British-Irish boy band wonder One Direction have just released their new video for their current smash hit “Gotta Be You” (you can scroll down and watch below). “Pop music at its most appealing”, is what several critics are calling the group after their emergence as a top tour act of 2012. Their 62 show tour sold out completely, and their video for “What Makes You Beautiful” has scored an amazing 176 million hits on YouTube. What may be even more surprising is their widely-acknowledged talent for live vocals. It turns out that these boys can actually sing! – and we’ll take Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan over the Bieber any day of the week. Their forays into dance pop, electronica, and their own songwriting speak volumes about their ambition. And hey, even The Beatles started out singing some very accessible stuff.

Nick Gatfield, chairman and chief executive officer of Sony Music Entertainment UK, stated how he expects One Direction to represent a $100 million business empire over 2013. Gatfield talked about One Direction’s global success. “What you might not know about One Direction is that they already represent a $50 million business and that’s a figure we expect to double next year”.

The band has even attempted some rather daring and interesting covers on their current tour. One Direction has done a very credible job with tunes such as Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody”, Gym Class Heroes’s “Stereo Hearts”, The Zutons’ “Valerie”, Ednaswap’s “Torn” and The Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling”. Will the the wonder never cease? About 176 million young girls hope not.

Watch “Gotta Be You”