When One Direction declared they were going on hiatus in late 2015, many fans assumed they would be making a comeback in the next two years. Four years later, many found it unlikely that we’ll be seeing the group perform together again. Nonetheless, as each member embarked on their respective solo journeys, numerous supporters have remained loyal and excited for the futures of their favorite artists. With the year coming to an end, the four members seem to be quickly approaching notable points in their individual careers, with tour and album announcements occupying large portions of their social media and their agenda for the nearing months.
One Direction consisted of Liam Payne (26), Niall Horan (26), Louis Tomlinson (27), and Harry Styles (25). The four came together as a group in 2010 when they all individually auditioned for the X-Factor in London. Although it was originally made up of five members, Zayn Malik (26) left the band on March 25, 2015, to pursue a solo career of his own, seemingly contributing to the band’s eventual breakup and creating a huge uproar within the fandom.
In spite of the band’s predominantly teen-pop, dance-pop, and pop-rock musical themes, each of them has branched off from the genre slightly since the beginning of their independent pursuits. While Payne’s music incorporates some pop, he’s also been known to dip his toe in R&B and electronic music. The electronic genre has also been explored by Tomlinson whose music explores categories such as EDM and pop-rock. Similarly, Horan’s music has aspects of pop-rock, but he’s also implemented some “folkier” sounds like folk-pop and a small bit of country. However, Styles has them all beat in terms of experimentation; his self-titled album is widely regarded as a collection of soft rock, folk, Britpop, and pop-rock.
On October 18, 2019, Payne announced he would be releasing his first album on December 6th. The album is called LP1 and will have seven previously published tracks in addition to ten new ones. With it being so close to the holidays, he’s chosen to include a Christmas song called “All I Want (for Christmas),” which is already available to listen to on his youtube. Despite this being his first big project since the band’s separation, his previously released hits have helped him acquire an even larger following as he now surpasses twelve million monthly listeners on Spotify.
Not long after, Tomlinson announced his own debut album that is set to be released on January 31, 2020. His project will feature previously published hits, as well, but will only have a track list of 12 songs in total. One of the songs that will be featured on his album, Walls, is “We Made It,” his most recent single to date. A day after he declared the album’s date, the music video for the hit was uploaded to youtube where it acquired over three million views in under a month. Only a few hours following the upload, Tomlinson also announced he’d be going on tour starting March 2020. Similar to his former bandmates, the artist has amassed a growing audience of his own, with over five million monthly listeners on Spotify.
While Niall Horan has not set a date for an upcoming album, he’s recently made his own tour announcement. Not long after the release of his last single, “Nice To Meet Ya,” Horan took to social media on October 30 with a tweet of the tour dates and details. Unlike Tomlinson’s, Horan’s tour is entirely based in North America and will only take place during the Spring of 2020, beginning in mid-April. While exhilarated, his fans continue to question when they will see another album from him. In 2017, Horan released his debut album, Flicker, that continues to accumulate attention, which is clear from his increasing number of seventeen million monthly listeners on Spotify and his seemingly interminable growth in Twitter followers.
Although Styles is known for having fairly abrupt announcements, his recent announcements have rapidly gathered a lot of attention. On October 10, 2019, he suddenly released his single, “Lights Up,” which collected over thirty-four million views within its first month on youtube. Then, On November 4th, Styles created a post on Instagram with the caption: “FINE LINE. THE ALBUM. DEC 13,” that amassed over two million likes within its first week. Only ten days following this post, he announced he would be going on his second tour, Love On Tour, starting April 2020. He made two posts on the topic, one on the dates and details of the European leg of the tour and the other on the dates and details of the North American leg. To add, his precipitateness was also distinguishable when he announced a “One Night Only” show in LA on November 05, 2019. The performance will take place on December 13 and tickets have long since sold out. Despite Styles’ nearly nonexistent online presence before these declarations, his fans are incredibly devoted and have eagerly awaited ticket sales to see him once again. Within the last month, Styles’ Spotify monthly audience has spiked, leaving him at over twenty-two million listeners right now.
With each member currently thriving, fans have gone wild with excitement. As much as we hope for the four of them to perform together again, it’s still wonderful seeing them prosper on their own. Make sure to keep an eye out for them in the next few months and maybe even get tickets to one of their shows, if you’re quick and lucky enough, that is!