Dec. 2023 marks month 96 of One Direction’s originally promised 18-month ‘hiatus,’ and all five members of the very beloved boyband have been up to a lot since the split. From new music to becoming fathers, each member has continued to make their mark in the entertainment industry. Let’s take a quick look at what they’ve been up to, one by one.
Harry Styles:
Obviously, we need to start with arguably the most popular member currently, Harry Styles.
Styles has racked up quite a resume as a solo artist in the past eight years, starting off with starring in multiple movies, including “Dunkirk”(2017), “Eternals”(2021), “My Policeman” (2022) and “Don’t Worry Darling”(2022). When asked by Vanity Fair why he decided to pursue a career in acting, Styles responded by saying, “I started acting when I was younger in school. I’ve always liked it, and have always been a massive fan of movies.” Both of his roles in “Dunkirk” and “Eternals” were supporting roles, but he was the leading male actor in “Don’t Worry Darling” and “My Policeman,” showcasing his talent in major roles. Styles is set to appear in more Marvel movies as his character Eros, and he has also stated that he wants to continue acting in other films as well.
But Styles hasn’t only been showcasing his skills on the big screen but has continued to make music post-One Direction. On April 7, 2017, Styles released his first single as a solo artist, “Sign of the Times.” The song reached number one on the UK charts and number four on the US charts, proving that Styles still had the magic touch when it came to music. A month later, Styles released his first solo album, Harry Styles, known as HS1 by fans, on May 12, 2017. Then, from Sept. 2017 to July 2018, Styles went on his world tour, titled Live On Tour.
The rest of 2018 and early 2019 was slightly quiet for Styles, besides inducting his fellow superstar Stevie Nicks into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It wasn’t until Oct. 11, 2019, when Styles unexpectedly released the first single of his second album, “Light’s Up,” taking fans by surprise. Then, on Dec. 13, 2019, Styles released his second album, “Fine Line,” hosting a One Night Only concert at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles to celebrate the album’s release. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, Styles had to postpone his planned tour for the album, titled Love On Tour, until Sept. 2021. However, also in 2021, Styles won his first ever Grammy for Best Pop Solo Performance for his song “Watermelon Sugar,” being the first, and so far the only, member of One Direction to win a Grammy.
Then, on May 20, 2022, Styles released his third studio album as a solo artist, “Harry’s House.” This album broke tons of records, including being the fastest-selling album in the UK in 2022, Styles holding both the number one album and number one single “As It Was” simultaneously, having every song on the album in the Top 30 songs in the US for three consecutive weeks and more! Styles also extended Love On Tour, having a total of 169 shows across the world and racking up a very impressive $617.3 million. By the end, Styles was awarded as having the fifth highest-grossing tour of all time. On top of all of that, at the 2023 Grammy Awards, Styles went home with three awards, including the final award of the night for Album of the Year.
Outside of music, Styles has developed his own clothing, cosmetics, and fragrance brand, Pleasing, which launched in Nov. 2021. The brand was created to promote inclusivity and diversity in the fashion world which is something Styles has been an adamant supporter of for many years.
Currently, Styles is taking a well-deserved break from touring and the spotlight. He has promised his fans that he will work on a fourth studio album and go on tour again, but the timeline is unknown. He has been seen traveling the world, visiting home, and reuniting with friends in London.
Niall Horan:
Horan was actually the first member, besides Zayn, who left the band in 2015, to release solo music. He released his first solo single, “This Town,” on Sept. 29, 2016. The song showed a new, more acoustic side of Horan and was very well perceived by fans and critics alike. It peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 9 on the UK top charts.
Horan’s first studio album as a solo artist, “Flicker,” was released on Oct. 20, 2017 and granted Horan the People’s Choice Award for Favorite Breakout Artist the same year and New Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards. The album also sat at number on the Billboard Top 200 for a few weeks, making Horan the third One Direction member to reach this feat, Styles and Zayn Malik being the other two.
Before the release of “Flicker,” Horan announced a small tour for the album called Flicker Sessions. The tour had only 20 shows, starting on Aug. 29, 2017, and ending on Nov.22, 2017. Then, after the album was released, Horan announced the Flicker World Tour, which would go on to cover 82 shows across the world and generate $24.7 million. The first date of the tour, May 10, 2018 started the tour in Dublin, bringing Horan back to his roots. After the Flick World Tour ended on September 30, 2018, he decided to take a break to work on his next album.
But before we keep talking about his musical accomplishments, Horan also worked on many different projects outside of music. One of the most major ones is the creation of his own golf management company, “Modest! Golf,” where he supports golf players and even puts on a yearly tournament.
