Monday, February 4, 2013

     Little Things 

(by:One Direction)


"Little Things"
Single by One Direction
from the album Take Me Home
Released 11 November 2012
Format Digital download
Recorded 2012
Genre Pop, folk
Length 3:39
Label Syco Records
Writer(s) Fiona Bevan, Ed Sheeran
Producer Jake Gosling
One Direction singles chronology
"Live While We're Young"
(2012)
"Little Things"
(2012)
"Kiss You"
(2012)
Music video
"Little Things" on YouTube

"Little Things" is a song by English-Irish boy band One Direction, released in November 2012 as the second single from their second studio album Take Me Home. It was produced by Jake Gosling. In February 2012, One Direction stated interest in working with Ed Sheeran for their second studio album and in June 2012, Sheeran disclosed that One Direction would be recording two of his songs. Sheeran co-wrote "Little Things" with Fiona Bevan when he was 17 and subsequently lost it. Bevan found it in 2012 as Sheeran was in studio with One Direction, resulting in the group recording it. "Little Things" is a pop, folk ballad, about the insistence that flaws are what make a person unique.
The track received a mixed reception from contemporary music critics, many of whom felt that the song is not tailored to them. Commercially, the track became the group's second number-one hit in the United Kingdom, while reaching the top ten in Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand. The song's accompanying black-and-white music video was directed by Vaughan Arnell and premiered on 2 November 2012. One Direction performed "Little Things" in a series of live appearances, including at the 2012 Royal Variety Performance, in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II.

Contents

1 Background
2 Composition and lyrics
3 Critical response
4 Commercial performance
5 Music video
6 Live performances
7 Track listing
8 Charts and certifications
8.1 Weekly charts
8.2 Certifications
8.3 Year-end charts
9 References

Background


The song was co-written by Ed Sheeran (pictured).
The song was written by British singer-songwriters Ed Sheeran and Fiona Bevan, and produced by Jake Gosling.[1] In February 2012, One Direction stated interest in working with Sheeran for their second studio album, after he gave them the song "Moments" for their debut studio album.[2] In April 2012, Sheeran confirmed in an interview with Dose.ca that they were in contact: "I've got two songs that their manager emailed me for — old songs that were meant to go on my last album — a big stadium anthem. So I'm going to put them towards them and see if they like them, I wouldn't necessarily do that with any other bands."[3] In June 2012, Sheeran disclosed that One Direction would be recording two of his songs. He told the Daily Star: "I wrote a couple of songs when I was 17 that One Direction want for their next album. I'm going into the studio in August to produce the tracks for them. I won't feature on the tracks though. There's definitely a divide in genre."[4]
In September 2012, Sheeran told SB.TV, "I wrote the next One Direction single, Little Things. That's coming out soon I think. I wrote that [song] around four years ago and they asked for it so they got it[..] but yeah no featuring."[5] In October 2012, Sheeran acknowledged Bevan's songwriting credit in an interview with British radio network Capital FM: "The great thing about it is I wrote that song with a girl called Fiona Bevan when I was 17 and we lost the song. I've kept in touch with Fiona, we've done gigs and stuff and about two months ago she sent me the tune and was like, 'Oh, do you remember this?' I was like, 'Yeah, I do remember that', and I was in the studio with the One Direction boys at the time and I was playing it and they were like, 'We really like that'. It's got one of my favourite lines that I've ever written in a song."[6] On 15 October 2012, Louis Tomlinson confirmed via social networking website Twitter that "Little Things" would serve as the second single of their second studio album Take Me Home.[7] On 29 October 2012, "Little Things" received its worldwide airplay debut on BBC Radio 1 at 8:17 GMT.[8]

Composition and lyrics

"Little Things" is a mid-tempo pop, folk ballad which runs for 3:39 (3 minutes, 39 seconds).[1][9] Written in the key of G major,[10] the beat is set in common time and moves at a moderate 110 beats per minute.[10] One Direction's vocal range in the song span from the note of A3 to D5.[10] Instrumentation includes guitar strings, piano lines and vocals.[10] The song utilises an acoustic guitar riff and a rotation of lead vocals.[11][12] The song's lyrics chronical the insistence that flaws are what make a person unique.[12] In a September 2012 interview with MTV News, Sheeran quipped that the song "is about the best things about someone, kind of like the things you wouldn't expect."[13] He described "Little Things" as an "appreciation song," and concluded: "Seventeen-year-old Ed just wrote a lot of love songs, so expect to hear a lot of love songs on their album, I guess. I had a wicked girlfriend at 17. She was great. Actually my + album is pretty much about her. So she spawned off a lot of songs."[13]

