Perfect (One Direction song)

"Perfect"
Single by One Direction
from the album Made in the A.M.
Released	16 October 2015
Format	CD digital download
Genre	Pop[1]
Length	3:50
Label	Syco Sony
Writer(s)	Harry Styles Louis Tomlinson Jesse Shatkin Jacob Kasher John Ryan Maureen Anne McDonald Julian Bunetta
Producer(s)	Julian Bunetta Shatkin AFTERHRS
One Direction singles chronology
"Drag Me Down" (2015) "Perfect" (2015) "History" (2015)
Music video "Perfect" on YouTube

"Perfect" is a song by English-Irish boy band One Direction. Released on 16 October 2015 as the second single from their fifth studio album Made in the A.M., it debuted at number one in Ireland, and reached the top 10 in several countries, including the United Kingdom, United States, France, New Zealand and Australia. Written by members Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson, along with the band's regular collaborators, Julian Bunetta and John Ryan among others, the up-tempo pop song was released to positive critical acclaim.^[2]

Background and composition

In various interviews, the band members and co-writers describe differing aspects of the composition and overall meaning of the song. The song is in D major and has a tempo of 100 beats per minute. Long-time writer and producer for the band, Julian Bunetta described the writing process as 'difficult' due to the writing occurring whilst the members travelled from country to country during their 2015 On the Road Again Tour.^[3] Bunetta called the single "a jam" and that stated that he plays it in his car frequently.^[3][4]

Critical reception

Digital Spy's Lewis Corner praised "Perfect", describing it as a "scintillating slice of '80s pop" and also said that the song was a "delicious retort" to Taylor Swift's (ex-girlfriend of band member Harry Styles) song "Style".^[5] Former band member Zayn Malik was less complimentary about the song though. In his January 2016 cover story interview in Billboard, he said that the first single was "quite cool" but heard the second single and decided not to buy the album.^[6]

Music video

The music video was directed by Sophie Muller with additional help from actor Giovanni Ribisi^[7] and premiered on Vevo on 20 October 2015. The video, filmed in black and white, depicts how the band lives while on tour, and was filmed at the Intercontinental Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, New York City in early September 2015.^[8] The video features shots of the members as they relax in a hotel room during their 2015 tour.

Live performances

The group performed "Perfect" for the first time at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland on 16 October 2015 during the last leg of their On the Road Again Tour and continued to perform the song in their concerts until their last before their hiatus on 31 October in Sheffield, England.^[9] The band also performed "Perfect" at the 2015 American Music Awards,^[10] BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge,^[11] Ellen Degeneres Show,^[12] Jimmy Kimmel Live!,^[13] X Factor UK^[14] as well as Jingle Ball festivals across the United States.^[15][16][17] In November 2015, the band performed the song in front of Prince Harry at the Royal Variety Performance and Ed Power from The Telegraph listed the performance as "the fifth standout moment of the night."^[18]

Commercial performance

In the band's native United Kingdom, "Perfect" debuted at number two. In the United States, the song became the band's second consecutive top-10 hit from their Made in the A.M. album and sixth overall when "Perfect" debuted at number 10 on the Billboard issue dated 7 November 2015, after "Drag Me Down" debuted at number three.^[19] This debut also broke The Beatles' record for the most top 10 Hot 100 debuts among bands.^[20] The song has remained in the top 50 of all main markets since its release.^[21]

Track listing

• Digital download^[22]

1. "Perfect" – 3:50

• Digital EP^[23]

1. "Perfect" (Stripped) – 3:51
2. "Home" – 3:14
3. "Perfect" (Matoma Remix) – 3:43
4. "Drag Me Down" (featuring LunchMoney Lewis) (Big Payno x AFTERHRS Remix) – 3:08

Note: "Home" was written by Jamie Scott, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2015–16) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[24] 4 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[25] 2 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[26] 9 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[27] 21 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[28] 13 Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[29] 3 Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[30] 15 Denmark (Tracklisten)[31] 25 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[32] 12 France (SNEP)[33] 8 Germany (Official German Charts)[34] 20 Ireland (IRMA)[35] 1 Italy (FIMI)[36] 3 Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[37] 8 Hungary (Single Top 40)[38] 2 Japan (Japan Hot 100)[39] 24 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[40] 31 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[41] 28 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[42] 7 Norway (VG-lista)[43] 15 Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[44] 11 Scotland (Official Charts Company)[45] 1 Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[46] 1 South Africa (EMA)[47] 5 Spain (PROMUSICAE)[48] 11 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[49] 12 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[50] 12 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[51] 2 US Billboard Hot 100[52] 10 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[53] 22 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[54] 10

