If you were one of the many to make a direct correlation between One Direction's sudden single release and Beyonce's 2013 surprise album drop (and we were one of them, thanks), congratulations! According to the band, that now-legendary stealth move of hers influenced their decision to do the same.

In an interview with Nick Grimshaw, Liam Payne admitted that the "Drag Me Down" release was inspired by Beyonce. He said, "Usually everything leaks really early, which is super annoying when you’ve been trying to build something for months, but this year we went Beyonce-style which was cool, being a musical diva and just dropping songs."

Borrowing from one of the world's top musical acts was a smart choice for the boy band. Despite whispers of an impending breakup, which were first sparked by former member Zayn Malik quitting the band in the middle of their current world tour, One Direction have managed to continue breaking records, five years after the group's initial inception.

According to Billboard, “Drag Me Down” broke the Spotify record for one-day streams. The single was reportedly played 4.75 million times around the world last Friday (July 31), inching past Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again,” which saw 4.26 million streams on April 17.

Whether One Direction can keep the momentum going in time for the release of their next album (their fifth in five years), remains to be seen — especially considering the fact that one of its members, Louis Tomlinson, is about to become a father.

Which, by the way, is definitely true. Liam directly addressed the baby rumors in an interview with Magic Radio’s Jo Parkerson, saying (via E! News), "Well, obviously I was a bit shocked, but he's taken super well to it. He's very excited with what's going on with him at the moment and I feel that stuff like that happens sometimes. He's taking it very seriously."

You can listen to Liam's interview with Nick Grimshaw below.

See What Stars Looked Like When They Released Their First Albums

More From Lite 98.7