Peak
33
Weeks
18
Score
1,484
Chart Year
2013
The music video for "Little Things" was shot entirely in black-and-white and directed by Vaughan Arnell, who had previously directed the band's music video for their previous single "Live While We're Young".[47] Tomlinson disclosed via social networking website Twitter that an accompanying music video for "Little Things" was in production on 15 October 2012.[5] Band member Zayn Malik confirmed that they had finished filming the video the following day.[48] On each of the five days preceding the video's premiere, One Direction posted a teaser trailer of the video online. Each teaser showed footage from the video and behind the scenes, and one member of the band announcing how many days were left until the video premiere.[49] The official video was uploaded to their Vevo account on YouTube on 2 November 2012.[47] The music video, which was shot in black-and-white, depicts a simplistic concept – a One Direction recording session. The music video consists of a simplistic concept – a One Direction recording session.[47] In a November 2012 interview with MTV News, Arnell said he did not want to make it about anything more than that, "When I first heard the track, the mix on it was so simple and so pure and you could hear all the qualities of the voices on the track, I just wanted to come up with something that when the viewer watched it, it was almost like sitting there listening to the boys sing the track."[50] Arnell subsequently developed the idea of a recording studio setting, thinking that it was "the most pure way to do it".[50] He wanted to make the music video as "uncontrived as possible" without "any other bullsh-- or effects in the way of it."[50] While Arnell conceded that music video may seem like a simple concept, the shoot itself took over twelve hours to complete and said that it was "one of the hardest things I've ever done." The group performed it "over and over again because I was just trying to get different shots, different angles, different qualities."[50] As for the decision to shoot the video in black-and-white, Arnell felt it best captured the essence of the ballad. He also noted that was his intention to give the music video the feeling as if One Direction are singing it right to you, "It's purely about the clarity of it. When you sit there watching it, it's almost like these little bits of eye contact [and] you really feel like the guys are singing it to you."[50] Upon release, '#LittleThingsOnVEVO' became the number-one trending topic worldwide on social networking website Twitter.[51] Following the release of the music video for "Little Things" and its accompanying teaser videos, One Direction posted a 138% increase in Vevo plays and a 159% increase in Facebook reaction in the United States.[52] As a result of the video schedule, the group topped Billboard's Social 50 chart for the first time in their 52nd week on the chart, rising 10–1 from the previous week.[52] Jocelyn Vena of MTV News characterised it as a straightforward video, which has a "quiet tone" that "complements the ballad's sentimental lyrics."[47] Sam Lanksy for Idolator called it "sweet and subdued" and noted that the video is a significant transition from the "over-the-top jubilance" of their "Live While We're Young" video, writing that the contrast "is nice – even if the ultimate effect is a little sleepy."[53] A reviewer of The Huffington Post favoured "the low-key, laid-back" approach to the video and concluded that the "intimate feel of the video perfectly accompanies the songs' sweet lyrics".[51] An editor for Capital FM highlighted sequences in which the boy band "share individual emotionally charged scene
This acoustic ballad is one of two songs penned by Ed Sheeran for One Direction's Take Me Home album. "The two songs that I wrote for One Direction's album are, they're the same subject matter as the last song I wrote for the last album 'cause they're from the same batch of songs," Sheeran revealed to MTV News. "They're both about my ex-girlfriend." Sheeran added that this, "is an appreciation song." He went on to explain: "It was written about the best things about someone, kind of like the things you wouldn't expect." Sheeran penned his songs for One Direction when he was in his teens and they were inspired by a relationship he was in at the time. "I had a wicked girlfriend at 17. She was great," he told MTV News. "Actually my + album is pretty much about her. So she spawned off a lot of songs." Sheeran told Capital FM he wrote this with a young singer-songwriter called Fiona Bevan, only to lose the song. "I've kept in touch with Fiona, we've done gigs and stuff and about two months ago she sent me the tune and was like, 'Oh, do you remember this?,'" he recalled. "I was like, 'Yeah, I do remember that', and I was in the studio with the One Direction boys at the time and I was playing it and they were like, 'We really like that'." The song contains one of Sheeran's favorite lyrics. He told Capital FM: "It's got one of my favorite lines that I've ever written in a song. Harry