One Direction hunk Liam Payne believes their upcoming new single helped to shape the sound of their latest album 'Midnight Memories'.

The lads are set to release the title track from the record as their next single on March 9.

Payne confirmed the news in a video to fans uploaded onto YouTube and he said that the rocky number had a big part to play in moulding the sound of their album.

He said: "It was actually one of the songs that I wrote with Louis [Tomlinson]. This is the first song that we wrote on the album. This kind of like paved the way for this whole album's sound."

Payne added: "It's a big, big tune and it's all about the midnight memories."

One Direction meanwhile have officially previewed their upcoming 'Midnight Memories' with a series of stills from the shoot.