With “Midnight Memories” at over 200,000 units presold according to Popdust here, it is obvious the One Direction phenom ain’t over as the scary album # 3 Midnight Memories drops this Tuesday. I used to think the problem was the sophomore jinx but it really works like this.
1. First album makes it
2. Second album doubles it
3. Third album loses it.
Ask Lady Gaga who, for no reason I can fathom went The Fame smash, Born This Way smasher, Artpop not so fast. I am really surprised Artpop isn’t percolating, it is better than BTW and yet looks like a disaster in waiting. PRISM wasn’t anyway near as good as Teenage Dreams (third album by the way) so OK, I get it to a degree but Gaga’s album is a goodie.
Of the three songs I’ve heard off Midnight Memories, I’ll give them two and pass on the grown up 1D. Of especial interest is the strange “Diana” one part lost love song, one part memory of a Princess by a band on a fame trajectory. “Best Song Ever” is better than a song called “Best Song Ever” ever has the right to be and “Story Of My Life” is a loser and way too serious.
But the three together suggests the band are
1. Moving on
and
2. Staying in place
And for a pop band, a boy band, a TV reality show band, to maintain it through three albums, well the band have something going on that doesn’t appear to be going on. It seems to be having at the side of your vision. It might be hype but it can’t be all hype.