After One Direction announced this past summer that they were going on an "extended hiatus," fans wondered if that was just another way of saying they were breaking up. Then more bad news came when it was revealed that the British boy band wasn't resigning their record contract, forcing some to deal with the fact that this could be a more permanent hiatus. Still, many erred on the side of caution, hoping that the 1D break-up rumors were just rumors. But after watching One Direction's video for "History," you can't help but feel like Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson are saying their final goodbye with a look back before they move forward.
The video starts with footage of all the boys, even Zayn Malik, standing on the X Factor stage together, looking like kids with their hoodies and simple haircuts. Way, way before Louis Tomlinson became a father. It's where the world first got a glimpse of the teenage boys that would bring back the boy band for a new generation. It's where they got their start and also the same place One Direction performed their final pre-hiatus concert. Could it be the sign that they were taking things full circle, that the X Factor stage would mark both their birth and their death?
When Styles sings, "Keep getting the feeling you wanna leave this all behind/ Thought we were going strong, thought we were holding on/ Aren't we?" on this Made in the A.M. track many assumed this was a message to Malik, who left the group back in May 2015. But what if the line was supposed to be the voice of all their fans, their loyal Directioners who are asking One Direction about their current status as a band. The video, which reads like a "This Is Your Life" segment, seems like the perfect answer: It was fun while it lasted, but it's time to move on.
Listening to their latest record — 1D's fifth in five years — you can't help but read it as a love letter to fans, but also one that lays it all out on the line. It's like someone being honest because they know they're on borrowed time. This would certainly be a reason to get all nostalgic in a video for a song called "History" if you realized that time is dwindling down. But, this video is about celebrating that time they had, letting it be known there's no need for the heartbreak because "You and me got a whole lot of history/ So don't let it go, we can make some more, we can live forever." At least in your memories.
Throughout the video, we see these black and white scenes of the early days. The guys smiling together on the set of their music videos like "What Makes You Beautiful" and "Drag Me Down." There's footage of them in the studio making their many albums or on tour, goofing around on the tour bus. We see them watching their fans chase their car like they were The Beatles and swarms of them standing outside their hotel room. But it ends with all four of the guys hugging it out on that X Factor stage and then waving goodbye to one another. It's a rather poetic way to show the times have changed, these guys have changed and they don't want to hold on anymore to what they were — they want to follow their passions, even if it leads them in more than one direction.
Some have been preparing themselves for this day for a while now — Bustle even prophesied when One Direction would call it quits way back in 2014 by — knowing that nothing this good could ever last forever. But, whether fans need to prepare themselves for an extended hiatus or a permanent split, one thing is true, 'tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. Not to mention, their music will never go away, nor will any of those memes of Styles falling onstage. These are the memories that will keep One Direction going strong. As the boys say in this song, this is not the end — it's just the beginning of something new. There's a whole lot more history to be made.
Image: Giphy
