Fifteenth Anniversary of "What Makes You Beautiful"

Fifteen years ago, the band One Direction released their first music video for their song “What Makes You Beautiful.” The music video was first released on Aug. 19, 2011, in the United States. It was later released in foreign countries such as New Zealand, Europe and Australia on Sept. 11, 2011.

“What Makes You Beautiful” was One Direction’s debut single. Within the first week of its release, “What Makes You Beautiful” hit number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and featured 132,000 downloads. The song was also the lead single in their debut album, “Up All Night.” The music video was directed by John Urbano and was filmed at Sycamore Cove Beach in Malibu, California. The song was sung by band members Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik.

Believe it or not, “What Makes You Beautiful” was actually thought up when Savan Kotecha, the songwriter, overheard his wife complaining about how she looked. This song’s purpose is to comfort and reassure people who are shy and insecure, but also those who may not realize their own worth and physical appearance. The impact that this song has on listeners–girls especially–is empowerment and comfort, which invalidates the feeling of self-doubt.

One Direction won four major awards for "What Makes You Beautiful." The first award the group won was at the 2012 BRIT Awards, which was held on Feb. 12, 2012, at the O2 Arena in London. Here, the song won British Single of the Year. Later that year, One Direction attended the Vocal Music Awards (VMAs) on September 6 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Here, One Direction went home with multiple awards, including Best Pop Video, Most Share-Worthy Video for “What Makes You Beautiful” and Best New Artist.

One of the main reasons I wanted to highlight this song was for what the track means personally to me. Being a girl with a disability, it was and still is hard to feel normal and compare myself with other girls. When I listen to this song, I feel like I am normal and like everyone else. “What Makes You Beautiful" is a reminder that I am beautiful just the way that I am, and this is something that I’m not letting anyone take away from me. Even if we don’t feel beautiful on the outside, we may be on the inside.