On Oct. 4, 2019, Horan released the single “Nice to Meet Ya” and announced his second album, “Heartbreak Weather,” which was released on March 13, 2020. He had also announced a tour, The Nice to Meet Ya tour with his good friend Lewis Capaldi, which unfortunately was canceled due to COVID-19. Horan then took to Instagram Live during lockdown to continue to connect with his fans since he wasn’t able to tour. But fans weren’t the only people that he was connecting with because he teamed up with singer Ashe and released a second version of her song, “Moral of the Story,” on June 16, 2020. During this time, Horan and Liam Payne, another member of One Direction, reconnected on Instagram Live and talked about their hopes for the future of the band. Horan also preformed a virtual concert on Nov. 7, 2020 which was filmed live from the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Horan continued to work with other artists as well, releasing a song with Anne-Marie in May 2021 titled “Our Song.” He also continued to work with Lewis Capaldi, releasing a documentary with the Scottish singer called “Homecoming,” where the pair traveled throughout Ireland. Then, in Oct. 2022, it was announced that Horan would join “The Voice” as a judge for their 23rd season. Horan actually spoke about how he had to choose between joining “The Voice” or “The X Factor” as a judge but ultimately chose “The Voice” to work closely with aspiring artists and coach them. And it must’ve been the right decision because Gina Miles, a member of Horan’s team, won the 23rd season, making Horan a winning coach in his very first season. Horan continues to be a coach on the competition show and is currently filming the 24th season, which just started their live shows.
In late 2022, Horan also hinted at a new album and then released the first single of this new album on Feb. 17, 2023, “Heaven.” After the release of “Heaven,” Horan announced the title of his third studio album, “The Show,” which was released on June 9, 2023. And finally, to the relief of his fans and Horan himself, he announced the tour, The Show: Live On Tour, which is set to start in 2024. This will be Horan’s first tour since the Flicker World Tour in 2018. But before the start of the tour, Horan has been performing at many different festivals worldwide, recently being the closing act at iHeart Radio’s Jingle Ball. I am certain that the world will continue to get new content and music from Horan for a very long time.
Liam Payne:
Liam Payne has also been on many different adventures since the split. One of the most major ones is welcoming his son, Bear, in 2017 with English singer Cheryl. Although Payne and Cheryl have since split, Payne has spoken a lot about how important his son is to him and how much being a father has changed his life.
Unfortunately, Payne has been open about how he has struggled since the end of the band, not knowing where he fits in the world anymore. In May 2017, Payne released his first solo single, “Strip That Down” with rapper Quavo, in which he sang about being “free” from 1D. However, in a 2019 interview with The Guardian, Payne talked about his intense struggle with drinking and drugs that stems from the band and the need to be as cool or interesting as the other members. He speaks about using epilepsy drugs as mood stabilizers or always clearing out the mini bar whenever the band stayed in a new hotel. Payne says that he noticed the damage both the drugs and alcohol were doing to him and decided to quit and, in 2019, announced that he was sober.
Also in 2019, Payne confirmed his relationship with model Maya Henry, whom Payne credits with helping him on his sobriety journey. On Dec. 6, 2019, Payne released his first solo studio album “LP1” and got the chance to work with many talented artists and even had his song with Rita Ora, “For You,” featured on the last installment of the “Fifty Shades of Grey” films. Payne has yet to go on an official tour but has performed at small venues and festivals since releasing his solo music.
In 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown, Payne, like his ex-bandmate, Niall Horan, also took to Instagram Live to connect with his fans. He talked a lot about One Direction, the future of his music, and the future of the band, and even shared exclusive untold stories about the band. Payne also created a YouTube channel where he would post weekly roundups and posted cooking videos and others. On July 17, 2020, Payne performed an online concert, “The LP1 Show: Act 1,” from a fully sanitized, socially-distanced music venue where millions of fans watched him perform live across the world. Tickets started at $10 and were on a “pay what you want” basis, with the proceeds going to The Trussell Trust, which works with a network of more than 1,200 food banks across the U.K. to improve access to food during the coronavirus outbreak. Payne went on to perform three more online concerts, where he helped introduce the world to up-and-coming musicians and shared his love for One Direction and his fans.
Unfortunately, Payne made the fatal mistake of being a guest star on Logan Paul’s podcast, “Impaulsive,” in early 2022. During this podcast, Payne talked about One Direction in a new way, including a fight between him and another unnamed member. He talked about the controversy that was currently going on between Zayn Malik and Yolanda Hadid as well as how Simon Cowell told Payne that he was going to be the ‘face’ of the band. His comments made many One Direction fans upset with Payne, and Payne slipped back into his alcoholism. During this time as well, Payne was accused of cheating on his then fiance, Maya Henry. Payne was eventually rushed to the hospital due to kidney issues, and many of his close friends talked about how worried they were about Payne and how they hoped he would get better.
