Recently, global fans received sad news about the sudden passing at the age of 31 of Liam Payne - former member of One Direction.
In that situation, the song "What Makes You Beautiful" - One Direction's first hit - was suddenly listened to again by global fans with special emotions.
Not only is this a pop song with a catchy melody, it also carries a profound message about the true beauty of women.
The song was born from a simple but emotional moment. Musician Savan Kotecha once shared that he was inspired to compose by his own wife. One morning at a hotel in London, when his wife complained "I feel so ugly", Kotecha replied with a sincere sentence: "No, you look gorgeous. You don't know how beautiful you are".
It was this candid moment that gave birth to one of the most subtly feminist pop songs ever.
"What Makes You Beautiful" is more than just a love song. It's a message that true beauty comes from humility and nature.
The message "You are beautiful because you don't know you are beautiful" along with lyrics like "No need to wear makeup to hide it", "Everyone in the room knows you are beautiful, except you"... have touched the hearts of millions of fans, especially young girls who are in the process of finding confidence and self-worth.
Co-writer Carl Falk commented on the song: "We were all drawn to that line. It was so clever and catchy: 'You don't know how beautiful you are. That's what makes you beautiful!' It made for a great title and a fresh concept. The execution went very smoothly. The first demo captured the spirit of the song perfectly."
Liam Payne, who died at the age of 31, once shared about the song's power: "We always wanted the single to be something that people didn't expect... it just fit perfectly."
And indeed, the song became the perfect launching pad to launch One Direction into one of the most successful boy bands of all time.
The resounding success of "What Makes You Beautiful" is demonstrated by impressive numbers: more than 1.5 billion views on YouTube, ranked 38th in the list of 100 greatest debut singles of all time voted by Rolling Stone.
In the US, despite not being played on the radio at the time, the song sold more than 131,000 copies in its first week - a testament to the power of its message and melody.
