One Direction branching out with ‘SNL’ and ‘iCarly’ appearances - VIDEOS

Recent UK pop sensation One Direction is keeping busy in the US by branching out into the world of television. The group were featured as guests on both Nickelodeon’s ‘iCarly’ and NBC’s ‘Saturday Night Live’ on Saturday.

In a move that thrilled legions of Directioners, the intensely loyal fanbase of One Direction, the lads made a guest appearance on the Nickelodeon show ‘iCarly.’ In the episode, which aired Saturday night, the group played themselves and performed their hit song ‘What Makes You Beautiful.’ The episode also comically featured band member Liam feigning sickness to get attention from everyone.

Older fans then had the opportunity to stay up late and see the band grace the stage at NBC’s ‘Saturday Night Live.’ There, they performed ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ and their new song ‘One Thing.’

The boys got to stretch their acting muscles even further when they were featured in the sketch ‘Manuel Ortiz Show’ where they played the sons of that night’s guest host, Sofia Vergara.

Speaking to RTE News prior to their SNL appearance, band member Harry Styles said "I think a lot of it is gonna be a big adrenaline rush. The show's so big over here. I think it's going to be a lot of fun and I think we're gonna have as much fun with it as we can."

Fellow bandmate Niall Horan added: "This is our kind of show. You know, we like to have a bit of a laugh. This is our perfect kind of show [and] we get involved as much as we can."

Following their SNL appearance, Niall Horan took to Twitter to show his gratitude and appreciation for everyone involved. Said Niall, (@NiallOfficial) “‏SNL tonight was amazing..thanks to @nbcsnl for having us..much appreciated!”

He later followed up and tweeted to his 2.4 million followers “north america.thank you for having us.its been an amazing trip..you guys have been amazing.thank you all so much for getting us to number 1.”

On Sunday, One Direction jetted off for Australia and New Zealand to continue their tour.

One Direction was formed as part of the UK ‘X Factor’ and features four English boys and one Irish boy, Niall Horan. The group made music history a few weeks ago when they were the first ever UK musical act to debut at number on the US music charts with their album ‘Up All Night.’