Year-end charts Chart (2015) Position Australia (ARIA)[55] 91 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/Sales Australia (ARIA)[56] 2× Platinum 140,000^^ Italy (FIMI)[57] Platinum 50,000 New Zealand (RMNZ)[58] Platinum 0^* United Kingdom (BPI)[59] Gold 400,000 ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

References

1. "10 Signs One Direction's "Perfect" Is About Taylor Swift And Harry Styles - J-14". j-14.com. 21 October 2015.
2. "One Direction Announce Brand New Single 'Perfect' | HJPR". www.hjpr.co.uk. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
3. "One Direction Collaborator Breaks Down Group's New Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
4. ")u1!@n on Twitter: ha i dont know if i could say that. But its a jam. I play it in my car all the time". Twitter. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
5. "EXCLUSIVE: 1D's new album Made In The AM first listen". Digital Spy. 2015-11-09. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
6. "Zayn Malik Speaks Out in Revealing Billboard Cover Story: 'I'm Not Censoring Myself Anymore'". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
7. "One Direction 'Perfect' by Sophie Muller on Promo News". Promo News. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
8. Steiner, Amanda Michelle. "One Direction cause trouble in hotel rooms in 'Perfect' music video". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
9. "One Direction Setlist at 3Arena, Dublin". setlist.fm. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
10. "One Direction Bring 'Perfect' Performance to 2015 AMAs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
11. "One Direction, Live Lounge - BBC Radio 1". BBC. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
12. "See One Direction Perform "Drag Me Down" on 'Ellen'". Fuse. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
13. "One Direction Perform Medley of Songs on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live': Watch". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
14. "One Direction Returns to 'X Factor' U.K. to Perform 'Perfect': Watch". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
15. "One Direction Setlist at KISS FM Dallas' Jingle Ball 2015". setlist.fm. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
16. "Jingle Ball 2015: Watch Performances By 1D, Selena Gomez, The Weeknd And More | Idolator". Music News, Reviews, and Gossip on Idolator.com. 2015-12-05. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
17. "Jingle Ball L.A. Recap: One Direction's Last Gig, The Weeknd Gets Sexy & Selena Gomez Slays". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
18. "The Royal Variety Performance 2015: the top 5 acts". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
19. "The Weeknd No. 1 for Sixth Week, Adele No. 1 next week?". Billboard.com.
20. Gary Trust (27 October 2015). "One Direction Breaks The Beatles' Record With Fifth Top 10 Debut on Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
21. "Perfect by One Direction | Song rank based on sales, radio, streaming, and social | Ultimate Chart". ww2w.ultimatechart.com. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
22. "iTunes - Music - Perfect - Single by One Direction". iTunes Store (GB).
23. "iTunes - Music - Perfect - EP by One Direction". iTunes Store (GB).
24. "Australian-charts.com – One Direction – Perfect". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
25. "Austriancharts.at – One Direction – Perfect" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
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27. "Ultratop.be – One Direction – Perfect" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
28. "One Direction – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for One Direction. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
29. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201543 into search.
30. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 20165 into search.
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32. "One Direction: Perfect" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
33. "Lescharts.com – One Direction – Perfect" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
34. "Musicline.de – One Direction Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
35. "Chart Track: Week 43, 2015". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
36. "Italiancharts.com – One Direction – Perfect". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
37. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
38. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
39. "One Direction – Chart history" Japan Hot 100 for One Direction. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
40. "Nederlandse Top 40 – One Direction search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
41. "Dutchcharts.nl – One Direction – Perfect" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
42. "Charts.org.nz – One Direction – Perfect". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
43. "Norwegiancharts.com – One Direction – Perfect". VG-lista. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
44. "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
45. "Archive Chart: 2015=10-24". Scottish Singles Top 40.
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47. "EMA Top 10 Airplay: Week Ending 2015-12-22". Entertainment Monitoring Africa. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
48. "Spanishcharts.com – One Direction – Perfect" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
49. "Swedishcharts.com – One Direction – Perfect". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
50. "Swisscharts.com – One Direction – Perfect". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
51. "Archive Chart: 2015=10-24" UK Singles Chart.
52. "One Direction – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for One Direction. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
53. "One Direction – Chart history" Billboard Adult Pop Songs for One Direction. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
54. "One Direction – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for One Direction. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
55. "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 100 Singles 2015". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
56. Ryan, Gavin (19 March 2016). "ARIA Singles: Lukas Graham '7 Years' No 1 For 5th Week". Noise11. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
57. "Italian single certifications – One Direction – Perfect" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 27 March 2016. Select Online in the field Sezione. Enter One Direction in the field Filtra. Select 2016 in the field Anno. The certification will load automatically
58. "New Zealand single certifications". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
59. "British single certifications". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 27 November 2015.