Story of My Life (One Direction song)

"Story of My Life" is a song recorded by English-Irish boy band One Direction. It was released on 28 October 2013 by Syco Music and Columbia Records as the second single from the group's third studio album, Midnight Memories (2013). Written by band members Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, and Louis Tomlinson, along with Julian Bunetta, Jamie Scott, John Ryan, and Hanoch Dagan.[1][2][3][4] The lyrics speak of a tumultuous relationship leading to lament and heartbreak.

"Story of My Life"
Single by One Direction
from the album Midnight Memories
Released3 November 2013 (2013-11-03)
Recorded2013
GenreFolktronica
Length4:05 (album version) 3:37 (radio edit)
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Julian Bunetta
  • John Ryan
One Direction singles chronology
"Best Song Ever"
(2013)		 "Story of My Life"
(2013)		 "Midnight Memories"
(2014)
Music video
"Story of My Life" on YouTube

Composition

"Story of My Life" is an acoustic folktronica song with neofolk elements.[1][5] It runs for a total of four minutes and five seconds. Idolator compared the song to the works of Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, and Mumford & Sons.[1][4] The song is written and recorded in E-flat major. According to musicnotes.com, the song runs at 120 beats per minute.[6] This song was mixed by Joe Zook.

Critical reception

Sam Lanksy of Idolator called the song "surprisingly great" and noted it was a "mature midpoint" between the group's signature "rollicking pop-rock confection[s]" and "dreary ballads". Lanksy additionally called the song "merciful" and complimented it for using alternative-folk influences without "smell[ing] like spilled beer".[4] Amy Sciarretto of PopCrush gave the song 4 out of 5 stars, calling it a "contemplative, acoustic guitar-driven song" and complimenting it for being "more memorable" than any of the group's previous works. Sciarretto noted that the song would resonate with listeners of many different ages and showed that One Direction "isn't just a boy band"; although noted the song was not as "crazy catchy" as their previous songs.[1] Lauren Wheeler of TheCelebrityCafe.com gave the song 5 out of 5 stars noting that the lyrics were "reflective" and "much deeper than some of their bigger hits." Wheeler added that the song showed that One Direction "not only have range, but also have matured through their music."[7]

Chart performance

On 31 October 2013, the song debuted at number one on the Irish Singles Chart, becoming One Direction's fourth number-one single in Ireland.[8] The song also debuted at number one in New Zealand, becoming both their second number-one debut and single on the New Zealand Singles Chart.[9] The single has been unsuccessful in reaching number one in the UK on three occasions, firstly by debuting at number four, then climbing to three, and finally by stalling at two—although it was at number one on the iTunes for the entirety of that week and it peaked at number one on the UK Singles Downloads Chart. In Australia, the song debuted at number three on the ARIA Charts and has since been certified Gold.[10]

In the United States, it charted at number six, giving the band their fourth U.S. top ten single. It has charted in the top 15 for 19 weeks, seven of those in the top 10, and has become the band's second-highest selling single in the U.S. after their debut single "What Makes You Beautiful" (2011). The song also reached number one on the Adult Pop Songs chart, becoming One Direction's first number one on a U.S. airplay chart.[11] It has sold 2.8 million digital copies in the U.S. as of June 2016.[12]

Music video

Three days before the music video was uploaded, three teasers were posted, once each day. Zayn Malik and Liam Payne also posted a picture from the video with Malik posting a picture with his sister.[13][14]

The video was directed by Ben Winston, who also directed the video for their previous single "Best Song Ever". The video was accidentally published and leaked by Vevo two days earlier when they were supposed to upload the second teaser for the music video, but it was immediately removed.[15] It was then officially uploaded on 3 November 2013. The video features some the band's family members: Zayn's sister, Harry's mother, Liam's parents and sisters, Niall Horan's brother and Louis' grandparents (two of whom are now deceased). It starts in a dark room with the band developing photos. Afterwards, certain family photos for each member are shown, and the photos morph into the same family members doing a current recreation of the photos.[16] Photos included in the video consist of: Zayn, aged 7, with his little sister; Louis, aged 8, with his grandparents; Harry, aged 4, with his mother; Niall, aged 4, with his brother being aged 10 when the photo was taken; Liam aged 10, with his family.

