There are a few moments in pop culture history that can never be forgotten, and One Direction covering “Teenage Dirtbag” is one of them.
Fans got up close and personal with the U.K. boy band — Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik — in their 3-D concert movie, One Direction: This Is Us. The film included footage from the singers’ lives before and after their X Factor UK fame, as well as from their time on the road for the Take Me Home Tour.
When the movie hit theaters in August 2013, fans also got to see live performances from the band’s sold-out concerts. Between their clean-cut hits — “One Thing” and “What Makes You Beautiful,” to name a few — One Direction embraced their edgier side with a cover of Wheatus’ best-known song.
Let Us set the scene: Horan and bass player Sandy Beales strumming the instantly recognizable 2000 pop punk tune, bobbing their heads perfectly in sync. The crowd screams as Styles — looking very demure in a black T-shirt and skinny jeans, a far cry from his Love on Tour fashion — sings the opening verse.
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Showing off his best Elvis Presley-style coiffure, Tomlinson joins in for the chorus before Malik’s high-flying solo moment, the tell-tale sign of a true 1D banger. Flames erupt on stage, and comic book sketches flash on the screen behind the band, transforming the music superstars into superheroes.
It’s a performance that will remain iconic for those of Us who were in the trenches during One Direction’s peak stardom. While there’s (sadly) no official recording of the cover, the “Teenage Dirtbag” scene has garnered more than 26 million views on YouTube in the last 10 years. It can even be argued that the cover was an indicator of where the band would take their sound next.
The 2013 tour promoted One Direction’s sophomore album, Take Me Home, which followed their pop-oriented debut, Up All Night. For their third record, Midnight Memories, the group introduced a more mature rock element. Their cover of Blondie’s “One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)” was also released during the Midnight Memories era.
The band went on to release their fourth album, aptly titled Four, before tragedy struck the One Direction fandom. In March 2015, Malik announced his departure from the group.
“My life with One Direction has been more than I could ever have imagined. … I’d like to apologize to the fans if I’ve let anyone down, but I have to do what feels right in my heart,” he wrote in a statement at the time.
Malik continued, “I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight. I know I have four friends for life in Louis, Liam, Harry and Niall. I know they will continue to be the best band in the world.”
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Later that year, the remaining members of One Direction released Made in the A.M. In January 2016, the band announced their indefinite hiatus, and all five members have gone on to pursue solo careers. While it’s unclear whether the OG group will ever reunite, some of the singers have given Us hope.
“I very much enjoyed those albums. … I think we all went through something really special together and there’s a lot of love there,” Styles said in a 2022 podcast interview. “So, yeah, I think if there’s a moment for us to do it the right way, I think it’d be great.”
Horan later hinted that the group chats with his former bandmates had been popping off more than usual, but Tomlinson had a longer timeline in mind.
“I don’t see anything happening for at least another 10 years, but you never know,” he told The Telegraph in 2022. “[The schedule] looks pretty jumbled. But I think there is a world where it all kind of fits together.”
