Up All Night (2012)

Up All Night is the debut album from One Direction. It was first released on November 2011 in Ireland and the United Kingdom through Syco Records, and was later released in North America through Columbia. It was released in various editions ranging from the standard thirteen songs to a souvenir editions with 18 tracks. It was #1 on iTunes and broke a record when it became #1 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart.

Background
After the finale of the seventh season of The X Factor, it was announced that One Direction was signed by Sion Cowell to Sony Records subsidiary Syco Music. Following the show, One Direction along with nine other contestants from the series participated in the X Factor Live Tour from February 2011 to April 2011. After the tour ended, the group began recording for their album

Recording sessions for the album took place in London, Los Angeles and Stockholm. On April 4, 2011, One Direction made an appearance on The Alan Titchmarsh Show where Zayn confirmed that their lead single for the album would be called "What Makes You Beautiful." The single was set to be released in June, but it was pushed back to August in order to coincide with the launch of the eighth season of The X Factor, and was then pushed back again to September.

On October 15, 2011, the group revealed the title of the album, Up All Night, after fans completed a challenge on the official website to unlock the cover and title. On October 17, 2011, the track listing was revealed. On October 21, 2011, the group revealed the artwork for the album. On November 17, 2011, One Direction previewed a few tracks from the album during a UStream session.

In November 2011, One Direction signed a record deal with Columbia Records in North America. The album was originally set for release in North America, on March 23, 2012 through Columbia Records, but was rescheduled and released one week earlier on March 13, 2012. Columbia Records released a statement saying:"due to overwhelming fan demand, their debut album will be released one week early on 13 March 2012."