What was your favorite One Direction moment of 2012? Vote now!

Unless you've been living under a big ol' rock, you know how big 2012 has been for British boy band sensation One Direction. Ever since the group first popped up on "The X Factor U.K.," the pop music gods have been EXTREMELY good to Harry, Niall, Louis, Liam, and Zayn. Not only did the crew join a slew of iconic British artists and actors in their 2012 Olympic performance last summer, but they showed us their goofy side (many times over, sometimes involving giant blow-up bananas) in the video for "Live While We're Young," looked positively swoon-worthy in their "Little Things" video, RELEASED A NEW ALBUM, won "Most Share-Worthy Video" at the 2012 MTV VMAs, looked too cute for words holding matching Labrador puppies, and nearly shut down New York City with their "Today" show performance in Rockefeller Center. We're already feeling dizzy! Read on for our favorite One Direction moments of 2012, then tell us which one is your favorite!

Check out our favorite One Direction moments of 2012, then vote for your favorite! The winning moment will be revealed during "The Big & Best of 2012" livestream on Wednesday, Dec. 12. at 12 p.m. ET/PT.


1.) One Direction wins a Brit Award: Back in February, One Direction received a BRIT Award for Best British Single for their debut single "What Makes You Beautiful." We know this is the U.S. and all, but a BRIT award is kinda a big deal. It's right up there with meeting the queen, which One Direction ALSO did this year (see #13).

2.) One Direction performs at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards: The boys continued their Stateside takeover when they performed "What Makes You Beautiful" in front of a Nickelodeon audience. (Fun fact: This is reportedly where Harry Styles met future (alleged) girlfriend Taylor Swift!)

3.) One Direction performs on SNL: The boys performed "What Makes You Beautiful" and "One Thing" on Saturday Night Live, which was hosted by "Modern Family" star Sofia Vergara.

4.) One Direction helps close out the 2012 Olympics: Singing "What Makes You Beautiful," One Direction joined over 4,000 performers at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London (including The Spice Girls, Oasis, and The Who) at the games' closing ceremony.

5.) Harry Styles gets some new ink: In addition to his ever-growing collection of shoulder tattoos, chest tattoos, arm tattoos, and wrist tattoos, Harry added two giant swallows to his chest this year.

6.) One Direction gets PUNK'D by a pregnant woman: While on set preparing for an interview, a pregnant Nickelodeon producer fooled the guys by pretending to have contractions/go into labor. But the boys proved (relatively) calm in a crisis:  Harry held Stephanie's hand while Liam tried getting her "husband" on the phone. Think they would've delivered it, too?

7.) Zayn Malik quits Twitter: Social media users 'round the world howled with fury the week 1D's Zayn Malik quit his Twitter page. Citing "online hate" as the reason for his and Twitter's breakup: ""The reason i don't tweet as much as i use to, is because I'm sick of all the useless opinions and hate that i get daily goodbye twitter. My fans that have something nice to say can tweet me on the one direction account, x." Zayn may have left over 5 million Twitter followers behind, but he's probably accomplishing a lot more now that his thumbs are free.

8.) One Direction rules the 2012 MTV VMAs: Not only did One Direction win three VMAs in 2012 (Most Share-Worthy Video, Best New Artist, and Best Pop Video), but they rocked the stage with a performance of "One Thing," got kissed by Katy Perry, AND made conciliatory (we think) pasta at home with Justin Bieber after the show.

9.) One Direction sells over half a million copies of Take Me Home in one week: Released on Nov. 13, the boys' sophomore album Take Me Home sold over half a million copies in its first week in the U.S. AND debuted atop the Billboard 200. This made 1D the first British group to have both their debut album and its follow-up go straight to the top of the charts!

10.) One Direction look like perfection on the "Today" show: Nearly every 1D fan in New York (and probably some in Jersey and Connecticut) came out for the boys' performance on the "Today" show in Rockefeller Center. Riding onto the set via a classic double-decker bus, that morning was also known as the day One Direction may or may not have transcended to Beatles fan screaming levels.

11.) One Direction poses with puppies: Cute boys and cute animals...where's the drool bucket?! Every single pets-themed picture we ever saw was put to shame after viewing this AMAZING and perfect image of One Direction playing with Labrador puppies on the cover of Wonderland magazine.

12.) One Direction sells out Madison Square Garden in ten minutes: Does this even bear repeating?? One Direction sold out Madison Square Garden, New York City's LARGEST venue, in ten minutes!!

13.) One Direction meets the the Queen of England: Forget Kate Middleton's unborn baby (well, don't forget it, but focus on this for a minute). Remember that time One Direction met Queen Elizabeth II? AND performed "Little Things" for her? Doesn't this like, rate the highest on every British person's life goal list?

Big & Best of 2012: A Year End Celebration Presented by T-Mobile goes LIVE at 12 p.m. on 12/12/12. Watch at www.bigandbestof2012.com for 8 hours of LIVE performances by Grace Potter, Metric, Alt-J, Thompson Square, First Aid Kit, and Dustin Lynch, plus surprise guest appearances, prize giveaways, special editions of "RapFix Live," "Big Morning Buzz Live," "MTV News After Hours," "You Oughta Know" and much more!!

Photo credit: Getty Images