The country is still recovering from the shock that was the explosion of One Direction hitting our shores - and most of us still haven't figured out what the big deal was! Therefore I've put together a little run-down so we can keep up with the hype!

A boy band is loosely defined as a popular music act consisting of only male singers. The members are expected to dance as well as sing, usually giving highly choreographed performances. More often than not, boy band members do not play musical instruments, either in recording sessions or on stage, and only sing and dance, making the term somewhat of a misnomer.

In many cases boy bands are brought together by a producer through an audition process, although many of them form on their own.

One Direction are a British-Irish boy band consisting of members Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson. They were brought together by producer SImon Cowell after auditioning solo for the British X Factor and were signed to his record label Syco Records.  They later signed in North America to Columbia Records.

A notable element of One Direction is the fact that all five boys are traditionally handsome, often a less-handsome member is included in a boy band in order to allow teenage boys to relate.

In all honesty boy bands have been around for decades and One Direction are no great exception. The most famous boy bands throughout history have been:

• The Beatles
• Hanson
• Backstreet Boys
• New Kids on the Block
• Bay City Rollers
• NSYNC
• The Monkees
• Boyz II Men
• Jackson 5
• Take That
• Jonas Brothers 

All these bands have had their fans in a tizzy of squeals, tears, marriage proposals and One Directioners (the name given to the most hardcore One Direction fans) are no different. Yet the older generation seems to be slamming them for their devotion!

I think if you love One Direction then good on you - everyone has a crush on some unattainable celebrity when they're growing up and - as long as you don't verge into stalker-like behaviour - it's healthy!

And if you don't understand what all the fuss is about just try to think back to your crush on The Monkees or The Beatles or Hanson (once you'd figured out they were boys not girls!)

What do you think about One Direction? Or who was your ultimate boy band growing up? Let me know here!