The clip garnered the group three MTV Video Music Awards at the 2012 ceremony. The music video was uploaded to YouTube on 19 August 2011 and has accumulated more than 1.2 billion views since it premiered. The accompanying music video, directed by John Urbano, depicts One Direction spending time on a beach in Malibu, California. The single also topped the Irish and Scottish Singles Charts, and reached the top ten on the Australian and New Zealand Singles Charts, Flemish Ultratop 50, Canadian Hot 100, and the Japan Hot 100. It debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart after setting a Sony Music Entertainment pre-order record and selling 153,965 copies in its first week.
The song won the 2012 Brit Award for British Single of the Year and was generally complimented by contemporary music critics, who highlighted the appeal to the teenage audience and the pop sensibility. The single peaked at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the UK Singles Chart. It has been certified quadruple platinum in the US with sales of 4.8 million copies as of June 2016. "What Makes You Beautiful" was a commercial success, reaching number one in several countries. The middle eight consists of a "na na na" hook. The uptempo power pop track features a prominent guitar-based chorus and riff. Written by Savan Kotecha and producer Rami Yacoub, the song was released by Syco Records on 11 September 2011. It served as their debut single and lead single from their debut studio album, Up All Night (2011). " What Makes You Beautiful" is the debut single by English-Irish boy band One Direction.
2011 single by One Direction "What Makes You Beautiful"