Moments (One Direction song)

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

"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".

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

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] 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][10]

Critical reception

"Moments" received generally positive reviews from

The Huffington Post characterised the song as "heartbreaking".[11] Hollywood Life and AllMusic both rated "Moments" as one of the best songs on Up All Night.[12][13] 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".[14] Erica Futterman for Rolling Stone opined that the track's lyricism is "quintessentially swoonworthy" toward an audience aged approximately 8 to 12 and female.[10]

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.[15] "Moments" was One Direction's sixth best-selling song in the UK by August 2012.[16] It bowed on the Canadian Hot 100 at number 87 on the chart issue of 21 March 2012.[17] It also entered the Australian Singles Chart at number 60 on the chart issue date of 8 April 2012.[18]

Live performances

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

One Direction performed the song on three of their major concert tours:

Molson Canadian Amphitheatre among the show's highlights.[22] The song was later included on the DVD release, Up All Night: The Live Tour.[23]

Charts

Chart (2011–12) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[18] 60
Canadian Hot 100 (Billboard)[17] 87
UK Singles Chart (OCC)[15] 118

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[24] Gold 35,000
Mexico (AMPROFON)[25] Gold 30,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. Hearst Corporation
    ). Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  2. ^ a b Ed Miller (16 August 2011). "Sony excited about One Direction potential". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  3. ^
    Rovi Corporation
    . Retrieved 30 June 2012.
  4. ^
    News Limited. Archived from the original
    on 20 April 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  5. Sony Music Entertainment. 2011.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link
    )
  6. 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. ^ a b c Cameron Adams (18 April 2012). "One Direction infection sweeps Melbourne". Herald Sun. The Herald and Weekly Times. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  9. ^ a b c d e "One Direction – Moments Sheet Music". Musicnotes.com (EMI Music Publishing). 20 April 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  10. ^ a b c 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.
  11. The Huffington Post
    . TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  12. ^ 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. Archived from the original on 28 June 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  13. ^ Matthew Chisling (21 November 2011). "Up All Night – One Direction". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  14. ^ Adam Markovitz (20 March 2012). "MUSIC REVIEW Up All Night (2012) One Direction". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Archived from the original on 5 November 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  15. ^ a b "UK Singles Chart: CLUK Update (3.12.2011 – week 48)". United Kingdom: ChartsPlus. 3 December 2011. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ a b "One Direction Song Chart History: Billboard Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. United States: Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  18. ^ a b "Chartifacts - Week Commencing: 8th April 2012". Australia: Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). 8 April 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  19. ^ "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.
  20. ^ "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.
  21. Buzz Media
    . Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  22. Québecor Média. Archived from the original on 10 July 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link
    )
  23. ^ Lewis Corner (12 April 2012). "One Direction perform 'Moments' on tour – video". Digital Spy (Hearst Corporation). Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  24. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2020 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  25. ^ "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved 24 August 2022. Type One Direction in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Moments in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.

External links