days prior to the release of the album,[2] and debuted at number three on the Irish Singles Chart the following day. It has since peaked in the top 10 of nine other countries around the world, including Australia,[3] New Zealand,[4] Denmark,[5] the Netherlands[6] and Spain.[7] It was less successful in the UK upon its release, only just managing to peak inside the top 40 at number 39.

Music video

The official music video was filmed in London in December 2013. On 25 January 2014, it was announced that the video would premiere on Vevo at midnight on 31 January.[14] To date, the video has over 200 million views.[15] The video begins with One Direction at a house party, they are all bored until the DJ starts playing "Midnight Memories". They then leave the house and over run a take-away. They flirt with and ride around the streets of London with five elderly women on motorized scooters, steal a police boat and ride down the River Thames and the video ends with the group standing on the edge of Tower Bridge.

Track listing

Digital download – EP[16]

  1. "Midnight Memories" – 2:55
  2. "Story of My Life" (Live X Factor performance) – 4:18
  3. "Rock Me" (Live version from the Motion Picture One Direction: This Is Us) – 4:15
  4. "C'mon, C'mon" (Live version from the Motion Picture One Direction: This Is Us) – 3:27

Live performances

One Direction performed the song during the Midnight Memories release party in Los Angeles on 22 November 2013.[17] The song was also performed during their concert for Good Morning America on 26 November.[18] They performed the song live on the final of The X Factor on 15 December,[19] La Voz on 18 December[20] and the final of The X Factor USA on 19 December.[21][22] Also they performance two major concert tours: Where We Are Tour (2014) and On the Road Again Tour (2015).

Controversy

On 19 December 2013, it was announced that Def Leppard had asked their lawyers to look into allegations that "Midnight Memories" and "Pour Some Sugar on Me" bear striking similarities. However, Def Leppard guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell confirmed to Billboard that they were not, in fact, pursuing legal action. Collen called the songs "very similar in structure", but nothing more. Campbell said: "The chords are one-four-five. Those are the blues. You don’t get more basic than that. I think what’s more reminiscent of the Leppard thing is the production, the sound, the vocals, the reverb and the way it’s assembled.[23]

Charts

Chart (2013–15) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[24] 45
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[25] 22
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[26] 4
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[27] 8
Brazil (Billboard Brasil Hot 100)[28] 95
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[29] 35
Denmark (Tracklisten)[5] 2
France (SNEP)[30] 14
Germany (Official German Charts)[31] 91
Hungary (Single Top 40)[32] 5
Ireland (IRMA)[33] 3
Italy (FIMI)[34] 7
Lebanon (The Official Lebanese Top 20)[35] 8
Mexico (Monitor Latino)[36] 20
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[6] 5
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[4] 3
Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[37] 16
South Korea (Gaon)[38] 141
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[7] 4
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[39] 54
UK Singles (OCC)[40] 39
US Billboard Hot 100[41] 12

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[42] Gold 35,000‡
Mexico (AMPROFON)[43] Gold 30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[44] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. 1 2 Scott, Jamie (12 October 2013). "Twitter / Jamie ScottG6: So everyone can stop guessing...I co wrote 2,3,4,5,7,11 and 14 That's half i think... This album is gonna be EPIC. #MidnightMemories". Twitter. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  2. 1 2 "One Direction Release Title Track From 'Midnight Memories' As New Song - Audio". Capital FM. 21 November 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Australia Digital Songs". Billboard. 7 December 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 "One Direction – Midnight Memories". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 "One Direction – Midnight Memories". Tracklisten. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 "One Direction – Midnight Memories" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 "One Direction – Midnight Memories" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  8. ↑ Midnight Memories (liner notes). One Direction. Syco Music. 2013.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ↑ Vena, Jocelyn (25 November 2013). "One Direction's Midnight Memories: Go Inside Their Late-Night Recording Sessions". MTV News. MTV. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  10. ↑ "Liam Payne Gets Ready To Make Some Midnight Memories! Announces One Direction's Next Single!". PerezHilton. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  11. ↑ Oredein, Tobi (25 January 2014). "One Direction's Liam Payne Confirms 'Midnight Memories' As Band's Next Single". EntertainmentWise. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  12. ↑ Payne, Chris (25 November 2013). "One Direction, 'Midnight Memories': Track-By-Track Review". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  13. ↑ Cragg, Michael (25 November 2013). "1D: Midnight Memories review, track by track verdict of One Direction's new album". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  14. ↑ Smith, Carl (25 January 2013). "One Direction unveil official 'Midnight Memories' single artwork and announce music video premiere date". sugarscape.com. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  15. ↑ "One Direction - Midnight Memories". YouTube. 29 September 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  16. ↑ "Midnight Memories - EP". iTunes Store (Apple Inc.). Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  17. ↑ "One Direction Celebrates Upcoming 'Midnight Memories' Release in L.A. With Performance, Q&A". Billboard. 23 November 2013.
  18. ↑ "One Direction Plays 'Midnight Memories' Live | Video - ABC News". ABC News.
  19. ↑ Rigby, Sam (2 December 2013). "Elton John, The Killers, One Direction for 'The X Factor' final". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  20. ↑ "One Direction Heats Up The Voice Spain Stage & Melts Our Hearts Singing Story Of My Life!".
  21. ↑ "Top Three Finalists Announced on 'The X Factor'". TV By The Numbers by zap2it.com. Archived from the original on 16 December 2013.
  22. ↑ "Demi Lovato One Direction X-Factor USA".
  23. ↑ "Def Leppard Denies It'll Take Legal Action Against One Direction for Similar-Sounding Song". Billboard. 20 December 2013.
  24. ↑ "One Direction – Midnight Memories". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  25. ↑ "One Direction – Midnight Memories" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  26. ↑ "One Direction – Midnight Memories" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  27. ↑ "One Direction – Midnight Memories" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  28. ↑ "Hot 100 Billboard Brasil - weekly". Billboard Brasil. May 2014. Archived from the original on 14 May 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  29. ↑ "One Direction Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  30. ↑ "One Direction – Midnight Memories" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  31. ↑ "One Direction – Midnight Memories" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  32. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  33. ↑ "Chart Track: Week 47, 2013". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  34. ↑ "One Direction – Midnight Memories". Top Digital Download.
  35. ↑ Direction "One Direction". The Official Lebanese Top 20. Retrieved 14 April 2014. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  36. ↑ "Top 20 General: Del 24 Al 30 De Marzo de 2014". Monitor Latino (in Spanish). RadioNotas. 31 March 2014. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  37. ↑ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  38. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  39. ↑ "One Direction – Midnight Memories". Swiss Singles Chart.
  40. ↑ "One Direction: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  41. ↑ "One Direction Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  42. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2020 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  43. ↑ "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved 7 October 2020. Type One Direction in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Midnight Memories in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.
  44. ↑ "British single certifications – One Direction – Midnight Memories". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
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