Sam Lanksy of Idolator called the song "surprisingly great" and noted it was a "mature midpoint" between the group's signature "rollicking pop-rock confection[s]" and "dreary ballads". Lanksy additionally called the song "merciful" and complimented it for using alternative-folk influences without "smell[ing] like spilled beer".[4] Amy Sciarretto of PopCrush gave the song 4 out of 5 stars, calling it a "contemplative, acoustic guitar-driven song" and complimenting it for being "more memorable" than any of the group's previous works. Sciarretto noted that the song would resonate with listeners of many different ages and showed that One Direction "isn't just a boy band"; although noted the song was not as "crazy catchy" as their previous songs.[1] Lauren Wheeler of TheCelebrityCafe.com gave the song 5 out of 5 stars, noting that the lyrics were "reflective" and "much deeper than some of their bigger hits." Wheeler added that the song showed that One Direction "not only have range, but also have matured through their music."[7]
Chart performanceedit
On 31 October 2013, the song debuted at number one on the Irish Singles Chart, becoming One Direction's fourth number-one single in Ireland.[8] The song also debuted at number one in New Zealand, becoming both their second number-one debut and single on the New Zealand Singles Chart.[9] It reached number two in the UK, kept off the top by Lily Allen's cover of "Somewhere Only We Know". In Australia, the song debuted at number three on the ARIA Charts and has since been certified Gold.[10]
In the United States, it charted at number six, giving the band their fourth U.S. top ten single. It has charted in the top 15 for 19 weeks, seven of those in the top 10, and has become the band's second-highest selling single in the U.S. after their debut single "What Makes You Beautiful" (2011). The song also reached number one on the Adult Pop Songs chart, becoming One Direction's first number one on a U.S. airplay chart.[11] It has sold 2.8 million digital copies in the U.S. as of June 2016.[12]
Music videoedit
Three days before the music video was uploaded, three teasers were posted, once each day. Band members Zayn Malik and Liam Payne also posted a picture from the video, with Malik posting a picture with his sister.[13][14]
The set for the “Story of My Life” music video took five entire days to build. The director of the music video Ben Winston and his crew hung up a combination of 6000 to 7000 pictures that show an evolution of each of the members of One Direction over the years. This music video allows the Directioners (i.e., fans) to dive a little bit deeper into the lives of the members. The fans are used to seeing them in the public eye. “Story of My Life” allows them to connect with each of the members on a more personal and intimate level by looking back at their childhood memories.[15]
The video was directed by Ben Winston, who also directed the video for their previous single "Best Song Ever". The video was accidentally published and leaked by Vevo two days earlier when they were supposed to upload the second teaser for the music video, but it was immediately removed.[16] It was then officially uploaded on 3 November 2013. The video features some the band's family members: Zayn's sister, Harry's mother, Liam's parents and sisters, Niall Horan's brother and Louis' grandparents (two of whom are now deceased). It starts in a dark room with the band developing photos. Afterwards, certain family photos for each member are shown, and the photos morph into the same family members doing a current recreation of the photos.[17]
Photos included in the video consist of: Zayn, aged 7, with his little sister; Louis, aged 8, with his grandparents; Harry, aged 4, with his mother; Niall, aged 4, with his brother being aged 10 when the photo was taken; Liam, aged 10, with his family.
In 2015, Alvin and the Chipmunks and The Chipettes covered the song, with lyric changes to reflect their relationship with David Seville, for their live stage tour Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Musical.
In 2016, Joey Graceffa and Luke Conrad covered the song.
In 2017, the song appeared on Lea Salonga's live album Blurred Lines.
On 12 February 2022, Natalie Imbruglia released the song after winning the third series of The Masked Singer UK as "Panda". The single did not enter the UK Official Singles Chart Top 100, but debuted and peaked at number 49 on the UK Official Singles Sales Chart Top 100 on 18 February 2022.[18]
Hardy Becker, a musician based in Aachen, Germany, published a cover to Spotify on 3 June 2022.[19]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. † Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.
