Music superstars. Pop boyband One Direction became one of the biggest groups of the 2010s after five members – Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne and zayn turned around – met as a contestant on a reality television series The X factor in 2010.
Five singers are a group in the jury Simon CowellDemand and record executives signed One Direction to the Syco Records label in 2010. The group went on to release five studio albums together, becoming the first band in history to have their first four records debut at number one on the Billboard 200. Propelled by an ardently supportive fan base, the tour One Direction 2014 is the highest-grossing concert of the year.
In addition to commercial success, the pop sensation has also received critical acclaim including six Billboard Music Awards and seven American Music Awards. In 2014, Harry Styles compared the group’s popularity to The Beatles during an interview Above from Pops Magazine.
“We all sat and watched the film The Beatles came to America. And, to be honest, it was like us,” he said. “Getting off the plane, girls, madness. Exactly the same as when we got there – only 50 years before.
In March 2015, the band announced that Malik was leaving the group. “After five incredible years, Zayn Malik has decided to leave One Direction. Niall, Harry, Liam and Louis will continue as four and look forward to the upcoming world tour concerts and record the fifth album, due to be released later this year,” he said the statement via Facebook read.
In August of that year, the remaining four members of the band announced that they would be taking a longer break from 2016. Before withdrawing, the group went on a final tour and released their final album, “Made in the AM.” One Direction’s last live performance as a band in Dick Clark’s New Rockin’ Eve on December 31, 2015.
After the band disbanded, the members continued their solo careers. Styles won three Grammy Awards in 2021 for his second solo album, “Fine Line”, while Malik released three solo albums and collaborated with Taylor Swift in the 2016 duet “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever.” Horan, for his part, released “Heartbreak Weather,” which debuted at number one in the UK in 2020.
In the years since One Direction broke up, Malik has spoken publicly about not enjoying his time in the group. In a 2015 interview with The stone is rollingthe “PILLOWTALK” singer said of the former group’s discography, “That’s not music I would listen to… Would you listen to One Direction at a party with your girl? I wouldn’t. To me, that’s not an insult, but I’m a 22-year-old .”
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From their breakup to possible reunion, scroll through everything the former members had to say about leaving One Direction: