青春第四课 (2014)

Four (stylized as all caps) is the fourth studio album by English-Irish boy band One Direction, released on 17 November 2014 by Columbia Records and Syco Music. The album was preceded by two singles, "Steal My Girl" and "Night Changes", both achieving platinum status in the US, and scoring the band their tenth and eleventh UK top-ten hits. The album was also One Direction's last with member Zayn Malik, who announced he was leaving the band on 25 March 2015.

The album received generally positive reviews from music critics. It debuted at number one in 18 countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States. With Four, One Direction became the first band to have their first four albums debut at number one in the United States. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), Four was the sixth best-selling album of 2014, with 3.2 million copies sold worldwide.

Background and development

On 27 April 2014, it was confirmed that One Direction were working on their fourth studio album. Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne worked on the majority of the album with songwriters Julian Bunetta, John Ryan, and Jamie Scott; Harry Styles and Zayn Malik also co-wrote tracks with Bunetta, Ryan, Scott, and producer Johan Carlsson.

The name and cover of the album were announced on 8 September on One Direction's official website, along with a free download of a song called "Fireproof", which was available for 24 hours. "Fireproof" was written by Payne and Tomlinson along with Ryan, Scott, and Bunetta, who also wrote their single "Story of My Life". In the 24-hour span, 1.1 million downloads were generated. The song was uploaded onto the band's Vevo account on 22 September.

In an interview with Simon Cowell, it was revealed that one of the songs for the album will be titled "18". The song was written by Ed Sheeran, who also wrote "Little Things" and "Moments" for the group. Horan came up with the name of the album, commemorating the fact that it is the band's fourth album and that it has been four years since their formation.

The album was leaked two weeks prior to its release.

Promotion

Tour

The On the Road Again Tour was announced on the Australian breakfast television program Today, where the band gave a pre-recorded interview releasing the details of their return to Australia. It was later announced that the band would also be touring Asia and Africa. The group will be making debuts for some countries, particularly in the United Arab Emirates. On 24 October 2014, the official One Direction site announced several more tour dates, with shows across Europe, the US, and Canada.

The tour began on 7 February 2015 in Sydney, Australia and ended on 31 October 2015 in Sheffield, England. On 19 March 2015, it was announced that group member Zayn Malik would take a break from the tour due to stress. Malik announced his official departure from the group just six days later. The tour grossed $208 million from 80 shows, selling over 2.3 million tickets.

Singles

"Steal My Girl" was released as the album's first single on 29 September 2014 worldwide and on 19 October 2014 in the UK. "Night Changes" was then released as the album's second single on 14 November 2014.