Payne stayed out of the spotlight for the rest of 2022, going to a Louisiana rehab facility for 100 days. Then, in 2023, Payne came forward and talked about the podcast, saying, “I was so angry at what was going on around me that instead of taking a look inwards, I decided to take it outwards on everybody else.” He also has confirmed that he is currently sober, saying that his ex, Cheryl Cole, and now 6-year-old son, Bear, encouraged him to get sober. Since then, Payne has teased future music and was the only member of One Direction to accept the invite to Louis Tomlinson’s London documentary premiere. Payne says that he still loves the band and each member and hopes that his actions haven’t forever caused a rift between them or affected the potential of a future reunion.
Zayn Malik
Unlike the other members of One Direction, Zayn Malik actually started his solo career earlier due to departing the band in March 2015. Many believe that the band’s decision to go on this indefinite hiatus was caused by Malik’s departure, but it’s unclear if that is true or not. When Malik left the band in 2015, he announced that it was due to the amount of pressure and work that came with being in the band and that he wanted a chance to live a normal life. Just weeks after leaving the band at the Asian Awards, Malik thanked his ex-bandmates during his acceptance speech for the Outstanding Achievement in Music award.
Malik released his first solo single, “Pillowtalk,” on Jan. 29, 2016, barely a month after the band’s hiatus began. The release of this song made many One Direction fans upset since Malik stated that he wanted to live a normal life when he left the band. This music video also announced Malik’s relationship with model Gigi Hadid, who Malik began seeing after his break up with fellow musician and ex-fiance, Perrie Edwards, via text in 2015.
Malik, however, didn’t let the backlash get to him and took the support he did get and released his first solo studio album, “Mind of Mine,” on March 25, 2016, exactly a year after his departure from the band. The album went on to give Malik the American Music Award for New Artist of the Year, the iHeartRadio MMVAs Award for Best Solo Breakout in 2016 and the Billboard Award for Top New Artist in 2017. Malik did not tour for the album, and many fans have speculated that after the grueling tour schedules he was forced to endure while in the band, that touring was not something Malik wanted to go through again.
Malik is infamous for going silent, and fans really only ever heard of him when he released new music like the song “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” with Taylor Swift for the second installment of the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise, “Fifty Shades Darker” in 2017. The same was true for the release of his sophomore album, “Icarus Falls” on Dec. 14, 2018. This album included 29 songs and had a duration of almost two hours. Once again, Malik did not tour for this album, leaving many fans disappointed since he had previously promised a tour but to no avail.
Once again, Malik went silent, and fans really didn’t hear much from him except the occasional Instagram post. In 2020, Hadid announced that she and Malik were expecting their first child together. And in Sept. 2020, the pair welcomed their daughter, Khai Hadid Malik. Zayn showed his love and care for his daughter, getting her name tattooed and sharing his love for his daughter on his Instagram.
Later that same month, Zayn released the leading single for his third album, “Better,” along with a music video for the song. The third album by the star, “Nobody Is Listening,” was released a few months later on Jan. 15, 2021. And to no one’s surprise, Malik once again did not tour for this album.
Unfortunately, the next thing that fans heard of Malik was when he and long-time girlfriend, Gigi Hadid, split in Sept. 2021, and in Oct., her mother, Yolanda Hadid, alleged that Malik had “struck her” during a disagreement. The “Real Housewives” star made a police report about the incident, and Malik was charged with four criminal offenses of harassment. However, Malik denied the claims and has stayed pretty private about the incident. In a post on Twitter, known now as X, Malik said the following:
Since then, Malik has continued to work on music, releasing a new single, “Love Like This,” in July 2023, and has done his first interview in over six years on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, where he talked about his struggles with anxiety while in the band, the future of his music and how raising his daughter has helped him learn how to be a role model.
Besides music, Malik released a clothing brand with his own designs called “Paynt by Zayn” and has recently released a collaboration with the mocktail brand Mixoloshe. Malik says that he is definitely going to continue making music, and fans can look out for his fourth album in the near future.
Louis Tomlinson
Last but certainly not least, we have the oldest member of the band, Louis Tomlinson. Tomlinson has been very outspoken about how difficult it has been for him to find his footing as a solo artist and how much he wishes that the band never went on the hiatus at all. The first big thing that happened to Tomlinson after the band split was the birth of his son, Freddie, on Jan. 21, 2016. Unfortunately, the joy of becoming a parent was short-lived due to Tomlinson’s mother, Johanna Deakin, dying on Dec. 7, 2016 after a long battle with leukemia.
