One Direction wins big at American Music Awards, Paris takes spotlight

LOS ANGELES - British boy band One Direction swept the top honors at Sunday's American Music Awards, while a sorrowful tribute to the victims of the attacks in Paris lent a somber note to a night of otherwise vibrant performances.

One Direction was named artist of the year for a second consecutive year, and also won the best pop/rock album for a third consecutive year, with the album "Made In The A.M."

"It's absolutely incredible to receive this award two years in a row. It's a testament to how incredible our fans are," band member Louis Tomlinson said.

Actor-musician Jared Leto made a moving tribute to the 130 victims of the deadly Nov. 13 attacks across Paris, specifically the 89 who died at the Bataclan concert hall, where he said he and his band, 30 Seconds to Mars, had performed "a beautiful, peaceful" show earlier this year.

"Tonight we honor victims of the unimaginable violence that took place in Paris and around the world," he said. "France matters, Russia matters, Syria matters, Mali matters, the Middle East matters, the United States matters, the entire world matters and peace is possible."

French-Canadian singer Celine Dion sang Edith Piaf's classic French ode "La Vie en Rose" in memory of those lost.

Key winners on the night included Taylor Swift, who went into the night with a leading six nominations and won three awards but did not attend the event.

Nicki Minaj won two awards in the rap/hip hop categories, The Weeknd won two soul/R&B awards, Florida Georgia Line won two country music awards and country artist Sam Hunt was named best new artist.

Unlike the irreverent antics of MTV's Video Music Awards and the industry prestige of the Grammy Awards, the fan-voted AMAs offer up the year's most popular music acts, with a spotlight on performances.

"Star Wars" veteran Harrison Ford introduced five-piece a cappella group Pentatonix, who put their vocals to John Williams' iconic "Star Wars" score, along with a full orchestra on stage. The performance comes ahead of next month's highly-anticipated new "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" film.

Show host Jennifer Lopez danced through a high-octane medley of this year's top pop songs, saying: "Tonight is about the music, and this year's music makes me want to dance."

One of the biggest talking points came courtesy of Meghan Trainor and Charlie Puth, who took audiences by surprise with a steamy kiss after their duet "Marvin Gaye."

Selena Gomez performed a sultry rendition of her latest hit "Same Old Love," country star Carrie Underwood belted her romantic ballad "Heartbeat" and Ariana Grande got the crowd dancing with her upbeat hit "Focus." Justin Bieber sang and danced through a medley of his hits, ending with a shower of rain on stage.

The Weeknd set the stage on real fire for his performance of "The Hills," while Coldplay brought out dancing monkeys on a psychedelic stage for "Adventure of a Lifetime," and Walk The Moon started a dance party with their hit "Shut Up And Dance."

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Is Zayn Malik working on a solo album?

MANILA - Zayn Malik may have left One Direction in order to live a life of a normal 22-year-old, but apparently that doesn't mean he'll be leaving the spotlight completely.

On Thursday, Malik gave his first interview to UK tabloid The Sun since his announcement.

He opened up about his decision to leave behind Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Louis Tomlinson to continue as a four-member group.

He admitted that he has been thinking of parting with the UK boy band for awhile, saying: "You know, I did try to do something that I wasn't happy doing for a while, for the sake of maybe other people."

He also confirmed that he is still engaged to Little Mix band member, Perrie Edwards, amid speculations that the two have split following his controversial photo with another woman.

"Yeah, she’s always supportive. She’s always good, man," he said of Edwards.

Malik also mentioned that he has been working on his own music, adding that he plans to "be [himself] for a bit. Write and relax and chill."

Other media outlets speculated that this meant that the singer will be embarking on a solo career, with some even noting that he was seen in a West London Studio with Naughty Boy --a producer that has worked on Sam Smith's debut album.




Malik also quashed rumors about a supposed rift with the other band members. "My band has been really supportive. They've been really cool about it. And they understand that it's not real to me any more," he said.

Shortly after Malik's announcement, Styles was caught on video in tears during the band's performance in Jakarta. All four band members have since aired their support for Malik's decision on their respective social media accounts.

Malik, in his decision on Wednesday, said that he feels that it is the right time for him to leave the band. He added that he wants to have some private time out of the spotlight.

It came days after he was signed off the band's world tour due to stress, which caused him to miss One Direction's first ever concert in Manila.

