One Direction may be on an extended hiatus, but Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson And Zayn Malik have continued to make music – and headlines – throughout the years.
After forming and finishing in third place on the UK version of The X Factor in 2010, One Direction released four successful studio albums — Up all night, Take me home, Midnight memories And Four. However, after five years as a group, Malik was the first to leave the band, announcing his departure in March 2015.
“My life with One Direction has been more than I could have ever imagined. But after five years I feel now is the right time to leave the band,” he said in a statement at the time. “I want to apologize to the fans if I let anyone down, but I have to do what feels right in my heart. I’m leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who can relax and have some alone time can have outside the spotlight. I know I have four friends for life in Louis, Liam, Harry and Niall. I know they will continue to be the best band in the world.”
Horan, Payne, Styles and Tomlinson went on to release a fifth albumMade in the morning, without Malik. However, shortly after the record was dropped, the remaining band members announced that they would be taking an extended hiatus. Less than a year laterWeekly broke the news due to the four-piece deciding “not to renew their record deal”, and eventually disbanded as a band.
“The 1D thing just ran its course,” an insider told me Us in January 2016. “They remain friends, but they are exhausted and want a solo career.”
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Scroll on for an update on where the former 1D stars are today: