Where are One Direction now? Niall Horan releases new song, Harry Styles smashes awards season and more

Despite Niall, Harry, Louis, Liam and Zayn being a part of One Direction for almost a decade, since the boy band went on hiatus in 2016 the members have all seemingly taken different directions to navigate their solo careers. One Direction was formed in 2010 after the boys individually auditioned on X Factor, and ended up coming third in the singing competition.

Although they finished as runners-up, the ‘History’ performers went on to become one of the biggest boy bands in the world propelled by social media, selling over 70 million records as of 2020, from their five studio albums.

1D won almost 200 awards including seven Brit Awards, four MTV Awards and 28 Teen Choice Awards to name a few, and continued to dominate charts as a group of four after Zayn Malik left the band in 2015.

Each member was thrown into the spotlight through their global success in the group, and although they are no longer together, the five members have stayed in the public eye with their respective solo careers and new ventures, as they explore life post-1D.

Niall Horan

As the only Irish singer in the boy band, Niall was prone to the luck of the Irish following the band’s hiatus as he secured a solo recording deal with Capitol Records soon after disbanding.

Niall released his first solo album called Flicker in 2017, which debuted at number one in Ireland and the States, and reached the top three in the UK and Australia, while the top singles from the record, ‘This Town’ and ‘Slow Hands’ came into the 20 in several countries.

Continuing his early success, Niall released a second album in 2020 called Heartbreak Weather while also trying to balance his love for golf - Niall started playing when he was five-years-old but has since forged great relationships with players and managers and spent a lot of time on the golf tours including Challenge, European and USPGA. Niall established Modest! Golf Management (a name reminiscent of One Direction’s early management team) and even caddied for the world number one Rory McIlroy.

But what is Niall doing now? On 17 February 2023, Niall entered his certified ‘Lover Boy’ era as he released music for the first time in three years, with ‘Heaven’ as the leading single ahead of the album ‘The Show’ to come out in June.

Harry Styles

Potentially the biggest star to come out of One Direction is the youngest member Mr Harry Styles who has since made it to the silver screen in movies such as Dunkirk, Don’t Worry Darling and My Policeman, as well as doing ok in the music industry too…

In the wake of One Direction, Harry released a self-titled debut solo album which went onto be one of the best-selling albums of 2017, reaching the top spot in both the UK and US and ‘Sign of the Times’ also clinching number one.

Harry must have known what he was doing as the initial success was a ‘sign’ foreshadowing his continued popularity, with his second album ‘Fine Line’ (2019) making records including being the biggest ever first-week sales for an English male artist and also being named as one of Rolling Stone’s ‘Greatest Albums of All Time’.

The ball did not stop rolling for Harry as aside from music and acting, Styles has cemented himself as a style icon with his flamboyant fashion, and became the first man to appear alone on the cover of Vogue.

Most recently, Harry has broken further records with his 2022 album Harry’s House as he clinched all four trophies at the Brit Awards, album of the year at the Grammy’s beating the likes of Adele and Beyoncé, and also managed to have the number one song globally with As It Was (according to Billboard).

Louis Tomlinson

The self-proclaimed ‘funny man’ of One Direction has had varying levels of success after the band, with the Doncaster-born singer choosing to focus on his family and personal life before releasing new songs and albums.

Sadly after 1D disbanded, Louis’ mother Johannah Deakin, passed away from leukaemia in December 2016, before the ‘Just Hold On’ singer also lost his younger singer Felicite in March 2019 due to an accidental overdose.

In his professional career, Louis appeared on and worked with the X Factor, created his own record label as an imprint with Simon Cowell’s Syco, and released several collaborations with the likes of Bebe Rexha and Steve Aoki.

Just before the pandemic started, Louis released his debut solo album called Walls, which debuted at number four in the UK charts, and was set to embark on a tour that was ultimately postponed due to Covid-19.

Louis Tomlinson has performed in several festivals and shows, and even holds a Guinness World Record for most tickets sold for a live-streamed event; he released a second album in 2022 after tracks were leaked and this year announced he was working on a documentary called All of These Voices to premiere on 22 March.

Liam Payne

Liam Payne has dabbled in music since the band went their separate ways, but most notably has had a baby called Bear with former X Factor judge Cheryl.

In terms of his solo career, Liam signed with a North American label, namely Republic Records, and released his first song ‘Strip That Down’ in 2017, which peaked at number three in the UK, and became certified platinum - Liam Payne has sold over 18 million singles in under three years and over 3.9 billion career streams in the same timeframe.

Liam has collaborated with numerous artists including Dixie D’Amelio, French Montana and Rita Ora to release songs such as ‘Familiar’, ‘Get Low’ and ‘Bedroom Floor’.

Zayn Malik

Before One Direction split for good in 2016, Zayn Malik left the band a year before to turn his focus to a promising solo career as he signed for RCA Records.

Changing his style from pop to more R&B, Zayn managed to become the first British solo male artist to debut at number one in both the US and UK with his preliminary song and album - Pillow Talk.

Notably, Zayn’s future girlfriend Gigi Hadid featured in the music video, who he now shares a baby daughter with - Zayn and Gigi’s relationship was very much in the public eye since One Direction even when an alleged bust up took place between Zayn and Gigi’s mother Yolanda.

Music-wise, Zayn’s following songs such as ‘Dusk Till Dawn’ with Sia and ‘I Don’t Want to Live Forever’ also received global attention and critical acclaim, leading him to receive several accolades including Billboard’s New Artist of the Year.