What Makes You Beautiful

"What Makes You Beautiful" is a song by the English-Irish boy band One Direction. It served as their debut single and lead single from their debut studio album, Up All Night (2011). Written by Savan Kotecha and its producers, Rami Yacoub and Carl Falk, the song was released by Syco Records on 11 September 2011. After recording it at Cosmos Studios and Kinglet Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, the band felt relieved to have a song that they were happy to release as their first single. The track is an uptempo song which interpolates pop genres teen pop, power pop and pop rock. It features a prominent guitar-based chorus and riff, and the middle eight consists of a "na na na" hook.

The song was generally complimented by contemporary music critics, who highlighted the appeal to the teenage audience and the pop sensibility. It debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, after setting a Sony Music Entertainment pre-order record and selling 153,965 copies in its first week. The single also topped the Irish and Scottish Singles Charts, and reached the top ten on the Australian and New Zealand Singles Charts, Flemish Ultratop 50, Canadian Hot 100, Japan Hot 100 and the United States Billboard Hot 100. It peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and, as of January 2013, has sold over four million copies in the US. With over 5 million copies sold worldwide, the track is the best-selling song by a boy band in digital history and among the best-selling singles of all time.

The accompanying music video was directed by John Urbano and depicts One Direction spending time on a Malibu, California, beach. The clip garnered the group three MTV Video Music Awards on 6 September 2012, including Best Pop Video. One Direction performed the song live on televised shows, at awards ceremonies, and on two of their major concert tours: Up All Night Tour (2011–12) and Take Me Home Tour (2013). Artists including Boyce Avenue, Parade, Rita Ora, the Piano Guys, and Josh Groban have covered "What Makes You Beautiful", and it was performed on an episode of Glee, "Prom-asaurus". "What Makes You Beautiful" won the BRIT Award for Best British Single at the 2012 ceremony.

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