If you happened to stroll by the Four Seasons Hotel in New York City this past Saturday, you may have heard the sounds of faint shrieking. No, that wasn't your imagination -- it was the sound of Directioners. There were several hundred, actually, anxiously lined up outside the hotel waiting for the chance to catch a glimpse of the world's biggest boy band.
At their "This Is Us" press junket, not only could we confirm that One Direction fans are indeed some of the most dedicated, but we could also confirm that the boys have perfect hair, are hilariously candid and don't take themselves too seriously.
Between Zayn, Louis and Liam ambushing Harry and Niall's seats in the middle of the interview, to Harry surprising a young fan with a kiss on the cheek on his way out, you can always expect the unexpected when it comes to the boys. And even the biggest Directioner might be surprised by what they had to say about their new epic 3D movie, dating deal-breakers and upcoming third album. See below for the top 10 things we learned from the NYC event this weekend.
1. They were nervous about making "This Is Us."
When the band first saw the final cut of the movie, Harry described it as "nerve-wracking."
He said, "When you put yourself out there -- anything like that -- if it’s a song -- you want people to like it. It makes you feel vulnerable, I think, when you put yourself out there that much, so it was exciting."
The boys talked about how in order to make the best documentary, they didn't want to place any restrictions on filming.
"The only way to make the best documentary is to give the producer, the director and the cameras access to all areas ... which is exactly what we wanted to do," explained Niall. "And, as Harry said, you’re putting yourself in quite a vulnerable position by doing that. But that’s the only way to make it. So that’s what we did."
2. They're not the kind of pranksters you think they are.
Any Directioner knows that the guys of 1D are big pranksters, but contrary to popular belief, they really don't prank each other.
"Everyone always thinks that we’re really pranksters. But we prank everyone that works with us like our team and stuff like that," clarified Niall. "We like stealing stuff. We’re real-life criminals. We steal golf carts, forklifts."
"Our musicians that play in the band for us, we once -- I think we were in Madrid -- taped up their door so they couldn’t get in the dressing room," remembered Harry.
3. They have some interesting dating dealbreakers.
For Niall, the dealbreaker is simple: "A ridiculous laugh."
But Harry is a bit more specific.
"I think a first date is just, be early. Give like a 15-minute window. Don’t be late." said Harry. "And if a girl ever spits... you know when you’re going down the street and you see someone spit and you’re like, 'That’s gross.'"
4. They make an effort to do things that make them feel "normal."
Niall said: "I like going to soccer matches because that’s what I used to do before all this. I also like going to watch other people’s gigs, like last night we went to go see John Mayer."
5. Liam's personal mantra comes from his mom.
"What my mom always said to me was, 'Just do your best that’s the best you can do' and I do believe that," said Liam. "It’s definitely true."
6. Harry has a low-key family life.
"I think the best thing, every time I go home, is that I just fall asleep on my cell phone," said Harry. "I’ll just watch TV with my family and fall asleep. I think it’s just nice to fall asleep and know you don’t have an alarm set on your phone."
7. They still get surprised when fans do crazy things.
"Last week, I was at a music festival and I was walking around with my friends and this girl jumped on my back to get my attention," said Niall. "All she wanted was a picture but she decided she was going to go for a piggyback ride, too."
8. To them, the most shocking parts of "This Is Us" were the interviews with their families.
"For me, my mom actually says I’ve only been back to Doncaster [my hometown] five times. I didn’t realize that it was as little as that," said Louis. "It’s quite shocking to see, but it’s also nice to see -- to hear all of our families thoughts and how similar they all are."
9. The third album was their most challenging -- but not for the reasons you probably think.
"I don’t think the songwriting has been the hardest part so far. I think in terms of the way we record it being on the road and being on the rush -- that was the hardest part," said Liam. "But to be fair, writing songs seems to become quite easy -- not in an arrogant way, but they seem to happen quite naturally and they came together, which was good for us because we didn’t have a lot of time."
"I think we’ve been lucky that the people who’ve agreed to write with us have had loads of experience -- so it’s been great to be in the room with these people and learn from them and try and get better," added Louis. "I feel like we’ve kind of progressed a little bit and we’re proud of this album."
10. Zayn has decided how he is going to pick his best man.
"We decided that there will be a fight to the death," confirmed Zayn.
"Or rock, paper, scissors," added Liam.
And if the boys show up with bruises and black eyes to the wedding?
“If they were to rock that, then that’s cool," said Zayn.
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