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One Direction members break silence after Zayn's departure

MANILA - The remaining members of One Direction have spoken up after Zayn Malik left the British pop band.

In his official Twitter account, Liam Payne said he is deeply saddened by Malik's departure, especially after five special years.

"For the past five years now I've been part of something so special I don't think any of us really understand, something that can mean the world to people and put a smile on the face of our fans even in the darkest times," he said.

Payne said that while Malik will be away, he will always be their brother.

"It's sad to think for the time being we won't grace the stage as five bros or have the same fun on a tour bus or laughs in a hotel together that we have over the years but I'm super sure us and Zayn will always remain the closest friends," he said.

As for the band, Payne said One Direction is far from over and asked the fans to continue supporting them despite the departure of the group's most popular member.

"I guess what I'm really trying to say is it's far from over. When we very 1st became successful we all agreed that one direction had become much bigger than each individual member that's why I feel like right now it's OK to be sad and upset but I do ask everyone who is a fan of us to please keep ur faith in us I'm sure there's a lot more to come all love," he said.

Earlier, Harry Styles, who was caught on video crying during the band's performance in Jakarta, tweeted a short but sweet message.



Both Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson also tweeted how hard it is for them when Malik decided to quit One Direction, but thanked the fans who stayed supportive to the band.

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WATCH: 1D's Harry Styles cries in Jakarta concert

An emotional Harry Styles was in tears during his group One Direction's concert in Jakarta, Indonesia on Wednesday, after member Zayn Malik decided to quit the British boy band.

Styles and the rest of three remaining One Direction members took the stage in Jakarta, just a few days after their concert in Manila.

Just before the Jakarta show, Malik announced that he was quitting the pop band because he wanted to live a normal life.

Earlier, Malik already backed out from the Manila concert because of stress. This announcement came a day after photos of him with another woman stirred trouble in his relationship with fiancee Perrie Edwards, best known as a member of the band Little Mix.

The video of Styles crying during their concert was uploaded by Ameylie Jones yesterday and has now more than 300,000 views.

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Zayn Malik quits One Direction

MANILA - One Direction star Zayn Malik has quit the British boyband for good after five years.

The 22-year-old singer made the decision on Wednesday, leaving behind Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Louis Tomlinson to continue as a four-member group.



 "My life with One Direction has been more than I could ever have imagined. But, after five years, I feel like it is now the right time for me to leave the band," said Malik in a statement released on the band's official Facebook page.

"I'd like to apologise to the fans if I've let anyone down, but I have to do what feels right in my heart. 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," he added.

For their part, the remaining members of One Direction said: "We're really sad to see Zayn go, but we totally respect his decision and send him all our love for the future."

"The past five years have been beyond amazing, we've gone through so much together, so we will always be friends."

"The four of us will now continue. We're looking forward to recording the new album and seeing all the fans on the next stage of the world tour."

His departure comes a week after photos of him with another woman stirred trouble in his relationship with fiancee Perrie Edwards, best known as a member of the band Little Mix.

Malik took to Twitter to defend himself, saying: "I'm 22 years old... I love a girl named Perrie Edwards. And there's a lot of jealous ***** in this world I'm sorry for what it looks like x."

The controversy caused the singer to miss the Manila leg of the band's "On The Road Again Tour."

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PH One Direction fans camp out a day before concert

Tuloy na tuloy na ang 2-night concert ng One Direction sa bansa. At kahit bukas pa ang dating ng British boyband, naka-abang na sa airport ang kanilang fans. May mga nag-camp out na rin sa concert venue. Ang trending balita, iBandila mo, MJ Felipe. Bandila, March 20, 2015, Biyernes

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One Direction's Malik takes tour break due to 'stress'

One Direction singer Zayn Malik has dropped out of the pop band's On the Road Again tour in Asia due to "stress", his publicist said on Thursday, after pictures were posted of the engaged Malik partying with a holidaymaker in Thailand.

"Zayn has been signed off with stress and is flying back to the UK to recuperate. The band wish him well and will continue with their performances in Manila and Jakarta," an emailed statement from London-based publicist Simon Jones said.

Malik, who is engaged to Perrie Edwards of Little Mix, is seen in photos posted on the Internet partying with a woman who has been identified as Lauren Rich.

