One Direction’s ‘Fireproof’ Breaks Download Record

Chalk this up to yet another accolade for One Direction! Last week (Sept. 8), the band offered fans a brand-new track, 'Fireproof,' as a free download for 24 hours -- and it already set a record!

According to Billboard, One Direction's label, Columbia Records, announced that the track scored 1.1 million downloads worldwide, making it the most downloaded song in a 24-hour period. That's amazing, especially considering that 'Fireproof' was neither the upcoming album's lead single, nor previously advertised.

However, Billboard points out that releasing a song in this style in unconventional, and therefore makes comparisons tricky. A typical free single in the U.S. iTunes Store reportedly scores about 300,000 downloads.

Last week, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan responded to the enthusiastic fan reaction:

'Fireproof' will be featured on One Direction's upcoming album, 'FOUR,' which will be available on Nov. 17. During the free single announcement, the band thanked fans, saying, "We’ve worked incredibly hard writing and recording it whilst we’ve been on the road and we couldn’t have done it without your support." The album's lead single, 'Steal My Girl,' will drop on Sept. 29.

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