"Steal My Girl" is a song written and recorded by English-Irish

boy band A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Many ...

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, are an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group are composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously Zayn Malik until his departure from the grou ...

. It is the lead single from their fourth studio album '' Four'' (2014). It was released worldwide on 29 September 2014. The single was written by band members

Louis Tomlinson Louis William Tomlinson (; born Louis Troy Austin; 24 December 1991) is an English singer and songwriter. He rose to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction. Tomlinson began his career appearing in television dramas before he auditioned ...

and

Liam Payne Liam James Payne (born 29 August 1993) is an English singer. He rose to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction. Payne made his debut as a singer in 2008 when he auditioned for the British television series ''The X Factor''. After being ...

and regular collaborators

Jonathan Cain Jonathan Leonard Friga (born February 26, 1950), known professionally as Jonathan Cain, is an American musician and songwriter best known as the keyboardist for Journey. He has also worked with the Babys and Bad English. Cain was inducted into ...

Wayne Hector Wayne Anthony Hector is a British songwriter who is best known for his work with pop artists such as Nicki Minaj, One Direction, the Wanted, Toše Proeski and Olly Murs. He co-wrote seven of Westlife's number one singles, including " World of ...

, John Ryan,

Ed Drewett Edward James Drewett (born 1 April 1988) is a British singer and songwriter who is best known for his contributions and collaborations with acts such as One Direction, Little Mix, Jonas Blue, The Wanted, Olly Murs and SG Lewis. Early life Dr ...

and Julian Bunetta (the four had previously written " Best Song Ever"). It was produced by Julian Bunetta, John Ryan and Pär Westerlund. They also performed this song for the first time on their fourth concert tour, the

On the Road Again Tour The On The Road Again Tour was the fourth headlining concert tour and second all-stadium tour by English-Irish boy band One Direction, in support of their fourth studio album, '' Four'' (2014). The tour began on 7 February 2015 in Sydney, Austr ...

Background and release

The announcement was first made on band member

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, an ...

on 14 September. The single became available worldwide on 29 September, except in the United Kingdom. The song was made available in the United Kingdom on 12 October, with Payne's remix of the recording (dubbed as the Big Payno and Afterhrs Pool Party Remix) being the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

. The song's co-writer

stated the song is a "feel good song and it’s not too far away from the last album ''(

Midnight Memories ''Midnight Memories'' is the third studio album by English-Irish boy band One Direction, released on 25 November 2013 by Columbia Records, Syco Music and Sony Music. It was described as having a "slightly rockier tone" than their previous effort ...

'')." On 28 September, one day prior to the official release, the song was leaked on the internet.

Composition and lyrics

The song's piano piece of the instrumental was similar to Journey's " Faithfully". A reviewer felt the song sounded reminiscent of 1980s music, something that the band emphasized on their previous studio album. The lyrics fret over the potential for rivals to take the group's girlfriends away from them, and why they matter to them.

Critical reception

The song received acclaim from music critics. Lucas Villa of '' AXS'' praised One Direction's classic rock sound of "Steal My Girl", noting similarities to Journey's " Faithfully". He wrote that "the guys have been digging in their parents' record collections" and added " t'sa pretty neat and new direction for the band." Samantha Highfill of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cultu ...

'' suggests that the song is "dad-friendly", emphasizing on the classic rock sound. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' gave the song four and a half out of five stars, stating it "represents the group's most tremendous Van Halen impression yet." Jim Farber from the '' Daily News'' reviews the single as a throwback to the 1970s/80s due to the arena rock ballad. Jim Farber, writing for the ''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ...

'', wrote that the song "boasts a sumptuous production and a chorus guaranteed to make young girls around the world swoon" while adding that it "boasts a melody that sounds like it could have come off a '70s or '80s arena-rock ballad by Journey or Foreigner. The warmly synthesized arrangement also echos the style of that particular era of homogenized pop". Christina Lee of '' Idolator'' commented that "the song is clearly a hit" as it "morphs into a soaring stadium pop anthem with hard-hitting drum machine beats, glassy piano chords and that playground chant of a hook". Mikael Wood of ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...

'' commented that "One Direction is going dad rock" and that the song is a "journey to the '80s". Upon the release of "Steal My Girl",

Hayley Williams Hayley Nichole Williams (born December 27, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and businesswoman who is best known as the lead vocalist, primary songwriter, and keyboardist of the rock band Paramore. Born and raised in Missi ...

and

Chad Gilbert Chad Everett Gilbert (born March 9, 1981) is an American musician and record producer. He is best known as a founding member of the rock band New Found Glory, for whom he plays lead guitar, sings backing vocals, and composes music. He was also ...

pointed the similarities between the song and

New Found Glory New Found Glory (formerly A New Found Glory) is an American rock band from Coral Springs, Florida, formed in 1997. The band currently consists of Jordan Pundik (lead vocals), Ian Grushka (bass guitar), Chad Gilbert (lead guitar, backing voc ...

's " It's Not Your Fault".

Chart performance

"Steal My Girl" ranked number three on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top ...

, the eighth song from the group to have peaked top-three in the

. "Steal My Girl" reached number 13 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Music video

The accompanying music video was directed by Ben and Gabe Turner. The clip featured appearances from

Danny DeVito Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983), which won him a Gold ...

, a juvenile chimpanzee,

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...

wrestlers

Yamamotoyama Ryūta , known by his '' shikona'' , or simply Yama, is a Japanese retired sumo wrestler from the city of Saitama in Saitama Prefecture. He made his professional debut in January 2007, and reached the top ''makuuchi'' division in January 2009. His h ...

and Ulambayaryn Byambajav,

acrobats Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro ...

and a

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...

. Also in the video appears Julie Zetlin, a retired rhythmic gymnast from the United States wearing a leotard previous worn by Belarusian rhythmic gymnast Inna Zhukova. In the music video, DeVito meets up with the group in the middle of the desert where a video shoot is being set up. DeVito is serving as their visionary director. He dubs each of the members of the group a different expression: Harry is love, Niall is light, Liam is power, Louis is danger, and Zayn is mystery. From there, the song starts with Liam smashing a row of silver balls that spell "inhibitions" and Zayn is seen with two sumo wrestlers. Niall is seen to be dancing with a Maasai tribe from Tanzania, and Liam is seen as a leader of a marching band. Harry is seen surrounded by masked female ballet dancers, and Louis is seen with the chimpanzee, as well as a lion, a flock of

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated sh ...

and

flamingos Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbean ...

. DeVito appears with the group throughout the video. In the end, a rain effect is used on the lot, where the group, DeVito, and all other acts appear together in one shot resembling a mix of

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 J ...

and Coachella.

Track listing

*Digital download #"Steal My Girl" *UK digital download #"Steal My Girl" #"Steal My Girl" *CD single #"Steal My Girl" #"Steal My Girl"

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2014 singles One Direction songs Syco Music singles Columbia Records singles 2014 songs Songs written by Ed Drewett Songs written by Julian Bunetta Songs written by Wayne Hector Songs written by John Ryan (musician) Songs written by Louis Tomlinson Songs written by Liam Payne Song recordings produced by Julian Bunetta Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in Greece