| "Midnight Memories" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.png) | ||||
| Single byOne Direction | ||||
| from the albumMidnight Memories | ||||
| Released | 9 March 2014 (2014-03-09) | |||
| Recorded | 2013 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:56 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producers |
| |||
| One Direction singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Midnight Memories" onYouTube | ||||
"Midnight Memories" is a song by the English-Irish boy bandOne Direction from theirthird studio album of the same name. It was co-written byJulian Bunetta,Jamie Scott,[1]John Ryan and band membersLiam Payne andLouis 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 theIrish 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.
"Midnight Memories" was written by John Ryan,Jamie Scott,Liam Payne,Louis Tomlinson andJulian 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 toMTV News about the track, Bunetta said, "It's the title of the album and it just happens to fall in line withUp 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]
On 25 November, in a track-by-track review onBillboard writer Chris Payne and by Michael Craigg on theDaily 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 ofDef Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar on Me."[12][13]
The song was released on 20 November 2013, five days prior to the release of the album,[2] and debuted at number three on theIrish 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.
The official music video was filmed inLondon in December 2013. On 25 January 2014, it was announced that the video would premiere onVevo 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 atake-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 theRiver Thames and the video ends with the group standing on the edge ofTower Bridge.
Digital download – EP[16]
One Direction performed the song during theMidnight Memories release party in Los Angeles on 22 November 2013.[17] The song was also performed during their concert forGood Morning America on 26 November.[18] They performed the song live on the final ofThe X Factor on 15 December,[19]La Voz on 18 December[20] and the final ofThe X Factor USA on 19 December.[21][22] Also they performance two major concert tours:Where We Are Tour (2014) andOn the Road Again Tour (2015).
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 guitaristsPhil Collen andVivian Campbell confirmed toBillboard that they were not, in fact, pursuing legal action. Collen called the songs "very similar in structure", but nothing more. Campbell said: "The chords areone–four–five. Those are theblues. 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]
| 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 (GfK)[31] | 91 |
| Greece Digital Songs (Billboard)[32] | 4 |
| Hungary (Single Top 40)[33] | 5 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[34] | 3 |
| Italy (FIMI)[35] | 7 |
| Lebanon (The Official Lebanese Top 20)[36] | 8 |
| Luxembourg Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[37] | 5 |
| Mexico (Monitor Latino)[38] | 20 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[6] | 5 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[4] | 3 |
| Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[39] | 16 |
| Portugal Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[40] | 5 |
| South Korea (Gaon)[41] | 141 |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[7] | 4 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[42] | 54 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[43] | 39 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[44] | 12 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[45] | Gold | 35,000‡ |
| Mexico (AMPROFON)[46] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[47] | Platinum | 30,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[48] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)| Studio albums | |
|---|---|
| Video albums | |
| EPs | |
| Singles | |
| Promotional singles | |
| Other songs | |
| Concert tours | |
| TV and film | |
| Related | |
