Since One Direction’s 2016 split, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik have had varying levels of success in the music industry.
All five original members have embarked on solo careers, with Malik becoming the first to do so after abruptly leaving the boy band in March 2015. He subsequently signed a solo contract with RCA Records, and released his debut album, Mind of Mine, the following year.
Styles followed suit in June 2016, re-signing with Columbia Records and dropping his self-titled debut in May 2017. Horan, meanwhile, inked a deal with Capitol Records in September 2016, and released his first album, Flicker, in October 2017.
Payne and Tomlinson had slower starts to their solo careers. They each put out a series of one-off singles in the years after 1D went their separate ways but did not release full-length albums right away. Payne’s debut, LP1, dropped in December 2019, while Tomlinson’s Walls hit retailers in January 2020.
Despite parting ways, most of the former boy banders have remained in touch over the years. In fact, Payne revealed in June 2021 that he and Styles had recently caught up following the “Watermelon Sugar” singer’s first Grammy win earlier that year.
“Yeah, I did speak to Harry, and it was really lovely,” Payne said during an Instagram Live at the time. “He called me because he has a sixth sense for if I’m struggling or if one of us is in trouble, I feel like.”
The “Live Forever” crooner added: “I spoke to him and it was a really lovely catch up actually. And I’ve got a lot of love for the man. He’s great, he’s really, really great.”
When it comes to musically reconnecting, Payne is open to a possible 1D reunion in the future.
“I’d love for us to get in a room at some point. I think it would be the best thing,” he explained, noting that all of his former bandmates have discussed a comeback mission and have “said it outside, but we’ve just not said it to each other.” He joked, “there’s a song in there somewhere.”
Below, Us Weekly breaks down the five guys’ solo careers by the numbers:
Since One Direction’s 2016 split, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik have had varying levels of success in the music industry.
All five original members have embarked on solo careers, with Malik becoming the first to do so after abruptly leaving the boy band in March 2015. He subsequently signed a solo contract with RCA Records, and released his debut album, Mind of Mine, the following year.
Styles followed suit in June 2016, re-signing with Columbia Records and dropping his self-titled debut in May 2017. Horan, meanwhile, inked a deal with Capitol Records in September 2016, and released his first album, Flicker, in October 2017.
Payne and Tomlinson had slower starts to their solo careers. They each put out a series of one-off singles in the years after 1D went their separate ways but did not release full-length albums right away. Payne’s debut, LP1, dropped in December 2019, while Tomlinson’s Walls hit retailers in January 2020.
Despite parting ways, most of the former boy banders have remained in touch over the years. In fact, Payne revealed in June 2021 that he and Styles had recently caught up following the “Watermelon Sugar” singer’s first Grammy win earlier that year.
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“Yeah, I did speak to Harry, and it was really lovely,” Payne said during an Instagram Live at the time. “He called me because he has a sixth sense for if I’m struggling or if one of us is in trouble, I feel like.”
The “Live Forever” crooner added: “I spoke to him and it was a really lovely catch up actually. And I’ve got a lot of love for the man. He’s great, he’s really, really great.”
When it comes to musically reconnecting, Payne is open to a possible 1D reunion in the future.
“I’d love for us to get in a room at some point. I think it would be the best thing,” he explained, noting that all of his former bandmates have discussed a comeback mission and have “said it outside, but we’ve just not said it to each other.” He joked, “there’s a song in there somewhere.”