Malik, in an angry post on his Twitter account, said: "I'm 22 years old ... I love a girl named Perrie Edwards. And there's a lot of jealous f***s in this world I'm sorry for what it looks like x"

The English-Irish One Direction came to prominence in the televised singing competition "The X Factor" in 2010 and has gone on to become one of the world's top selling bands.

(Reporting by Michael Roddy; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

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One Direction makes Billboard history, knocks Swift from No. 1

British boy band One Direction became the only group to score four consecutive No. 1 debuts on the US Billboard 200 album chart on Wednesday, ousting Taylor Swift from her chart-topping reign.

One Direction's latest album, "Four", sold 387,000 copies in its first week, according to figures compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.

It follows the band's three previous albums, 2011's "Up All Night," 2012's "Take Me Home" and 2013's "Midnight Memories," all of which opened at No. 1 on the Billboard chart.

Sales of "Four" may have been boosted after One Direction won three times at Sunday's televised American Music Awards, including the night's top place for artist of the year. The group also performed new song "Night Changes" at the ceremony.

The band also made history on music streaming platform Spotify by scoring the most first-week streams after "Four" was streamed 11.6 million times in the United States and 30 million times worldwide. The news comes after Swift made a highly publicized move to take her music catalog off the popular service.

Swift's "1989" dropped to No. 2 this week with 214,000 sales. The album became the biggest debut of the year after opening with 1.3 million copies, and held the top spot on the Billboard 200 chart for three consecutive weeks.

"1989" has sold more than 2.2 million copies, the second-biggest selling album of 2014, behind only Disney's "Frozen" soundtrack with 3.6 million copies.

Other new entries in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart this week include Canadian rockers Nickelback at No. 4 with "No Fixed Address" and metal group In This Moment at No. 8 with "Black Widow."

For the week ended Nov. 23, Billboard said a total of 5.5 million albums were sold, up 4 percent from the comparable week in 2013. Year-to-date sales rounded out at 215 million, down 12 percent from the same period last year.

This is the last week Nielsen SoundScan will compile the Billboard 200 album chart from sales figures alone. From next week, the album chart will reflect online streaming and digital track sales to accurately reflect which records were most in demand.

(Editing by Eric Kelsey and Andre Grenon)

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One Direction back with 4th album of boy band pop

One Direction has returned for the fourth straight year with a holiday season album, as the boy band proves its longevity through a gradually maturing sound.

The British heartthrobs stormed onto the stage in 2010 with an appearance on the talent show "The X Factor." Since 2011, the band has released an album every year in November, in time for the holiday shopping season.

With their fourth album released Monday, One Direction defies the short shelf lives that are notorious among boy bands as the five members -- whose early works were often penned by others -- take turns on writing the songs.

The album -- entitled, simply, "Four" -- stays true to One Direction's style of fresh-faced pop but increasingly incorporates rock elements, with several tracks resembling the power ballads of 1980s arena bands.



The first track, "Steal My Girl," opens the album with keyboards reminiscent of Journey's hits before quickly merging into the boy band style of a polished vocal chorus.

One Direction, unlike earlier generations of synthesizer-driven boy bands, has always embraced guitar. On the latest album, the guitar leads the way on several tracks including "Clouds" and "Stockholm Syndrome."

The lyrics revolve around familiar themes of youthful love but also repeatedly speak of coming to terms with getting "older," with the band's senior member Louis Tomlinson hitting the ripe age of 23 next month.

"Let's have another toast to the girl almighty / Let's pray we stay young, stay made of lightning," Niall Horan sings on "Girl Almighty."

The ballad "18" waxes nostalgic for that age: "I want to love, like you made me feel when we were 18."

"Act My Age," which appears on the album's deluxe edition, predicts the future with dread, with the first verse running, "When I'm fat and old and my kids think I'm a joke, 'cause I move a little slow when I dance/ I can count on you after all that we've been through."

One Direction's last album, "Midnight Memories," was the best seller worldwide for 2013, selling four million copies within the year despite coming out in November.

The band faces a greater challenge if it wants to repeat its feat as Taylor Swift smashed expectations this month with "1989," whose release led to the highest sales in the United States in a single week in 12 years.

Unlike Swift, who controversially pulled her music off Spotify in a dispute over compensation to artists, One Direction's "Four" appears on the streaming service.

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