Made in the A.M.

Release

The song that would be the album's lead single, "Drag Me Down", was released on 31 July 2015 with no previous promotion or warning. It debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, breaking the record for the most streamed song in its first week, with 2.03 million plays. In the United States, the song debuted at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with 350,000 downloads in its first week, earning the band their largest sales week ever. "Drag Me Down" also set a new Vevo record for most likes in 24 hours.

Shortly thereafter, the band announced that it would go on a temporary hiatus in 2016 to take a break. Julian Bunetta, the producer behind many of the group's songs, told Billboard in August that the fifth album was recorded with the four members knowing it would be their last for a while. "There was a feeling of, 'Well, we're going to take a break, and anything in the world can happen during that time off'", adding, "There's a song about losing someone that isn't Zayn. There's also a song about the band being on shaky ground and not knowing what the future is. There are songs about love, there's a song that is a little more sexually charged. It's all over the map."

On 22 September 2015, the title of the forthcoming album, Made in the A.M., was announced and a promotional single, "Infinity", released on the iTunes Store and Apple Music.

In October, the group began to reveal the track listing on their Snapchat stories. "Perfect" was released as the album's second single on 16 October 2015. The song debuted at number two in the UK and number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, giving the band their fifth top 10 start on the Hot 100, passing the record among groups of four debuts, previously held by The Beatles.

"What a Feeling" was released as the second promotional single on 11 November 2015, two days before the album itself.

Although "Infinity" was announced as the album's third single by member Liam Payne, "History" was later confirmed as the next single. On 27 January 2016, the official music video for "History" was released to the One Direction Vevo channel and YouTube. It peaked at number six on the UK Official Chart in 2016.

Critical reception

Made in the A.M. received generally favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 from selected independent ratings and reviews from mainstream critics, the album received a Metascore of 65, based on 11 reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews".

Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph wrote that "a slight tone of weariness may have crept into 1D's lyrics with songs about break-ups and yearning for home but musically it remains anthemic, up-tempo, superior pop, with elegant song structure, ear worm hooks and radio busting choruses". Although Kenneth Partridge of Billboard magazine declared that the album "could be the band's Abbey Road" and awarded it four stars, he also critiqued the group as a "prefab 21st-century pop machine" who churns out "boilerplate love songs that rarely feel personal or look beyond" their "vacuum-sealed bubble-gum world". Writing for Rolling Stone, Rob Sheffield stated that the album is "1D's Let It Be – the kind of record the world's biggest pop group makes when it's time to say thanks for the memories." Regarding the album's sound, he noted it is "chasing the rock vibe of Midnight Memories and Four". Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly complimented the album for being "another deft collection of shiny, hermetically sealed anthems".

Ella Cerón of Teen Vogue described the album as a "love letter" to the band's fans, praising the band members for "learning how to write their own songs" and developing an "evolved sound," while at the same time, "[staying] true to their original fan base." Cerón highlights the album's opening track, "Hey Angel," that it "sets the tone for the rest of the album."

Shira Benozilio of Hollywood Life called it "their most diverse album yet" while specifically highlighting the album opener, "Hey Angel", praising the "catchy, upbeat sound that is sure to put anyone in a good mood" while commenting that it had "an Oasis vibe". Patrick Ryan of USA Today commented that the group's "writing is sharper and their sound richer than before" and that "if Made in the A.M. ends up being One Direction's final album, it's not a bad swansong to go out on". Patrick Ryan, writing for Idolator, wrote that "it's an album that sounds like another day at the office for the group's remaining members, replete with ballads, soaring pop styles, an a cappella vocal group experiment, the aforementioned intense, late night "dark track" and that "the lads are as sincere and focused as ever, without any overt acknowledgement that this is the end of an era" while comparing songs on the album to the likes of Coldplay and Paul McCartney and Wings.

Commercial performance

In the UK, Made in the A.M. debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with first-week sales of 93,189, becoming their fourth album to top the chart and the fastest selling album of 2015 until that point, beating out Justin Bieber's album Purpose. The album was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in its first week, and certified Platinum on 1 January 2016, denoting shipments of 300,000 copies. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 459,000 album-equivalent units (402,000 pure album sales), behind Justin Bieber's Purpose, becoming the band's first album to not debut at number one. As of July 2020, the album had sold a total of 2,000,000 copies in the United States, counting pure sales and streams.

Track listing

Notes

^[a] signifies a vocal producer

^[b] signifies an additional producer

Personnel

(Credits taken from Made in the A.M.'s liner notes.)

All tracks mastered by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound, NY

Vocals – Helene Horlyck

Art director – Kate Moross

Photographer – Sven Jacobsen

Design – Studio Moross