Moments (One Direction song)

"Moments" is a song by English-Irish boy band One Direction from their debut studio album, Up All Night (2011). It was written by Ed Sheeran, and Si Hulbert, the song's producer. In 2011, as One Direction member Harry Styles told Sheeran that the boy band did not have enough songs for their album, Sheeran offered "Moments" as a track that he "was never going to use".

"Moments"
Song by One Direction
from the album Up All Night
Recorded2012
GenrePop
Length4:22
LabelSyco
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Si Hulbert

The song is a mid-tempo pop ballad about a love lost to distance, or a boy who commits suicide after the death of his lover. Instrumentation includes a lightly strummed guitar and intermediate piano lines. The ballad received generally positive reviews from music critics, who noted the song's memorability and complimented its composition. Upon the release of Up All Night, "Moments" charted in lower regions on the singles charts of Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom due to strong digital download sales. One Direction performed the song on all three of their major concert tours: Up All Night Tour (2011–12), Take Me Home Tour (2013) and Where We Are Tour (2014).

Background
The song was co-written by Ed Sheeran (pictured).

After being formed and finishing third in the seventh series of The X Factor in 2010,[1] One Direction were signed to Syco Music. Recording for their debut studio album, Up All Night, began in January 2011.[2] In February 2011, the boy band and other contestants from the series participated in the X Factor Live Tour. After the tour concluded in April 2011, the group continued working on their debut album.[2] "Moments" was written by Ed Sheeran and Si Hulbert,[3] and produced by Hulbert.[3] In an April 2012 interview with news.com.au, Sheeran said that he wrote the track "years ago."[4] In 2011, Sheeran met One Direction's Harry Styles at his "guitarist's friend's house".[4] The group were putting their debut studio album together at the time.[4] Sheeran had a CD with him of 40 songs that he was going to give to publishers.[4] As the boy band did not have enough songs for their album, Sheeran told Styles, "Here's a CD. If you want one of these songs, have it."[4] The song ended up on the deluxe edition of the album.[5] Sheeran acknowledged that he was happy with the outcome, "It was a song I was never going to use. To have it on a multi-platinum selling album is quite nice."[4] During the album's UK launch in late 2011, member Louis Tomlinson referred to the song as his favourite track on the album.[6] Niall Horan also commented, "getting to write and record with Sheeran on our album was an honour."[7]

Composition and lyrics

"Moments" is a mid-tempo pop ballad.[8] Written in the key of D major,[9] the beat is set in common time and moves at a moderate 150 beats per minute.[9] One Direction's vocal range in the song span from the note of D4 to A5.[9] "Moments" utilises a gently strummed guitar and intermediate piano lines.[9] Inspired by the breakdown of a relationship between Sheeran and an unnamed woman,[4] the song's lyrics revolve around an unrequited love.[4][10] The chorus of the song is essentially built on the hook, "You know I'll be your life, your voice, your reason to be/ My love, my heart is breathing for this moment in time/I'll find the words to say/ Before you leave me today."[9][11]

Critical reception

"Moments" received generally positive reviews from music critics, many of whom praised its musical arrangement and memorability. Alex Hughes from The Huffington Post characterised the song as "heartbreaking".[12] Hollywood Life and AllMusic both rated "Moments" as one of the best songs on Up All Night.[13][14] Herald Sun writer Cameron Adams referred to the track as a "classic boy band ballad".[8] Entertainment Weekly's Adam Markovitz cited the lyrics "be your life, your voice, your reason to be", writing that "Lyrics like that won't help the group earn much respect in music circles. But if a tween-pop empire is what these boys are after, they're definitely headed in the right direction".[15] Erica Futterman for Rolling Stone opined that the track's lyricism is "quintessentially swoonworthy" toward an audience aged approximately 8 to 12 and female.[11]

Chart performance

Upon the release of Up All Night, "Moments" debuted on multiple world charts due to strong digital download sales. The song debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 118 on the chart issue of 3 December 2011.[16] "Moments" was One Direction's sixth best-selling song in the UK by August 2012.[17] It bowed on the Canadian Hot 100 at number 87 on the chart issue of 21 March 2012.[18] It also entered the Australian Singles Chart at number 60 on the chart issue date of 8 April 2012.[19]

Live performances
One Direction performing "Moments" in Toronto, February 2012.

