So One Direction is breaking up. Or are they? The news didn’t hurt them at all. Indeed, “Drag Me Down,” which had been languishing on the iTunes chart around number 12, is up to number 5 over night.
update 1:30pm– it’s up to number 4
It’s too soon to know what’s happened at radio, and whether “Drag Me Down” is going to get played more because One Direction is now the topic of news. But the leaked story from People.com certainly catalyzed what had been a dreary singles launch for the group.
Last week, after I wrote that the single was floundering, One Direction’s PR countered that they didn’t need a video to have a hit. Right after that they launched a video that got over 4 million views on YouTube. But the video didn’t seem to spur singles sales of “Drag Me Down.”
I am told that the 5th One Direction album, probably called “Five,” will hit stores before Christmas. The likely date is November 6, so Sony can beat Universal Music Group’s Justin Bieber album to the punch. If not, they’ll have to go closer to Christmas.
And then what? For some reason, the “word” is that One Direction will stay together through February to promote– but not to tour for– the album. My guess is that if the album is a hit, they might be encouraged to do more. But if it’s a flop, the “hiatus” gives them an out.
