On The Idea of You's companion album, the film's star Nicholas Galitzine sings, "I think I need a new direction lately," a sly reference to the boy band One Direction.
The album is a clever marketing ploy for a romantic comedy based on a book inspired by One Direction heartthrob Harry Styles. It follows the romance between Styles' stand-in, Hayes Campbell (played by Galitzine), a member of the boy band August Moon, and Solène (Anne Hathaway), a 40-year-old gallerist and mother. The film's creators aimed to reinvent One Direction with a 2024 twist.
When the trailer dropped, Directioners immediately noticed two creative liberties taken by The Idea of You: August Moon's loose pants (One Direction was famously of the skintight black jean persuasion) and the idea that in the film's universe, a boy band like One Direction headlines Coachella. But what about August Moon's sound?
August Moon's music was penned by Savan Kotecha and Carl Falk, the same songwriters responsible for One Direction's smash hit "What Makes You Beautiful." When the first August Moon single, "Dance Before You Walk," dropped fans immediately heard the similarities with Kotecha and Falk's work with One Direction. While Kotecha told Mashable that One Direction wasn't a musical inspiration for the album, the resemblances are undeniable.
I'm here to answer the question, does August Moon have that one thing? Here are seven August Moon songs ranked by how likely they could pass as a One Direction tune.
7. "Taste"
Through the years, One Direction's sound morphed from Euro-pop to pop-rock to the kind of music you play when you're driving with the windows down — but the closest the boys ever got to something as groovy as this was "Never Enough," which is to say not very close. "Taste" is not and will never be a One Direction song, it's too funky. It borrows its sound from a much more modern boy band: BTS. The track has the same groovy bones as the K-pop group's No. 1 single "Dynamite."
Thematically it's on par with One Direction songs of the horny variety like "No Control," "Change Your Ticket," and "Perfect."
Most One Direction lyric: "Any time I'm on the road (road) / Just tell me where to go"
6. "The Idea of You"
One thing the boys never did was get a woman involved. The boy band didn't need to do duets because they were already singing in a quintet. But it's very curious that "The Idea of You" duet is with singer-songwriter Anne-Marie, who's already in the One Direction universe. She released a duet with Niall Horan in 2021 titled "Our Song." Aside from the female singer of it all, "The Idea of You" sounds more like a Disney original song than something by One Direction which can be attributed to the heavy piano presence.
The lyrics of "The Idea of You" are so sappy that maybe with the stretch of the imagination, this could have been a scrapped One Direction song written by Ed Sheeran.
Most One Direction lyric: "So I'll wait a lifetime or two with the idea of you"
5. "I Got You"
Immediately a jump scare. In the first second of the song, Galitzine sounds like he's doing Harry Styles cosplay. That little whisper is very soft-spoken Styles on his first solo album. But as soon as Galitzine's countdown is over, the song shifts into Shawn Mendes territory. The track relies on some guitar slaps between strums, something the boys never did. But this is the first August Moon song to finally feature some boy-on-boy harmonizing, the sacred backbone of One Direction. A singer is trying badly to be Zayn in the song's back half, but no one does it like him.
Lyrically, this is an updated version of "Little Thing" — an Ed Sheeran number — for the internet era with a sprinkling of "Don't Forget Where You Belong," which features the band's most profound lyrics, "If you ever feel alone, don't."
Most One Direction lyric: "Baby when you're feeling lonely I got you"
4. "Dance Before We Walk"
The extremely wordy title immediately signals a likeness to One Direction, and this is the song that spurred conversation about the sonic parallels between August Moon and One Direction. The introduction and instrumentation are very Four, but the voice modulation detracts from its likeness. However, the fact that you can hear Galitzine's English accent shine through when he sings, "Walk," tilts the scale towards One Direction. The nonsensical lyrics score major One Direction points, as well. It also features a bridge, something the August Moon songs are deficiently lacking compared to One Direction's robust catalog of bridges.
There are moments in which the electric guitar is so reminiscent of One Direction that you can imagine Niall in all his fried-hair glory performing the song on guitar while the other boys rough house on stage.
Most One Direction lyric: "Ooh, what you gonna do, what you gonna do, over, baby?"
3. "Go Rogue"
A solo moment from Galitzine, "Go Rogue" is reminiscent of Niall-forward tracks like "Fools Gold," but this is more of a ballad than any song One Direction ever produced. It's like "Once in a Lifetime (Piano Version)," and it also reminds listeners of "Over Again," "Summer Love," and "Moments," a.k.a. the sad ones. The fact that the song is all about being a song is painfully One Direction, who wrote the inspired track "I Want to Write You a Song."
Most One Direction lyric: "Is it alright if I play a song for you tonight?"
2. "Closer"
From the first 10 seconds, you can tell Galitzine is channeling his inner Harry Styles, his vocal prowess evident in the strain of his croon. The similarities continue with "Closer" featuring One Direction's trademark musical pause.
One Direction's musical journey was marked by significant changes across their five albums. "Closer" resonates with the boy band's later phase, when they began writing more of their music and honing their unique sound. With the inclusion of Zayn's ad-libs and a bridge, "Closer" could seamlessly fit into the Four album. Notably, the song earns bonus points for its clever use of "girl" and its "moonlight" references.
If there's one thing One Direction did, it's release earworms, and "Closer" is the stickiest August Moon track. The second post-chorus is the perfect soundtrack for five boys to dance to exclusively with their elbows, à la the "One Thing" music video.
Most One Direction lyric: "Girl, we could keep it going the whole night / Or do a little more in the moonlight"
1. "Guard Down"
"Guard Down" starts like any great pre-"Stockholm Syndrome" One Direction song: with a guitar riff that's immediately abandoned in favor of a drum. Like much of One Direction's catalog, it's rock-inspired and sounds like it's by another well-known band that pre-dates them — One Direction's original secret sauce. There's one moment that is deliciously reminiscent of Zayn's part in "She's Not Afraid." It will have you kicking your feet and reminiscing on the boys' glory days.
And "Guard Down" being Galitzine's favorite track off the album can't be a coincidence...
Most One Direction lyric: "Night after night she takes control"
