One Direction had already been promised “Fool’s Gold” when Adele heard the song and wanted it herself. Writers Jamie Scott and Mozella recall how a composition Harry Styles loved also caught the British singer’s attention. The story appears in “A Whole Lotta History”, Jason Lipshutz’s new book, released on November 3, 2026, which revisits the group’s career through the experiences of its collaborators.
A phone call from Adele gave Jamie Scott another indication that “Fool’s Gold” had made an impression. The song he had written with Mozella for One Direction had reached the singer, and she wanted it. By then, however, Scott had already promised the composition to the group. According to the writers’ account, that commitment settled its destination, even after another major British voice expressed an interest in recording it.
The story appears in “A Whole Lotta History”, the new book by music journalist Jason Lipshutz, published by Atria Books on November 3. Lipshutz spoke to people who worked with One Direction to explore the decisions and experiences behind the songs. Scott and Mozella are among the collaborators who revisit the making of “Four”, the band’s fourth studio album, and the material they helped develop for it.
Mozella, whose real name is Maureen Anne McDonald, recalled a writing session with Scott in which they completed two songs in one day. One was “Fool’s Gold”. She remembered their sense that it was unusually honest and unpolished in its emotion. The song’s restrained character would later give it a distinct place within the album, relying on the melody and vulnerability of the vocal performances rather than a large, overtly dance-driven arrangement.
Scott was the first to play it to Harry Styles. In Mozella’s recollection, Styles loved it immediately, an encouraging response as the writers looked for material suited to the five members’ next recording period. One Direction were beginning to explore gentler arrangements and more personal performances, and the song offered a way into that space. Its initial reception within the group was therefore important to the decision to keep it for the project.
Adele’s enthusiasm came afterwards. Scott remembered her calling and telling him that she had just heard the song he had written for One Direction. Mozella was less certain about how the recording reached her. She thought Scott may have played it to Adele directly, or that Ryan Tedder, who was working with her at the time, may have been involved. The route remains part of the uncertainty in the recollection.
What Mozella remembered clearly was that Adele loved the song and that Scott had already committed it to the band. The writers did not withdraw it. Their account describes interest and a promise that was kept, rather than an argument between artists. It contains no claim that Adele recorded an official version, entered a formal rights negotiation or became involved in a dispute over who would eventually release the composition.
Adele has not made a new public statement about the story in connection with the book. The information comes from Scott and Mozella’s memories of the writing period. That attribution matters when discussing a conversation from years earlier: the account adds detail to the song’s history, but does not supply a recording of the phone call or independently settle every step by which the music reached the singer.
“Fool’s Gold” ultimately appeared on “Four”, released in November 2014. The album arrived as One Direction were moving beyond the sound most closely associated with their first successes. Its narrator recognises that a relationship is not truly mutual but continues to be carried along by feeling. The image of fool’s gold gives that attachment a central metaphor: something that seems precious without possessing the value the person pursuing it imagines.
The arrangement leaves the voices to carry much of that emotional weight. A gentler musical setting allows the words and melodic line to remain clear, distinguishing it from a more forceful, dance-led pop track. It became part of an album that topped both the Billboard 200 and the UK albums chart, alongside songs such as “Steal My Girl” and “Night Changes”, as the group expanded its range of expression.
Scott and Mozella co-wrote eight tracks on “Four”. Mozella had already helped write Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball”, while Scott had a close creative relationship with One Direction. Their story shows how the same composition can attract different performers before its final release establishes the version listeners know. The writers’ initial feeling about “Fool’s Gold” was followed by enthusiasm from Styles and then interest from Adele.
Twelve years after “Four”, the detail that decides this story is still the promise Scott had made. Styles loved the song, Adele heard it and wanted it, but the agreed destination did not change. Lipshutz’s book brings that exchange into a wider account of the group’s musical development, adding another perspective to a recording audiences eventually heard through the voices of One Direction’s five members.