Critical response

"Little Things" received mixed reviews from music critics. Grady Smith for Entertainment Weekly perceived the song to be problematic toward the boy band's core audience aged approximately 8 to 12. Smith conceded that there are "girls currently enduring middle school, who may very well be feeling insecure about their bodies. In that case, it seems terribly misguided to tap into that insecurity with 'Little Things' and ask girls to find their validation in One Direction’s blanket affection".[14] Melinda Newman of HitFix acknowledged, "We don’t need for you to point out that it’s those things that make you love us. We just want you to pretend they don’t exist and that you don’t see them. Now all you've done is make us more self-conscious."[15] While Bill Lamb of About.com asserted that One Direction is marketed "so strongly" at pre-teens it does seem as if they are sending a message they want young girls to hear clearly", he lauded the "beautiful" sound of "Little Things".[12] Lamb further complimented the rotation of lead vocals.[12] Rolling Stone writer Jon Dolan cited lyrics: "You still have to squeeze into your jeans, but you're perfect to me," contradicting "Hey, buddy, you're a millionaire: Buy her some loose jeans."[16] Robert Copsey of Digital Spy felt that "Little Things" shows "minor signs of growth" for the group, "even if it's not the greatest addition to their singles catalogue."[11] Kate Wills of The Independent criticised the ballad for apparently being "too saccharine for anyone who doesn't practice kissing on the back of their hand."[17] Amy Sciarretto of Pop Crush gave the song four out of five stars, characterising it as "a sweet song" which ultimately "lets their individual vocal styles shine, and they can sidestep that nonsense about being puppets who sing studio-created and overly treated songs."[18] Alexis Petridis for The Guardian opined that "Little Things" is "noticeably more sophisticated lyrically and emotionally than anything else on the album" and named the track's lyricism "touching".[19] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times assessed that Sheeran's songwriting reads as "unusually lumpy" in the hands of "such a polished group".[9]

Commercial performance

The track debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart on 18 November 2012, becoming One Direction's second number-one hit in the United Kingdom.[20] With the album and the single both debuting simultaneously at number one in the UK, One Direction became the youngest act in British chart history to achieve the feat.[21] The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 41, selling 91,000 copies in its first week.[22]

Music video

The music video for "Little Things" was directed by Vaughan Arnell and shot in black-and-white.[23] Tomlinson disclosed that an accompanying music video for "Little Things" was in production on 15 October 2012.[7] The same day, Horan tweeted that it was "going good."[24] The next day, Zayn Malik confirmed that they had finished filming the video.[25] The official video was uploaded to their Vevo account on YouTube on 2 November 2012.

Live performances

They performed the song along with "Live While We're Young" on The X Factor USA (8 November),[26] and "Little Things" solely on The X Factor UK (11 November).[27] The band performed "Little Things", "What Makes You Beautiful", "Live While We're Young", and "Kiss You" on The Today Show at the Rockefeller Center (13 November), to a record breaking crowd estimated at 15,000.[28] They performed "Live While We're Young" and "Little Things" at the BBC's Children in Need 2012 telethon (16 November).[29] In addition, they performed "Little Things" on British television series Surprise, Surprise (17 November),[30] at the 2012 Royal Variety Performance (19 November), in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II,[31] and on The X Factor Australia (20 November).[32] "Little Things" was included in the set list of the group's headlining sold-out show at Madison Square Garden (3 December).[33]

Track listing

  • Album version
  1. "Little Things" – 3:39

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (2012–13) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[34] 9
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[35] 43
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[36] 42
Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[37] 33
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[38] 20
Denmark (Tracklisten)[39] 23
France (SNEP)[40] 58
Germany (Media Control AG)[41] 89
Ireland (IRMA)[42] 2
Israel (Media Forest)[43] 5
New Zealand (RIANZ)[44] 2
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[45] 1
Slovakia (IFPI)[46] 73
South Korea International Singles (Gaon)[47] 70
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[48] 27
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[49] 38
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[50] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[51] 33
US Pop Songs (Billboard)[52] 18

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[53] 3× Platinum 210,000^
New Zealand (RIANZ)[54] Gold 7,500*
United States (RIAA)[55] Gold 500,000*
*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