Below, Us Weekly breaks down the five guys’ solo careers by the numbers:
Credit: Matt Baron/Shutterstock
Harry Styles
EPs: 0
Albums: 3 (2017’s Harry Styles, 2019’s Fine Line, 2022’s Harry’s House)
Singles: 13 (2017’s “Sign of the Times,” “Two Ghosts,” “Kiwi”; 2019’s “Lights Up,” “Adore You”; 2020’s “Falling,” “Watermelon Sugar,” “Golden” 2021’s “Treat People With Kindness,” “Fine Line”; 2022’s “As It Was,” “Late Night Talking,” “Music for a Sushi Restaurant”)
Billboard Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 (2020’s “Watermelon Sugar”, No. 1 (2022’s “As It Was”)
Concert Tours: 2 (2017/2018’s Harry Styles: Live on Tour; 2021-2023’s Love on Tour)
Grammy Wins: 1 (2021’s Best Pop Solo Performance for “Watermelon Sugar”)
Credit: JM Enternational/Shutterstock
Niall Horan
EPs: 4 (2017’s Spotify Singles, 2018’s Mirrors, 2020’s Spotify Singles, 2021’s Niall’s Mix)
Albums: 2 (2017’s Flicker, 2020’s Heartbreak Weather)
Singles: 13 (2016’s “This Town”; 2017’s “Slow Hands,” “Too Much to Ask”; 2018’s “On the Loose,” “Seeing Blind” featuring Maren Morris; 2019’s “What a Time” with Julia Michaels, “Nice to Meet Ya,” “Put a Little Love on Me”; 2020’s “No Judgement,” “Black and White,” “Moral of the Story” with Ashe; 2021’s “Our Song,” “Everywhere”)
Billboard Hot 100 Peak: No. 11 (2017’s “Slow Hands”)
Concert Tours: 2 (2017’s Flicker Sessions; 2018’s Flicker World Tour)
Grammy Wins: 0
Credit: James Veysey/Shutterstock
Liam Payne
EPs: 2 (2018’s First Time, 2020’s Midnight Hour)
Albums: 1 (2019’s LP1)
Singles: 13 (2017’s “Strip That Down” featuring Quavo, “Get Low” featuring Zedd, “Bedroom Floor”; 2018’s “For You” featuring Rita Ora, “Familiar” featuring J Balvin, “First Time” featuring French Montana, “Polaroid” featuring Jonas Blue and Lennon Stella; 2019’s “Stack It Up” featuring A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, “All I Want (For Christmas),” “Live Forever” featuring Cheat Codes; 2020’s “Midnight” with Alesso, “Naughty List” featuring Dixie D’Amelio; 2021’s “Sunshine”)
Billboard Hot 100 Peak: No. 10 (2017’s “Strip That Down” featuring Quavo)
Concert Tours: 0
Grammy Wins: 0
Credit: Picturematt/Shutterstock
Louis Tomlinson
EPs: 0
Albums: 2 (2020’s Walls, 2022’s Faith in the Future)
Singles: 11 (2016’s “Just Hold On” featuring Steve Aoki; 2017’s “Back to You” featuring Bebe Rexha and Digital Farm Animals, “Miss You”; 2019’s “Two of Us,” “Kill My Mind,” “We Made It,” “Don’t Let It Break Your Heart”; 2020’s “Walls”; 2022’s “Bigger Than Me,” “Out of My System,” “Silver Tongues”)
Billboard Hot 100 Peak: No. 40 (2017’s “Back to You” featuring Bebe Rexha and Digital Farm Animals)
Concert Tours: 2 (2020’s Louis Tomlinson World Tour, 2023’s Faith in the Future World Tour)
Grammy Wins: 0
Credit: Rich Fury/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
Zayn Malik
EPs: 1 Mixtape (2021’s Yellow Tape)
Albums: 3 (2016’s Mind of Mine, 2018’s Icarus Falls, 2021’s Nobody Is Listening)
Singles: 17 (2016’s “Pillowtalk,” “Like I Would,” “Wrong” featuring Kehlani, “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” featuring Taylor Swift; 2017’s “Still Got Time” featuring PartyNextDoor, “Dusk Till Dawn” featuring Sia; 2018’s “Let Me,” “Entertainer,” “Sour Diesel,” “Too Much” featuring Timbaland, “Fingers,” “No Candle No Light” featuring Nicki Minaj; 2019’s “Trampoline (Remix)” with Shaed, “Flames” with R3hab and Jungleboi; 2020’s “Better”; 2021’s “Vibez,” “To Begin Again”)
Billboard Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 (2016’s “Pillowtalk”)
Concert Tours: 0
Grammy Wins: 0