Tomlinson had a scheduled performance on “The X Factor” just three days later, and instead of canceling, he went on the show, dedicating his new song, “Just Hold On,” and the entire performance to his mother. All the members of One Direction came in support except for Malik, who was extended an invitation.
In 2017, Tomlinson released a few single tracks, including “Miss You,” “Just Like You,” and “Back to You” with singer Bebe Rexha. And although Tomlinson was releasing these songs, he made no announcement of an album or any hint at one for that matter.
Then, in 2018, Tomlinson was a judge and mentor on the US version of “The X Factor.” Dalton Harris, one of Tomlinson’s mentees, won that season of the competition. Tomlinson didn’t make much movement for the rest of the year however, staying silent and working on his music.
On March 7, 2019, Tomlinson released the very vulnerable song “Two of Us,” which was dedicated to his mother. In the song, Tomlinson states that he will continue to live his life in her honor and do things that would make her proud. Unfortunately, the song gained another meaning when his younger sister, Felicite, died on March 13, 2019 at just 18 years old.
Later in the year, Tomlinson released the two leading singles of his debut album, “Kill My Mind” in Sept. and “We Made It” in Oct. He dedicated the song “We Made It” to his fans, saying that it was a song about the journey both he and his fans went through together. He then released the song “Don’t Let It Break Your Heart” in Dec. 2019 before finally releasing his debut album, “Wall” on Jan. 17, 2020. He then started his tour, Louis Tomlinson World Tour, on March 8, 2020 but of course, that was quickly postponed due to COVID-19.
During lockdown, Tomlinson took advice from fellow ex-bandmate Liam Payne, and had a live-streamed concert on Dec. 12, 2020 called “Live From London.” The online concert sold over 250K tickets, which gave Tomlinson the Guinness World Record for the biggest-selling live stream ever from a male artist.
Then in 2021, Tomlinson announced the Away From Home Festival, his very own one-day free music festival on Aug. 30 2021. Entirely conceived and curated by Tomlinson, the festival housed 8,500 events and was held at the Crystal Palace Bowl in London. When asked why he decided to create the festival, Tomlinson said, “I’ve been sat on this idea for the last 12 months at least and now to see it come to life makes me very excited. Personally, playing live shows is the best part of what I do and it’s been far too long since I’ve seen my fans, so I wanted to put this festival on to say thank you for all the support and celebrate the return of live music. I’ve got a really good feeling it’s going to be a really special night. We all deserve that!” Following the success of the festival, Tomlinson has since put on the festival again in 2022 and recently again in 2023.
Then on Feb. 1, 2022, Tomlinson was able to restart his World Tour, and it included 81 shows, concluding in Sept. 2022. That same month, Tomlinson released his single, “Bigger Than Me,” as the leading single of his second album. Then in Oct.2022, he also released the second single on the album, “Out Of My System.” Another month later, he released “Silver Tongues,” the third single in the album. Finally, on Nov. 11, 2022, Tomlinson released his second album, “Faith In The Future.” This album was the first of Tomlinson’s to reach number one on the UK charts, and Tomlinson promptly started the “Faith In The Future World Tour” in March 2023. The tour is set to have six legs and includes 96 shows when it concludes in June 2024.
Also in 2023, Tomlinson released his documentary, “All Of Those Voices” on March 22, 2023. He had multiple premieres, one in Mexico, one in Los Angeles, and one in London. Tomlinson did extend an invitation to all ex-members of One Direction to the premieres, but only Payne attended the London premiere. The documentary covered Tomlinson’s struggles as a solo artist, as well as losing his mother and sister. It also showed Tomlinson acknowledging how grateful he is for all of the support that his fans have given to him as a solo artist and that they have helped him find his place in the world as a solo artist. It also showed his son, Freddie, as Tomlinson explained what fatherhood has taught him and how important it is for him to create a strong bond with his son.
Tomlinson is currently on a break from his “Faith In The Future World Tour,” and the next set date is Jan. 24, 2024 in Jakarta, Indonesia. He has mentioned future music and told fans that he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
So, that is what everyone’s favorite boy band has been up to. As month 96 of the 18-month hiatus continues, I personally am incredibly proud of each and every single one of them. As someone who has been a fan of theirs since 2011, I cannot wait for them to have their reunion (which I haven’t lost hope on). But so far, I am really proud of them for continuing to do what they love, preaching amazing values, and getting out of a horrible situation that they were in while in the band (a story for another time). I cannot wait to see what each of them does next.