Cover versions

Track listing
  1. "Story of My Life" – 4:04
  2. "Little Things" (live version from the motion picture One Direction: This Is Us) – 3:48
  1. "Story of My Life" – 4:04
  2. "Story of My Life" (live X Factor performance) – 4:18
  3. "Rock Me" (live version from the motion picture One Direction: This Is Us) – 4:18
  4. "C'mon C'mon" (live version from the motion picture One Direction: This Is Us) – 3:28

Charts and certifications

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[71] 4× Platinum 280,000
Canada (Music Canada)[72] 4× Platinum 320,000
Germany (BVMI)[73] Gold 150,000^
Italy (FIMI)[74] Platinum 30,000*
Japan (RIAJ)[75] Platinum 250,000*
Mexico (AMPROFON)[76] Platinum+Gold 90,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[77] Platinum 15,000*
Norway (IFPI Norway)[78] 5× Platinum 50,000*
Sweden (GLF)[79] Gold 20,000
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[80] Gold 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[81] Platinum 600,000
United States (RIAA)[82] 3× Platinum 2,860,000[12]
Venezuela (APFV)[83] Platinum 10,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Sciaretto, Amy (27 October 2013). "One Direction, 'Story of My Life' – Song Review". Popcrush.com. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  2. "One Direction Unveils 'Midnight Memories' Artwork, Track List". Billboard. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  3. "One Direction 'Midnight Memories' Cover Art, Tracklist Revealed". Mstarz. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  4. Sam Lansky (25 October 2013). "One Direction's "Story Of My Life": Hear Their Surprisingly Great New Single". Idolator.com. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  5. Anderson, Kyle (1 November 2013). "Singles: November 8,2013". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  6. One Direction "Story of My Life" Sheet Music musicnotes.com
  7. Lauren Wheeler (28 October 2013). "One Direction's "Story of My Life" Review: One Direction's single shows the maturity and talent within the band". TheCelebrityCafe.com. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  8. "Chart Track: Week 44, 2013". Irish Singles Chart.
  9. "Charts.nz – One Direction – Story of My Life". Top 40 Singles.
  10. "Australian-charts.com – One Direction – Story of My Life". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  11. "Chart Highlights: One Direction, Katy Perry, U2 Score New No. 1s". Billboard. 10 March 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  12. Trust, Gary (19 June 2016). "Ask Billboard: One Direction's Career Sales". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  13. "Zayn Malik Teases One Direction 'Story Of My Life' Video With Super Cute Snap (PHOTO)". entertainmentwise.com. 2 November 2013.
  14. "Liam Payne Teases One Direction's 'Story Of My Life' Video With Hunky Suit & Tie Snap (PHOTO)". entertainmentwise.com. 2 November 2013.
  15. Michaels, Wendy (1 November 2013). "One Direction 'Story of My Life' Video Leaked Online by VEVO". Cambio.
  16. Firman, Tehrene (2 November 2013). "One Direction Remakes Old Family Pictures in "Story of My Life"!". J-14 Magazine.
  17. "Story of My Life". 8 November 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2018 – via Amazon.
  18. "Story of My Life". 7 March 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2018 – via Amazon.
  19. "Austriancharts.at – One Direction – Story of My Life" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  20. "Ultratop.be – One Direction – Story of My Life" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  21. "Ultratop.be – One Direction – Story of My Life" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  22. "25.11.2013-01.12.2013 - IFPI at bamp-br.org" Airplay Top 5. Bulgarian Association of Music Producers.
  23. BPP, ed. (February–March 2014). "Billboard Brasil Hot 100 Airplay". Billboard Brasil (47).
  24. "One Direction Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
  25. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 201413 into search.
  26. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 201424 into search. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  27. "Danishcharts.com – One Direction – Story of My Life". Tracklisten.
  28. "One Direction: Story of My life" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  29. "Lescharts.com – One Direction – Story of My Life" (in French). Les classement single.
  30. "Offiziellecharts.de – One Direction – Story of My Life". GfK Entertainment Charts.
  31. "Greece Digital Songs: Nov 16, 2013". Billboard. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  32. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
  33. "One Direction – Story Of My Life Media Forest". Israeli Airplay Chart. Media Forest.
  34. "Italiancharts.com – One Direction – Story of My Life". Top Digital Download.
  35. "One Direction Chart History (Japan Hot 100)". Billboard.
