They were first known as the naïve, and awkwardly thrown-together boy band that flourished on the United Kingdom’s X Factor competition. With their colorful yet clashing outfit choices that varied from red stripes to suspenders, these teenagers seemed clueless about international superstardom.

Fast-forward a couple years and One Direction, no longer strangers to the spotlight, has embarked on their second worldwide tour titled Where We Are. Members Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Harry Styles will come to Tampa Bay’s Raymond James Stadium Oct 3rd, and perform songs from their album Midnight Memories.
Since the event was first announced a year ago, dedicated fans have dominated social media, tweeting, facebooking, instagramming, and vining about the band.

“I like their sound the best,” said sophomore Kyle Freeman. “I like how they have changed their music with each newer album to make it seem older and more mature. For example, ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ was like a twelve-year-old song, but their newest song, ‘Fireproof,’ has more of a teenager-ish and more mature vibe.”

The tour is considered to be one of the headlining events that hit Tampa this fall.

“I’m excited about One Direction coming to Tampa, because there is supposed to be fireworks and the stage is supposed to be huge,” said Freeman. “They are also supposed to be coming into the crowd more, because they have a huge catwalk, so I’m really excited!”

This is Freeman’s second time seeing the band preform.

“It’s a whole lot bigger than the last one I went to, because it is a stadium tour,” she said. “They are going to sing new songs and not the same old stuff that they’ve done before.”