On May 2, I had a quintessential “me-night”: simple girl dinner, comfy pyjamas, glass of rosé, my new Trader Joe’s Peony Blossom candle, and a new Anne Hathaway movie. I often reach for Anne classics on a night in like The Devil Wears Prada, The Princess Diaries (which usually turns into a double feature), Ella Enchanted, or The Intern. But this was a new movie, The Idea of You, and I was intrigued.

The Idea of You, starring Anne and Nicholas Galitzine, premiered that day—and the buzz leading up to it was wild. The paparazzi photos of the stars caused a stir, mostly because Anne looked amazing. But beyond the stars, the plot itself was making people talk. Since the movie is based on a novel of the same name, people (myself included) knew the plot in advance.

The movie follows a love affair between Solène, a single mother who recently went through a divorce (Hathaway), and Hayes Campbell, the lead singer of a world-famous boy band (Galitzine). After meeting randomly backstage at Coachella before the band, August Moon performs at the festival, Solène and Hayes find themselves attracted to each other instantly, despite their sixteen-year age gap. When Hayes shows up at Solène’s art gallery and purchases every piece of art, the two are inseparable. So inseparable that Solène joins Hayes on the August Moon European tour.

It’s a dreamy plot: A woman falls in love with an international pop star and gets swept away—in the romance and on tour. It reminded me of a similar dream I had as a fourteen-year-old about a certain boy band star, Harry Styles. The author of The Idea of You, Robinne Lee, even spilt, “Harry Styles was one of multiple people who went into creating [the character of] Hayes Campbell.”

The movie is also filled with One Direction-esque songs, with many being produced by the same songwriter and producer who wrote “What Makes You Beautiful.” So, yeah, it’s safe to say that though Lee revealed August Moon had many muses, One Direction is undoubtedly one of them—if not the main one. Even more, I think that similarity is a major reason August Moon, which, I can’t stress enough, is a fictional boy band, is gaining popularity. Let’s dive into the details:

Why August Moon is taking off

They make us feel nostalgic

After watching the movie, I found myself humming songs by August Moon and recognizing them when I heard them on TikTok. When I opened my Spotify the next morning and typed in “August Moon,” there they were. A full album of music by the fictional boy band was available for streaming, and I’ll admit it, I was streaming. Songs from the movie like “Dance Before We Walk” and “Guard Down” were my first plays, along with “Closer” and “I Got You.” Since the movie’s debut on May 2nd, streams of “Dance Before We Walk” spiked +400% on Spotify in the US, according to recent data from Spotify.

It’s not hard to guess why. These songs remind me, and I’m guessing many others, of listening to new One Direction songs years ago and bringing us to a different time in our lives. Maybe a time not so cluttered with work meetings, bills, commuting, and those constant adult responsibilities.

August Moon even put out a new music video for their song, “Guard Down,” which just came out on May 16 and already has over 433,000 views on YouTube. But why are we listening to a fictional band and watching their music videos?