"Perfect" is a song by British-Irish boy band

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 gro ...

. Released on 16 October 2015 as the second single from their fifth studio album, ''

Made in the A.M. ''Made In the A.M.'' is the fifth studio album by English-Irish boy band One Direction, released on 13 November 2015, by Columbia Records and Syco Music. This album is also the group's first album following the departure of Zayn Malik, who left th ...

'', it debuted at number one in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, and reached the top 10 in several countries, including the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

and Australia. The song was written by members

Harry Styles Harry Edward Styles (born 1 February 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. His musical career began in 2010 as a solo contestant on the British music competition series ''The X Factor''. Following his elimination, he was brought ...

and Louis Tomlinson, along with the band's regular collaborators, Julian Bunetta and John Ryan among others.

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 D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : ...

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. Bunetta called the single "a jam" and stated that he plays it in his car frequently.

Critical reception

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

''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 Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bo ...

's (ex-girlfriend of band member Harry Styles) song " Style". Brittany Spanos of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'' commented that the song was "a catchy ode to bad boys and the rebellious personas" while noticing that "Styles seems to directly respond to the songs Taylor Swift is rumoured to have written about him on her album '' 1989''. Former band member Zayn Malik was less complimentary about the song; 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.

Chart performance

In the band's native

, "Perfect" debuted at number two. In the United States, the song became the band's sixth and final top ten hit when "Perfect" debuted at number 10 on the '' Billboard'' issue dated 7 November 2015. This debut also broke

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

' record for the most top 10 Hot 100 debuts among bands.

Music video

The music video was directed by Sophie Muller with additional help from actor Giovanni Ribisi and premiered on

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, ...

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 Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

in early September 2015. 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 Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

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 Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. The band also performed "Perfect" at the

2015 American Music Awards The 43rd Annual American Music Awards was held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California on November 22, 2015. It was broadcast on ABC and hosted by Jennifer Lopez. With three awards, Taylor Swift was the big winner of the night. Jared L ...

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

's Live Lounge, ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was pr ...

'', ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, California, as part of ABC's l ...

'', British ''The X Factor'' as well as Jingle Ball festivals across the United States. In November 2015, the band performed the song in front of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex at the Royal Variety Performance and Ed Power from '' The Telegraph'' listed the performance as "the fifth standout moment of the night."

Track listing

*Digital download #"Perfect" – 3:50 *Digital EP #"Perfect" – 3:51 #"

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it ...

" – 3:14 #"Perfect" – 3:43 #" Drag Me Down" – 3:08 Note: "Home" was written by Jamie Scott, Louis Tomlinson 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 bei ...

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2015 singles 2015 songs One Direction songs Black-and-white music videos Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Scotland Songs written by Jacob Kasher Songs written by John Ryan (musician) Songs written by Julian Bunetta Songs written by Harry Styles Songs written by Louis Tomlinson Songs written by Mozella Syco Music singles Songs written by Jesse Shatkin Song recordings produced by Jesse Shatkin Music videos directed by Sophie Muller