Awards show season is nearly over, which means we’re finally headed into March — it’s a little less cold, trees and flowers are inching toward being a little less dead and the sun is staying out a little bit longer. So it is that our annual March Madness poll is set to launch today, this first day of the month, in which fan bases face off against each other to be crowned the ultimate title of most dedicated.

Round 1 sees two of pop music’s most intense fan bases go head-to-head: Justin Bieber’s Beliebers are up against One Direction’s aptly titled Directioners.

Bieber’s faced a slew of ups and downs throughout his career thus far. Impressively, however, he’s managed to maintain his relevance so many years after he first emerged as pop’s leading force, gaining momentum quite recently after a new, older fan base suddenly deemed Bieber ‘cool.’ There’s been an obvious shift in attitude toward the “Sorry” singer, due in large part to a public apology tour and his solid new music. But fair-weather fans aside, his core Beliebers have never strayed far from their fave, weathering each new legal infraction with the kind of fervent dedication not seen since The Beatles stepped foot on U.S. soil. Theirs is an intense love.

One Direction, meanwhile, really put their fans (Directioners) through the ringer this past year: Zayn Malik shattered hearts around the globe when he quit the group last year, then One Direction further worsened things when they announced a so-called "temporary hiatus." But those two combined factors seemed to somehow strengthen Directioners' love for the boy band -- they came out in droves to see the group on what may have been their last ever tour and purchased enough copies of 1D's Made in the A.M. to propel it to a No. 2 debut on the Billboard Hot 100.

Which fan base deserves to move on to the next round? Vote in the poll below before it closes on March 9 at 11:59 PM EST.

March Madness Round 1 Pt. 2
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March Madness Round 1
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