It’s an increasingly common trend for teenage boybands to suddenly become very successful before trying their luck as solo artists. One Direction were pioneers during the last decade. The British band managed to get their music to the top of the charts and in 2016 decided to go their separate ways. Eight years later, we review how each of them fared.
The five members of One Direction: what became of them?
Harry Styles has released three studio albums as a solo artist: ‘Harry Styles’ (2017), ‘Fine Line’ (2019) and ‘Harry’s House’ (2022). He has also tried his hand at a career in film, participating in films by Christopher Nolan, such as ‘Dunkirk’, or others such as ‘My Policeman’. In 2021 he won the Grammy for Best Pop Performance for ‘Watermelon Sugar’, and in 2023 he won the Grammy for Album of the Year for ‘Harry’s House’.
Zayn Malik was the first to leave the band in 2015, before One Direction officially broke up. His solo career began with much success. His debut album, ‘Mind of Mine’ (2016), included the worldwide hit ‘Pillowtal’. Since then, he has released two other albums not so recognized in the industry: ‘Icarus Falls’ (2018) and ‘Nobody is Listening’ (2021).
Niall Horan has released two solo albums: ‘Flicker’ (2017) and ‘Heartbreak Weather’. His genre has gradually moved away from pop music to focus on soft rock. In 2023, he made the leap to television by becoming a coach on ‘The Voice’ in its US version.
Liam Payne passed away early Thursday morning, October 17. The young man was in Argentina, where he had traveled to attend Niall Horan’s concert on October 2. Despite some chart successes, his musical career did not have the expected impact. He had to deal with several problems in his personal life and comments about the band.
Louis Tomlinson has had a more discreet career, but with a very loyal fan base. He has released two solo albums, ‘Walls’ (2020) and ‘Faith in the future’ (2022). He has had to deal with several personal tragedies, including the death of his mother in 2016 and his younger sister in 2019. In 2018, he also featured on the original version of ‘X Factor’.