"More Than This" is a song by English-Irish

boy band A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform Love song, love songs marketed towards girls and young ...

One Direction from their debut studio album, '' Up All Night'' (2011). It was produced by Brian Rawling and Paul Meehan, and was composed by Jamie Scott. Primarily backed by

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

s, the track is an acoustic

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

ballad about an unrequited love. "More than This", the album's fourth and final single, was released digitally by Syco Music on 25 May 2012. "More than This" obtained generally favourable reviews from critics, who commended the balladry, but only charted on Australian and Irish charts. An accompanying music video, directed by Andy Saunders, depicts the group performing the track live as part of their

Up All Night Tour The Up All Night Tour was the first headlining concert tour by English-Irish boy band One Direction, in support of their debut studio album, '' Up All Night'' (2011). It began in December 2011 and was One Direction's first solo tour after being ...

(2011–12). One Direction performed the ballad during two of their major concert tours:

(2011–12) and Take Me Home Tour (2013).

Development and composition

After being formed and finishing third in the seventh series of '' The X Factor'' in 2010, One Direction were signed to Syco Music. Recording for their debut studio album, '' Up All Night'', began in January 2011. In February 2011, the boy band and other contestants from the series participated in the ''X Factor'' Live Tour. After the tour concluded in April 2011, the group continued working on ''Up All Night''. "More than This", confirmed to be released as ''Up All Night'' fourth single by Sony Music Australia in early May 2012, was released via digital download on 25 May 2012. The digital download contains the principal recording, and live versions of the number itself, " What Makes You Beautiful", " Gotta Be You", and "Up All Night". Produced by Brian Rawling and Paul Meehan, and written by Jamie Scott, "More than This" is an acoustic

ballad that runs for 3:48 (3 minutes, 48 seconds). The chorus of the song is predominantly backed by synthesizers. One Direction's vocal range in the span from the note of F₃ to A₄. Written in the key of

C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...

, the track is set in common time at a moderate tempo of 70 beats per minute. Instrumentation includes guitar, strings, piano lines, vocals and synthesizers. The lyrical content regards an unrequited love. It features an acoustic guitar riff similar to that of

Jonas Brothers The Jonas Brothers () are an American pop rock band. Formed in 2005, they gained popularity from their appearances on the Disney Channel television network. They consist of three brothers: Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. Raised in W ...

' song Make It Right from the album

Manish Manish (''also'' Maneesh) (Devanagari: मनिष ''or'' मनीष) is a common Hindu masculine given name that literally means "The God of the Mind" or the one who has controlled and mastered one's mind (representing an intellectual, geniu ...

Reception

Robert Copsey of ''

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

'' was surprised by the group's "ability to carry off a sizeable ballad," regarding it as one of the best boy band ballads in recent years. '' Cosmopolitans Sophie Goddard deemed the song a laudable addition to the balladry pantheon. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' correspondent Jason Lipshutz classified it as "One Direction's own "

All I Have To Give "All I Have to Give" is a song by American boy band Backstreet Boys, produced and written by Full Force, and released as the third and final single from their second album ''Backstreet's Back'' and the sixth and final single from their US debut ...

," and opined that its synthesizers add a dignified demeanour to the refrain. In contrast, PopMatters writer Zachary Houle criticised the song as jarring, and dismissed it as "a bit cloying," which he attributed to band's "'90s ancestors." The track was One Direction's fifth best-selling song in the UK by August 2012. Despite charting at number 49 on the

Australian Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

dated 20 May 2012, the single received a gold certification from the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of 35,000 copies. The single reached number 39 on

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

, marking One Direction's fourth top forty appearance in Ireland. The ballad also received a platinum certification from the IFPI Norway association, indicating sales of 10,000 units.

Promotion

The accompanying music video was directed by Andy Saunders at the

Bournemouth International Centre The Bournemouth International Centre (commonly known as the BIC ) in Bournemouth, Dorset, was opened in September 1984. It is one of the largest venues for conferences, exhibitions, entertainment and events in southern England. Additionally, it ...

in January 2012, as part of One Direction's ''

'' (2011–12). On 9 May 2012, Sony Music Australia disclosed via social networking website Twitter that a video for the track would premiere on 11 May. A 30-second preview of the clip, which showed the group gather around a couch onstage and sing the piece, premiered on ''

Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Para ...

'' on 9 May. On 11 May, the clip debuted, a live performance of the song featured on their debut video album, '' Up All Night: The Live Tour'', which was released on 28 May. Writing for

MTV News MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...

, Jocelyn Vena suggested that fans would appreciate the clip's sequences. On 12 March 2012, One Direction performed "More than This", " One Thing" and " What Makes You Beautiful" at the Rockefeller Center on '' The Today Show''. An estimated 15,000 fans descended on the plaza. The group also performed the song during two of their major concert tours: ''Up All Night Tour'' and '' Take Me Home Tour'' (2013). Jane Stevenson of Canoe.ca listed the performance of "More than This" at Toronto's

Molson Canadian Amphitheatre The Budweiser Stage, originally known as the Molson Amphitheatre, is a concert venue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the grounds of Ontario Place and hosts many diverse acts, including genres like rock, pop, country, and jazz. The ...

among the show's highlights.

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

. {{authority control One Direction songs 2012 singles 2011 songs Pop ballads Songs written by Jamie Scott Syco Music singles Song recordings produced by Brian Rawling 2010s ballads