[edit] Year-end charts

Chart (2012) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart[56] 65

References

  1. ^ a b (liner notes). "Take Me Home". One Direction.
  2. ^ "One Direction Want To Work With Ed Sheeran Again On New Album". Capital FM (Global Radio). 20 February 2012. http://www.capitalfm.com/artists/one-direction/news/ed-sheeran-new-album/. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  3. ^ Leah Collins (27 April 2012). "Ed Sheeran Adds North America to His Sights". Dose.ca (Postmedia Network Inc.). http://www.dose.ca/music/Sheeran+Adds+North+America+Sights/6531222/story.html. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
  4. ^ "Ed Sheeran To Produce One Direction Tracks". MTV News (MTV Networks). 25 June 2012. http://www.mtv.co.uk/news/ed-sheeran/357935-ed-sheeran-working-with-one-direction. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  5. ^ "ED SHEERAN ON WRITING NEW ONE DIRECTION SINGLE 'LITTLE THINGS'". Sugarscape. 20 September 2012. http://www.sugarscape.com/tags/louis-tomlinson/775833/ed-sheeran-writing-new-one-direction-single-little-things. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  6. ^ Lewis Corner (25 October 2012). "One Direction new single contains my favorite lyrics, says Ed Sheeran". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. http://www.digitalspy.com/music/news/a433343/one-direction-new-single-contains-my-favorite-lyrics-says-ed-sheeran.html. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  7. ^ a b "One Direction confirm new single 'Little Things'". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. 15 October 2012. http://www.digitalspy.com/music/news/a430767/one-direction-confirm-new-single-little-things.html. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  8. ^ One Direction's 'Little Things' Single Cover - Hit Zone. Hitzone. Retrieved on 29 October 2012.
  9. ^ a b Jon Caramanica (14 November 2012). "Riding the Boy Band Wave While It Lasts". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/15/arts/music/one-direction-rides-boy-band-wave-with-take-me-home.html?_r=0. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  10. ^ a b c d "One Direction – Little Things". Musicnotes.com (EMI Music Publishing). http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtdFPE.asp?ppn=MN0111437. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  11. ^ a b Robert Copsey (11 November 2012). "One Direction: 'Take Me Home' - Album review". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.com.au/music/albumreviews/a436752/one-direction-take-me-home-album-review.html. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  12. ^ a b c d Bill Lamb. "Review: One Direction - "Little Things"". About.com. http://top40.about.com/od/singles/gr/One-Direction-Little-Things.htm. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  13. ^ a b "One Direction's Pal Ed Sheeran Penned Their Next U.K. Single". MTV News. MTV Networks. 19 October 2012. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1695868/one-direction-little-things-ed-sheeran.jhtml. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  14. ^ Grady Smith (29 October 2012). "One Direction release 'Little Things', still 'love' you even though you're fat and terrible". Entertainment Weekly. http://music-mix.ew.com/2012/10/29/one-direction-little-things/. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  15. ^ Melinda Newman (29 October 2012). "One Direction's new song 'Little Things' loves you despite your flaws". HitFix. http://www.hitfix.com/news/listen-one-direction-loves-you-despite-your-flaws-on-new-song-little-things. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  16. ^ Jon Dolan (14 November 2012). "Take Me Home - review". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/take-me-home-20121113. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  17. ^ Kate Wills (11 November 2012). "Album: One Direction, Take Me Home (Sony)". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-one-direction-take-me-home-sony-8303718.html. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  18. ^ Amy Sciarretto (29 October 2012). "One Direction, 'Little Things' - Song Review". Pop Crush. http://popcrush.com/one-direction-little-things/. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  19. ^ Alexis Petridis (8 November 2012). "One Direction: Take Me Home – review". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/nov/08/one-direction-take-me-review. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  20. ^ Dan Lane (18 November 2012). "One Direction score Number 1 single AND album!". United Kingdom: Official Charts Company. http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/one-direction-score-number-1-single-and-album-1719/. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  21. ^ Alan Jones (19 November 2012). "Official Charts Analysis: One Direction youngest ever act to score No.1 Album and Single simultaneously". Music Week (United Kingdom: Intent Media). http://www.musicweek.com/businessanalysis/read/official-charts-analysis-one-direction-youngest-ever-act-to-hit-no-1-in-albums-and-singles-lists/052592. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  22. ^ Paul Williams (22 November 2012). "US charts: Brits hit highest chart-topping tally since Eighties". Music Week (United Kingdom: Intent Media). http://www.musicweek.com/news/read/us-charts-brits-hit-highest-chart-topping-tally-since-eighties/052651. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  23. ^ Jocelyn Vena (2 November 2012). "One Direction Capture Studio Sesh in 'Little Things': Watch The Video!". MTV News. United States: MTV Networks. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1696680/one-direction-little-things-music-video.jhtml. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  24. ^ Twitter / NiallOfficial: we're mid shoot for "little". Twitter. Twitter Inc. Retrieved on 29 October 2012.