Referencesedit
^ abcdSciaretto, Amy (27 October 2013). "One Direction, 'Story of My Life' – Song Review". Popcrush.com. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
^"One Direction Unveils 'Midnight Memories' Artwork, Track List". Billboard. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
^"One Direction 'Midnight Memories' Cover Art, Tracklist Revealed". Mstarz. 11 October 2013. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
^ abcSam Lansky (25 October 2013). "One Direction's "Story Of My Life": Hear Their Surprisingly Great New Single". Idolator.com. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
^Anderson, Kyle (1 November 2013). "Singles: November 8,2013". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
^One Direction "Story of My Life" Sheet Music musicnotes.com
^Lauren Wheeler (28 October 2013). "One Direction's "Story of My Life" Review: One Direction's single shows the maturity and talent within the band". TheCelebrityCafe.com. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
^"Chart Highlights: One Direction, Katy Perry, U2 Score New No. 1s". Billboard. 10 March 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
^ abTrust, Gary (19 June 2016). "Ask Billboard: One Direction's Career Sales". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
^"Zayn Malik Teases One Direction 'Story Of My Life' Video With Super Cute Snap (PHOTO)". entertainmentwise.com. 2 November 2013.[dead link]
^"Liam Payne Teases One Direction's 'Story Of My Life' Video With Hunky Suit & Tie Snap (PHOTO)". entertainmentwise.com. 2 November 2013. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
^"One Direction - Story of My Life (Behind the Scenes)". YouTube.
^Michaels, Wendy (1 November 2013). "One Direction 'Story of My Life' Video Leaked Online by VEVO". Cambio.
^Firman, Tehrene (2 November 2013). "One Direction Remakes Old Family Pictures in "Story of My Life"!". J-14 Magazine. Archived from the original on 22 July 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
^"Official Singles Sales Chart Top 100 - 18 February 2022 - 24 February 2022". Official Charts. 18 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
^"Story of My Life - song and lyrics by Hardy Becker". Spotify. 3 June 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
^"Story of My Life". 8 November 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2018 – via Amazon.
^"Story of My Life". 7 March 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2018 – via Amazon.
^ abBPP, ed. (February–March 2014). "Billboard Brasil Hot 100 Airplay". Billboard Brasil (47).
^"One Direction Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 201413 into search.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 201424 into search. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
^"One Direction Chart History (Luxembourg Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
^"Top 20 Ingles: Del 9 Al 15 de Diciembre del 2013" (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. RadioNotas. 15 December 2013. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 46, 2013" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
^"One Direction – Story of My Life" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
^"One Direction Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
^ "One Direction Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 2014-04-26.
^"One Direction Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2014-03-06.
^"One Direction Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2014-02-27.
^"ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Singles 2013". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
^"Jaarlijsten 2013" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
^"Jaaroverzichten - Single 2013". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
^"End of Year 2013" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
^"Jahreshitparade Singles 2014". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
^"Canadian Hot 100 – Year-End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
^"Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
^"FIMI - Classifiche Annuali 2014 "TOP OF THE MUSIC" FIMI-GfK: un anno di musica italiana" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Archived from the original on 13 January 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
^"Japanese digital single certifications – ワン・ダイレクション – ストーリー・オブ・マイ・ライフ" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 2014年4月 on the drop-down menu
^"New Zealand single certifications – One Direction – Story of My Life". Recorded Music NZ.
^"Norwegian single certifications – One Direction – Story of My Life" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway.
^"Spanish single certifications – One Direction – Story of My Life". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
^"Veckolista Singlar, vecka 49, 2013 | Sverigetopplistan" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 15 December 2020. Scroll to position 8 to view certification.
^"The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Story of My Life')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
^Levine, Nick (14 June 2023). "One Direction: Official Top 20 biggest songs ever in UK revealed". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
^"British single certifications – One Direction – Story of My Life". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
^"Danish single certifications – One Direction – Story of My Life". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
^"Japanese single streaming certifications – One Direction – Story of My Life" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 28 February 2024. Select 2024年1月 on the drop-down menu
^"Spanish single streaming certifications" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 9 September 2022. Select Streaming under "Categoría", select 2014 under "Año". Select 8 under "Semana". Click on "BUSCAR LISTA".