says, 'I know you never like the sound of your voice on tape and you never like to know how much you weigh and you still have to squeeze into your jeans but you're perfect to me'." Sheeran expanded on the acoustic guitar ballad to MTV. "It is kind of a very sweet song," he said. "It was written about the best things about someone, kind of like the things you wouldn't expect. You'll have to hear it." Those 'little things' include all those seeming imperfections and idiosyncrasies, like the 'crinkles by your eyes,' and 'that you talk in your sleep.'" The song's black and white music video was directed by Vaughan Arnell, who also helmed the clip for "Live While We' re Young." It's a straightforward visual that shows the boys performing the track in the recording studio. "When I first heard the track, the mix on it was so simple and so pure and you could hear all the qualities of the voices on the track, I just wanted to come up with something that when the viewer watched it, it was almost like sitting there listening to the boys sing the track," the director told MTV News. "And I thought there are so many ways you can shoot a ballad," he continued. "And I thought the most pure way to do it was like if you were going back into the recording studio when they recorded it for the first time, to make it as uncontrived as possible and that you really got the qualities of their voice coming through without any other bulls--- or effects in the way of it. I wanted to try and create something that was very pure." Despite its simple concept, the shoot turned out to be more complicated than Arnell or the boys anticipated. "I think at the time of the idea they were [excited], but then when we came to shoot it I think it was one of the hardest things I've ever done," he told MTV News. "Because we were in the studio for over twelve hours and I think just to sit there and kind of perform it over and over again because I was just trying to get different shots, different angles, different qualities. It was a really tough shoot because they had to keep their energy going and keep the vibe going. I think they liked it, but I think in the end it was a tough one just to sit there and keep interested. It was a simple idea, but a tough shoot." The song was One Direction's second chart-topper in the UK following their debut single, "What Makes You Beautiful." One Direction hadn't even intended on recording the song when they first hit the studio with Sheeran. "That one actually wasn't one of [them] we were supposed to be recording," Harry Styles told MTV News. "We went in to record a different one of his and he said 'I've written something else if you want to hear it'... he wrote it and then played it to us in the session when we were supposed to record something else and we said 'All right, we want to record that now.'" One Direction performed the song live at the 2012 Royal Variety Performance for Queen Elizabeth II.
Your hand fits in mine like it's made just for me But bear this in mind, it was meant to be And I'm joinin' up the dots with the freckles on your cheeks And it all makes sense to me I know you've never loved the crinkles by your eyes when you smile You've never loved your stomach or your thighs The dimples in your back at the bottom of your spine But I'll love them endlessly I won't let these little things slip Out of my mouth But if I do, it's you Oh, it's you they add up to I'm in love with you And all these little things You can't go to bed without a cup of tea And maybe that's the reason that you talk in your sleep And all those conversations are the secrets that I keep Though it makes no sense to me I know you've never loved the sound of your voice on tape You never want to know how much you weigh You still have to squeeze into your jeans But you're perfect to me I won't let these little things slip Out of my mouth But if it's true, it's you It's you they add up to I'm in love with you And all these little things You'll never love yourself half as much as I love you And you'll never treat yourself right, darlin', but I want you to If I let you know I'm here for you Maybe you'll love yourself like I love you, oh And I've just let these little things slip Out of my mouth 'Cause it's you, oh, it's you It's you they add up to And I'm in love with you And all these little things I won't let these little things slip Out of my mouth But if it's true, it's you It's you they add up to I'm in love with you And all your little things
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dec 1, 2012 | 41 | 85 |
| 2 | Dec 8, 2012 | 65 | 61 |
| 3 | Dec 15, 2012 | 67 | 59 |
| 4 | Dec 22, 2012 | 53 | 73 |
| 5 | Dec 29, 2012 | 46 | 80 |
| 6 | Jan 5, 2013 | 41 | 85 |
| 7 | Jan 12, 2013 | 33 | 93 |
| 8 | Jan 19, 2013 | 37 | 89 |
| 9 | Jan 26, 2013 | 36 | 90 |
| 10 | Feb 2, 2013 | 39 | 87 |
| 11 | Feb 9, 2013 | 45 | 81 |
| 12 | Feb 16, 2013 | 62 | 64 |
| 13 | Feb 23, 2013 | 82 | 44 |
| 14 | Mar 2, 2013 | 80 | 46 |
| 15 | Mar 9, 2013 | 82 | 44 |
| 16 | Mar 16, 2013 | 89 | 37 |
| 17 | Mar 23, 2013 | 94 | 32 |
| 18 | Mar 30, 2013 | 100 | 26 |