MIDTOWN — They've got the song of the summer — and the hearts of thousands of teen fans who crowded into Midtown Monday to catch a glimpse of One Direction at the band's movie premiere at the Ziegfeld Theatre.
The boy band sensation — which won an MTV Moonman Award at Sunday night's Video Music Awards at the Barclays Center — was ready to make teen fans swoon again on Monday with an appearance at the theater on West 54th Street for the group's concert documentary, "This is Us."
Theater staffers were bracing for thousands of fans in anticipation of One Direction singers Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson hitting the red carpet along 54th Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues at 6:30 p.m.
Metal barricades lined both sides of the street in front of the theater Monday afternoon, and fans were already starting to gather for a glimpse.
"I just want to see them in person, up close and hopefully get a picture with them," said Jackie Salvaggio, 19, who took a bus overnight from Boston to snag a place at 6 a.m. "I haven't gone to sleep."
She and others debated how best to attract band-members for autographs and photos.
"I will scream, but not, like, obnoxiously," said 15-year-old Grace Costagliola, a rising high-school sophomore from Staten Island.
The band has been entertaining New York since Saturday, when hordes of teenagers flooded Rockefeller Plaza and shut down traffic for a free show by the band.
Jaime Massara, 15, of Staten Island, who carried a One Direction sign, had one of her favorite songs written on the toes of her Converse shoes.
"'Teenage Dirtbag' — they do it perfectly," she said, referring to One Direction's cover of a 2000 song by Wheatus.
"They're just adorable," she added. "They have music that gets me in a good mood, makes me want to dance."