One Direction performed the song on three of their major concert tours: Up All Night Tour (2011–12), Take Me Home Tour (2013) & Where We Are Tour (2014).[20][21] Idolator editor Mike Wass felt the vocal ensemble performed a "rousing rendition" of the song at Sydney's Hordern Pavilion and noted, "Louis [Tomlinson] described it as his favourite song on Up All Night and he's not alone in that opinion if the swooning girls in the audience are any indication".[22] Herald Sun writer Cameron Adams opined that the performance of "Moments" at Melbourne's Hisense Arena showcased the group's "strong pop voices".[8] Erica Futterman for Rolling Stone assessed that the performance of the track at New York City's Beacon Theatre was the most tender moment of the show.[11] Jane Stevenson of Canoe.ca listed the performance of the number at Toronto's Molson Canadian Amphitheatre among the show's highlights.[23] The song was later included on the DVD release, Up All Night: The Live Tour.[24]

Charts
Chart (2011–12) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[19] 60
Canadian Hot 100 (Billboard)[18] 87
UK Singles Chart (OCC)[16] 118

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[25] Gold 35,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Daniel Sperling (12 December 2010). "One Direction finish 3rd in 'X Factor' final". Digital Spy (Hearst Corporation). Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  2. Ed Miller (16 August 2011). "Sony excited about One Direction potential". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  3. "Moments". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
  4. Cameron Adams (19 April 2012). "Ed Sheeran on Google, bad reviews and One Direction". news.com.au. News Limited. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  5. Up All Night (liner notes). One Direction. Syco Music, Sony Music Entertainment. 2011.CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. "One Direction's Louis: "Ed Sheeran Album Track Is My Favourite"". Capital FM. Global Radio. 18 November 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  7. "One Direction unveil new album cover". Official Charts Company. 17 October 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  8. Cameron Adams (18 April 2012). "One Direction infection sweeps Melbourne". Herald Sun. The Herald and Weekly Times. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  9. "One Direction – Moments Sheet Music". Musicnotes.com (EMI Music Publishing). Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  10. Jocelyn Vena (19 October 2012). "One Direction's Pal Ed Sheeran Penned Their Next U.K. Single". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  11. Erica Futterman (27 May 2012). "One Direction Make a Play For Longevity on First American Headlining Tour". Rolling Stone. Jann Wenner. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  12. Alex Hughes (19 April 2012). "I Love One Direction and You Should Too". The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  13. Hollywood Life Staff (19 April 2012). "Review: One Direction's 'Up All Night' Is Our New Addiction — 4 Out Of 5 Stars". Hollywood Life. PMC Media. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  14. Matthew Chisling (21 November 2011). "Up All Night – One Direction". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  15. Adam Markovitz (20 March 2012). "MUSIC REVIEW Up All Night (2012) One Direction". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  16. "UK Singles Chart: CLUK Update (3.12.2011 – week 48)". United Kingdom: ChartsPlus. 3 December 2011. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  17. Dan Lane (2 August 2012). "One Direction sell 12 million singles, albums and DVD and Blu-rays worldwide". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  18. "One Direction Song Chart History: Billboard Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. United States: Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  19. "Chartifacts - Week Commencing: 8th April 2012". Australia: Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). 8 April 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  20. "One Direction Launch 'Up All Night' UK Tour In Wolverhampton". Capital. Global Radio. 22 December 2011. Archived from the original on 9 April 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  21. "One Direction Launch 'Take Me Home' World Tour With Two Sold-Out Shows In London". Capital FM. Global Radio. 22 February 2013. Archived from the original on 1 March 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  22. Mike Wass (13 April 2012). "One Direction Live In Sydney: Concert Review". Idolator. Buzz Media. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  23. Stevenson, Jane (30 May 2012). "Concert Review: Live Review: One Direction in T.O". Canoe.ca. Québecor Média. Archived from the original on 10 July 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  24. Lewis Corner (12 April 2012). "One Direction perform 'Moments' on tour – video". Digital Spy (Hearst Corporation). Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  25. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2020 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
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