The boy band One Direction quickly picked up a lot of fans, but parents are picking up the tab for their teens' obsession.
We spoke to a group of local girls who fell in love with the band last fall.
"I was like, woah these guys are really good and I just like fell in love instantly," said 14-year-old Jordan Travis.
So what's so contagious about this modern-day boy band craze?
"They're goofy, they're weird, they're insane, they have so much fun," explained Sarah Sturgess, 16.
The girls know everything about each of the members through social media, magazines and even trading cards.
"They all have so much personality. Like each one of them is so different, but they're amazing together," 15-year-old Bella Rivera said.
"One day I'll be like, oh my gosh Harry and then Niall, and then it'll switch to Liam and like I can't even decide, they're all just really good," said Sarah.
"They're music really speaks to you. It's more than being catchy. I mean it has true meaning to it and value," said Jordan.
Bella agreed. "I am like in love with them now. I'm like obsessed with all the songs. I know them by heart and everything."
Her mom noticed her daughter new obsession.
"I keep calling them 'new direction,' but apparently it's 'One Direction.' It's kind of an inside joke because I think of New Edition," said Grace Rivera.
She admits that she's paying the price for her daughter.
"It's very expensive. I don't know if you can see, Jordan had that one sweatshirt on and I don't even know what that cost, but it's just expensive," she said.
The highly anticipated U.S. tour had girls across American frantically fretting over tickets.
"It's honestly like World War III getting these tickets, it's crazy," explained Jordan, "The first presale they had for this year, the site opened up one minute and we crashed three servers and I stayed online for seven hours and then when I finally got on, they were sold out and I was really upset."
Fortunately, one of the moms did get tickets, so these girls will be at the Tampa concert on May 29th. And that's reason to celebrate in true Directioner style. It's proof that happy teens make a profitable demographic that's only headed in one direction, much like the popular boy band they love so much.
Source
