The Surprising Guinness World Record Currently Held By One Direction's Louis Tomlinson
One Direction was one of the most successful boybands of all time, breaking records everywhere they went. As Decider reported, despite their inevitable breakup, the quintet's legacy lives on. One Direction sold out stadiums, and broke the internet just about every time they released anything. Even after going their separate ways, One Direction continued to break records. The Guardian notes they equaled the Beatles' seemingly untouchable record when three of their former members hit No. 1 stateside with their initial solo releases.
Elsewhere, per Entertainment Weekly, while the boys were still together, they broke six Guinness World Records in 2016 alone. One Direction was the first band to debut at No. 1 stateside with their first four releases, from "Up All Night" to "Four." Likewise, they were the first British group to debut at No. 1 in the U.S. with their debut record. "Live While We're Young" was the highest charting debut from a UK group on the American singles chart, while "What Makes You Beautiful" was the most popular dance game track, earning 36,817,975 views for its routine in "Just Dance 4."
Naturally, One Direction was also the most-followed group on Twitter and boasted the most subscribers on YouTube, too. However, the Guinness World Records didn't stop when 1D split, with Louis Tomlinson continuing to make his mark.
Louis Tomlinson's record-breaking moment was for a good cause
According to iHeart, in November 2021, former One Direction star Louis Tomlinson officially broke a Guinness World Record. The boyband alum sold the most tickets for a live-streamed concert by a solo male artist. Tomlinson played the "Live in London" concert in aid of four different charities, raising over $1 million in the process, as Guinness World Records confirmed. His touring crew also received a portion of the proceeds, due to being out of work during the pandemic.
The gig took place in December 2020 and was watched by 160,000 viewers. Tomlinson performed 18 songs total, including cuts from his debut solo record "Walls," and three One Direction covers. Tomlinson took to Twitter to celebrate breaking a world record, writing, "Can't get my head round this! Thank you to anyone who watched the stream. Very proud moment!"
The singer-songwriter took his time releasing a solo album, telling Rolling Stone, "I definitely could have made a quick record, a more trendy record. But I think it's a big thing for me as a writer that it's got to be believable coming out of my mouth. So lyrics are really important to me." Unlike many of his contemporaries, and despite breaking records in his own right, the Doncaster native still holds his time with 1D in high regard.
He noted, "I f*****g love the boys, and I love everything we've done together. And I still miss my time with them."