Up All Night is the debut studio album by the English-Irish boy band One Direction, released by Syco Records in November 2011 in Ireland and the United Kingdom, followed by a global release in 2012. Just four months after finishing third on the seventh season of The X Factor in December 2010, the group began recording the album in Sweden, the UK, and the United States, collaborating with various writers and producers. Lyrically, the album explores themes of youth, love, heartbreak, and empowerment.

The album received generally positive reviews from contemporary music critics, who praised its strong melodies and catchy, polished pop sound. Critics noted that, despite its commercial production, Up All Night managed to avoid the formulaic tendencies of some pop acts from the ’80s and ’90s. The album debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart and became the fastest-selling debut album of 2011 in the UK. In the United States, it entered the Billboard 200 at number one, selling 176,000 copies in its first week. It went on to top the charts in sixteen countries and was named the world’s third best-selling album of 2012 by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), with global sales reaching 4.5 million copies.

By the end of 2012, One Direction had two of the year’s top five best-selling albums in the U.S.—Up All Night at number three and their follow-up Take Me Home at number five—making them the first act in the Nielsen SoundScan era to achieve this feat. Up All Night was also the year’s best-selling album by a group and the third best-selling debut overall.

Four singles were released from the album, including the UK top-ten hits “What Makes You Beautiful,” “Gotta Be You,” and “One Thing.” To promote the album, One Direction performed on numerous television programs and award shows, including the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards, and embarked on their first headlining concert series, the Up All Night Tour. A live album and concert film titled Up All Night: The Live Tour was later released, capturing performances from the tour.