"Perfect" is a song by British-Irish boy band

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, are an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group are composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously Zayn Malik until his departure from the gr ...

. Released on 16 October 2015 as the second single from their fifth studio album, '' Made in the A.M.'', it debuted at number one in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, and reached the top 10 in several countries, including the

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and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The song was written by members

Harry Styles Harry Edward Styles (born 1 February 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. His musical career began in 2010 as a solo contestant on the British music competition series ''The X Factor (UK TV series), The X Factor''. Following hi ...

and Louis Tomlinson, along with the band's regular collaborators, Julian Bunetta and John Ryan among others.

Background and composition

In various interviews, the band members and co-writers describe differing aspects of the composition and overall meaning of the song. The song is in

D major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : Ch ...

and has a tempo of 100 beats per minute. Long-time writer and producer for the band, Julian Bunetta described the writing process as 'difficult' due to the writing occurring whilst the members travelled from country to country during their 2015

On the Road Again Tour The On The Road Again Tour was the fourth headlining concert tour and second all-stadium tour by English-Irish boy band One Direction, in support of their fourth studio album, '' Four'' (2014). The tour began on 7 February 2015 in Sydney, Aus ...

. Bunetta called the single "a jam" and stated that he plays it in his car frequently.

Critical reception

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, ...

''s Lewis Corner praised "Perfect", describing it as a "scintillating slice of '80s pop" and also said that the song was a "delicious retort" to

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

's (ex-girlfriend of band member Harry Styles) song "

Style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

". Brittany Spanos of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' commented that the song was "a catchy ode to bad boys and the rebellious personas" while noticing that "Styles seems to directly respond to the songs Taylor Swift is rumoured to have written about him on her album '' 1989''. Former band member

Zayn Malik Zain Javadd Malik ( ; born 12 January 1993), known mononymously as Zayn, is an English pop and R&B singer. Zayn auditioned as a solo contestant for the British music competition television series ''The X Factor'' in 2010. After being eliminate ...

was less complimentary about the song; in his January 2016 cover story interview in ''Billboard'', he said that the first single was "quite cool" but heard the second single and decided not to buy the album.

Chart performance

In the band's native

, "Perfect" debuted at number two. In the United States, the song became the band's sixth and final top ten hit when "Perfect" debuted at number 10 on the ''

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 ...

'' issue dated 7 November 2015. This debut also broke

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' record for the most top 10 Hot 100 debuts among bands.

Music video

The music video was directed by

Sophie Muller Sophie Luise Elisabeth Muller (born 31 January 1962) is a British music video director who has directed more than 300 music videos. She won a Grammy Award for Annie Lennox's 1992 '' Diva'' video album, and an MTV Video Music Award for Lennox's so ...

with additional help from actor

Giovanni Ribisi Antonino Giovanni Ribisi (; born December 17, 1974) is an American actor known for his starring roles in the TV series ''Sneaky Pete'' and the films ''Avatar'' (2009), '' Lost in Translation'' (2003), ''Ted'' (2012) and its sequel ''Ted 2'' (201 ...

and premiered on

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

on 20 October 2015. The video, filmed in black and white, depicts how the band lives while on tour, and was filmed at the

Intercontinental Hotel Intercontinental is an adjective to describe something which relates to more than one continent. Intercontinental may also refer to: * Intercontinental ballistic missile, a long-range guided ballistic missile * InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG ...

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New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in early September 2015. The video features shots of the members as they relax in a hotel room during their 2015 tour.

Live performances

The group performed "Perfect" for the first time at the 3Arena in

Dublin, Ireland Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cen ...

on 16 October 2015 during the last leg of their

and continued to perform the song in their concerts until their last before their hiatus on 31 October in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The band also performed "Perfect" at the 2015 American Music Awards,

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

's Live Lounge, ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was prod ...

'', ''

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'', British ''The X Factor'' as well as Jingle Ball festivals across the United States. In November 2015, the band performed the song in front of

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger son of Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. He is fifth in the line of succ ...

at the

Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal f ...

and Ed Power from ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'' listed the performance as "the fifth standout moment of the night."

Track listing

*Digital download #"Perfect" – 3:50 *Digital EP #"Perfect" – 3:51 #"

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

" – 3:14 #"Perfect" – 3:43 #"

Drag Me Down "Drag Me Down" is a song recorded by English-Irish boy band One Direction as the lead single for their fifth studio album, ''Made in the A.M.'' (2015). The song was released worldwide on 31 July 2015 and was the band's first single since Zayn M ...

" – 3:08 Note: "Home" was written by

Jamie Scott Jamie Scott (born James Christopher Needle; 12 February 1984) is an Ivor Novello Award winning English singer, songwriter and producer. Career Songwriting As a writer and producer Scott has sold over 100 million albums, 50 million singles, has ...

, Louis Tomlinson and

Liam Payne Liam James Payne (born 29 August 1993) is an English singer. He rose to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction. Payne made his debut as a singer in 2008 when he auditioned for the British television series ''The X Factor''. After being ...

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2015 singles 2015 songs One Direction songs Black-and-white music videos Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Scotland Songs written by Jacob Kasher Songs written by John Ryan (musician) Songs written by Julian Bunetta Songs written by Harry Styles Songs written by Louis Tomlinson Songs written by Mozella Syco Music singles Songs written by Jesse Shatkin Song recordings produced by Jesse Shatkin Music videos directed by Sophie Muller