  36. "One Direction". The Official Lebanese Top 20. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  37. "Top 20 Ingles: Del 9 Al 15 de Diciembre del 2013" (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. RadioNotas. 15 December 2013. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  38. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 46, 2013" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40
  39. "Dutchcharts.nl – One Direction – Story of My Life" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  40. "Norwegiancharts.com – One Direction – Story of My Life". VG-lista.
  41. "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  42. "Airplay 100 – 23 martie 2014" (in Romanian). Kiss FM. 23 March 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  43. "One Direction - Story Of My Life" (in Russian). Tophit. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  44. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  45. "SloTop50 – Slovenian official singles chart". slotop50.si. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  46. "Spanishcharts.com – One Direction – Story of My Life" Canciones Top 50.
  47. "EMA Top 10 Airplay: Week Ending 2014-01-07". Entertainment Monitoring Africa. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  48. "Swedishcharts.com – One Direction – Story of My Life". Singles Top 100.
  49. "Swisscharts.com – One Direction – Story of My Life". Swiss Singles Chart.
  50. "Number One Top 20" (in Turkish). Number 1 TV. 30 January 2014. Archived from the original on 1 July 2014.
  51. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  52. "One Direction Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  53. "One Direction Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 2014-04-26.
  54. "One Direction Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2014-03-06.
  55. "One Direction Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2014-02-27.
  56. "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Singles 2013". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  57. "Jaaroverzichten - Single 2013". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  58. "End of Year 2013" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  59. "Jahreshitparade Singles 2014". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  60. "Canadian Hot 100 – Year-End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  61. "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  62. "FIMI - Classifiche Annuali 2014 "TOP OF THE MUSIC" FIMI-GfK: un anno di musica italiana" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  63. "2014 Year End - Japan Hot 100 Charts". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  64. "SloTop50 | Slovenian official year-end singles charts" (in Slovenian). Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  65. "Årslista Singlar – År 2014" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  66. "Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  67. "Adult Contemporary Songs – Year-End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  68. "Adult Pop Songs – Year-End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  69. "Pop Songs – Year-End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  70. "SloTop50: Slovenian official year end singles chart". slotop50.si. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  71. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2020 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020.
  72. "Canadian single certifications – One Direction – Story of My Life". Music Canada. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  73. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (One Direction; 'Story of My Life')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  74. "Italian single certifications – One Direction – Story of My Life" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 30 December 2014. Select "2014" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Story of My Life" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli online" under "Sezione".
  75. "Japanese single digital certifications – ワン･ダイレクション – ストーリー･オブ･マイ・ライフ" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 2014年4月 on the drop-down menu
  76. "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved 11 July 2016. Type One Direction in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Story of My Life in the box under TÍTULO
  77. "New Zealand single certifications – One Direction – Story of My Life". Recorded Music NZ.
  78. "Norwegian single certifications – One Direction – Story of My Life" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway.
  79. "Veckolista Singlar, vecka 49, 2013 | Sverigetopplistan" (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  80. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (One Direction; 'Story of My Life')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  81. "British single certifications – One Direction – Story of My Life". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  82. "American single certifications – One Direction – Story of My Life". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
  83. APFV (16 June 2014). "Certificaciones De Venezuela Del 2013" (PDF) (in Spanish). APFV. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.