One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful screenshot | Simco/Sony
Given the focus on its tenth anniversary celebration, One Direction unsurprisingly enjoyed a strong YouTube performance during the July 17-23 tracking period.
According to preliminary data, the group received 68.7 million plays across official uploads and other eligible content. The figure more than doubles the group’s recent average — and should be enough to secure One Direction a spot on this week’s Global YouTube Artists Chart.
The activity was spread across numerous One Direction tracks, but there were some clear winners during the tracking period. The group’s breakthrough hit “What Makes You Beautiful” led the way with about 4.9 million streams. The song also benefited from the late-week release of a 4K video.
Other top performers included “Story Of My Life” (3.6 million, #2), “Night Changes” (3.1 million, #3), “Drag Me Down” (2.8 million, #4), “Steal My Girl” (2.6 million, #5), “You & I” (2.5 million, #6), “History” (2.4 million, #7), “One Thing” (2.1 million, #8), “Perfect” (2.0 million, #9), and “Kiss You” (1.9 million, #10).