  25. ^ Twitter / zaynmalik: Shooting video for little things. Twitter.com. Retrieved on 2012-10-29.
  26. ^ "One Direction 'X Factor USA' Video: The Boys Perform 'Little Things' And 'Live While We're Young' Live!". The Huffington Post. 11 November 2012. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/08/one-direction-x-factor-us_n_2096917.html. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  27. ^ "X Factor: One Direction prove it’s the little things that count". stv.tv. 10 November 2012. http://shows.stv.tv/the-x-factor/performances/199875-x-factor-one-direction-prove-its-the-little-things-that-count/. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  28. ^ Amelia Proud (13 November 2012). "A Brit of history: One Direction draw record breaking 15,000 crowd to Today show appearance in New York... and announce 3-D movie". Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2232376/One-Direction-draw-record-breaking-15-000-crowd-Today-appearance-New-York--announce-3-D-movie.html. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  29. ^ "Children in Need total passes £23m". Belfast Telegraph. 16 November 2012. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/uk/children-in-need-total-passes-14m-16238988.html. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  30. ^ "Dave Berry Tasks One Direction To Pose As Wax Models To Surprise Fans - Video". Capital FM (Global Radio). 17 November 2012. http://www.capitalfm.com/artists/one-direction/news/surprise-surprise-waxworks/. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
  31. ^ "Royal Variety Performance 2012: One Direction and Girls Aloud sing for The Queen". The Daily Telegraph (Telegraph Media Group). 20 November 2012. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/queen-elizabeth-II/9690193/Royal-Variety-Performance-2012-One-Direction-and-Girls-Aloud-sing-for-The-Queen.html. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
  32. ^ "Grand Final: Special Guests". The X Factor (Australia). Yahoo!7. Archived from the original on 19 November 2012. http://www.webcitation.org/6CHeRTJZw.
  33. ^ Andrew Hampp (4 December 2012). "One Direction Headlines Sold-Out Show at Madison Square Garden". Billboard (Prometheus Global Media). http://www.billboard.com/events/one-direction-headlines-sold-out-show-at-1008037072.story?utm_source=most_recent#/events/one-direction-headlines-sold-out-show-at-1008037072.story?utm_source=most_recent. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  34. ^ "Australian-charts.com – One Direction – Little Things". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Hung Medien.
  35. ^ "One Direction – Little Things – Austriancharts.at" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Hung Medien.
  36. ^ "Ultratop.be – One Direction – Little Things" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
  37. ^ ultratop.be - One Direction - Little Things
  38. ^ "One Direction Album & Song Chart History" Canadian Hot 100 for One Direction. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  39. ^ "Danishcharts.com – One Direction – Little Things". Tracklisten. Hung Medien. Retrieved Noviembre 2012.
  40. ^ "Lescharts.com – One Direction – Little Things" (in French). Les classement single. Hung Medien.
  41. ^ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche – musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  42. ^ "Chart Track". Irish Singles Chart. Irish Recorded Music Association.
  43. ^ "One Direction – Little Things Media Forest". Israeli Airplay Chart. Media Forest.
  44. ^ "Charts.org.nz – One Direction – Little Things". Top 40 Singles. Hung Medien.
  45. ^ "Archive Chart". Scottish Singles Top 40. Official Charts Company.
  46. ^ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 20131 into search.
  47. ^ "South Korea Gaon International Chart (Week: November 11, 2012 to November 17, 2012)". Gaon Chart. 15 December 2012. http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/online/download/list.gaon. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  48. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – One Direction – Little Things". Singles Top 60. Hung Medien.
  49. ^ "One Direction – Little Things – swisscharts.com". Swiss Singles Chart. Hung Medien.
  50. ^ "Archive Chart" UK Singles Chart. Official Charts Company.
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  52. ^ "One Direction Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Pop Songs for One Direction. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
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  55. ^ "American single certifications – One Direction – Little Things". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Little+Things%22. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
  56. ^ "Top 100 Singles of 2012". BBC Radio 1. BBC Online. 31 December 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/2012/singles. Retrieved 5 January 2013.

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