1D Fans Surprise The Band With The Best Gift Ever

Band fandoms (bandoms?) are some of the most visceral, passionate, and determined groups of people on this planet. One Direction fans, of course, being a prime example of this — especially after a select group of One Direction fans took out a full-page ad in Billboard to congratulate the band on their upcoming album, Made in the A.M. Trust me when I say that I am no stranger to seeing what fans can accomplish as a group, but this has to be one of the most kickass things I have ever heard of in my life. And as for One Direction's reactions? The guys are touched, honored, and, frankly, in awe. As you should be, One Direction. As you should be.

The idea for the #TilTheEndFanProject was started by three twenty-something 1D fans from Australia who wanted to raise money to run a Billboard ad for fans all across the globe to publicly congratulate the band on their upcoming album and thank them for everything that they've done. Fans all over the world donated approximately $6000 to get 'er done and Billboard ran the full-page ad — which you can check out below! — in their Oct. 24 issue.

The guys were stunned:

"With the pressures that come along with this, it would’ve very been easy for Liam, Louis, Harry and Niall to call it quits and live like normal guys in their 20s but instead they’ve decided that they’re not ready for One Direction to end, and neither are we!" the leaders of the #TilTheEndFanProject wrote on their site. "There has been so much media speculation that this is the end of One Direction and we want to publicly thank the boys for staying on the ride and let them know that the fans are still with them…#tiltheend. What better way to do it than in a magazine that is regarded as the industry bible, Billboard Magazine?"

As a fan who is grateful to her bands beyond measure, I understand how important it is to be able to thank the people who have changed your life in so many ways. And because it's easy for these simple "thank yous" to get lost in a sea of spammy tweets or difficult to say even in person when fans everywhere are swarming the band, sometimes you just have to make a big, bold statement like this to let the band know how important they are to you, but also to so many. And to see the band so genuinely appreciate and acknowledge it (no generic, "All the love - H" tweet from Harry Styles here!), I am sure means more to those fans than words can say.

Congratulations, One Direction fans! You did it.