Zayn was quietly mysterious, while Liam was extroverted and jockish. And Louis? Hmm, well — Louis was also there.
For those five years, the One Direction boys seemed like they were untouchable. Four years after One Direction announced its hiatus, each of the One Direction-ers have begun their own solo careers. Now that Louis Tomlinson has dropped his first solo album, every former One Direction member has released at least one solo project.
Harry and Zayn have each released two. And there are some very clear winners and losers among them. Watching Harry emerge triumphantly, hair and culottes billowing, with the title of Most Popular and Critically Acclaimed Ex-One Direction Member is not unlike watching a long-awaited prophecy finally fall into place.
Ever since One Direction first stepped into the international limelight, interviews and press circuits saw that Harry was different from his fellow bandmates. He was offbeat but cool, disheveled but sexy. And in , when he released his debut album named — what else?
And with his next, more experimental album, Harry takes all these elements of his identity a step further, securing his spot in the popular music landscape as a modern rock star. Despite having built a career out of belting love songs, Harry has never before sounded this vulnerable in his music before. The human embodiment of a chill night in , Niall projects affable, regular-guy energy, but in a more palatable way than, say, Ed Sheeran.
Niall brings this same aura of safety and coziness to Flicker , where he strums his acoustic guitar and sings earnestly about the mundane highs and lows of falling in love. Niall is a calming lighthouse in the stormy sea of life, and we would be fools to let him out of our sight. Writer Allison P. At nearly an hour and a half, Icarus Falls is a boring, corny exploration of what happens when a too-handsome man ensconces himself in cologne and longing.
Chock full of weak lyrics e. Because of his jovial stage presence and photogenic, symmetrical face, many people — Liam included — thought he would follow the footsteps of another boy band pop mogul, Justin Timberlake.
While this album is not the radio-ready bop collection that Liam was perhaps hoping it would be, LP1 is, above all else, unapologetic about what it is. Louis is the last member of One Direction to release a solo album, largely because he put off recording music for an extended amount of time after the death of his mother and sister in and , respectively.
Unfortunately, Walls feels like a confessional series of diary entries set to drums and tinny acoustic guitar, and while the frank intimacy is a refreshing contrast to, say, Liam, ultimately the album feels lackluster and sonically generic. In his first attempt to separate himself musically from the group, Louis once again blends into the background. The transition from boy band member to adult man solo artist is not an easy one.
The scramble to assert oneself as a legitimate, relevant musician can be full of pressure, and not everyone walks away with equal amounts of fame and success.
In the case of One Direction, the majority of these underwhelming solo efforts suggest that, as much as the members have striven to express their individuality, their biggest legacy will probably be being part of a group. The boy band One Direction has been on hiatus for nearly five years, yet only now have all of the members of the group released a solo album.
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment: to empower through understanding. Heck, expert opinion was once divided over whether Girls Aloud or One True Voice would make it big, especially after poor Javine didn't make the final five alongside Cheryl and co. JLS were runners-up but still made it big. One Direction have transcended mere pop stardom and are now a global cultural phenomenon. Leona Lewis is the only X Factor contestant that can challenge One Direction's claim to being the show's greatest success.
Since winning series three, the solo star has had chart hits at home and in the US, sold more than 20million records worldwide and picked up the coveted award for "Europe's Sexiest Vegetarian" in In terms of UK sales, One Direction also trail the soon-to-split-up JLS runners-up in series five and Olly Murs runner up in series six , although they are catching up fast. Similarly, the only contestants to rival the lads' level of media ubiquity are Jedward, whose potential Louis did notice.
Sixth place was as much as John and Edward Grimes could muster in Since then, the twins have done Ireland proud at two Eurovision Song Contests, had chart success way beyond the expectations of anyone who has heard them sing and retained the sky-high recognisability factor that is priceless in the reality television age. Future chart success, it seems, is not limited to X Factor winners.
Even if music does not work out, Rylan Clark, who finished a creditable fifth last year has shown the way to become a kind of roving "celebrity without portfolio", appearing as a panelist on Celebrity Juice, winning Celebrity Big Brother and now co-hosting its sister show, Bit On The Side and working on This Morning.
So what can we conclude by the seemingly random successes of X Factor winners and losers? Well, maybe One Direction are living, singing, dancing proof of the wisdom contained in soap and pop legend Nick Berry's pop hit Every Loser Wins. Given good advice, clever management, well selected songs and tremendous hair, pop superstardom appears alluringly attainable to anyone who reaches the live section of the show with its guarantee of about 10million potential fans watching each week.
So if you do not progress far enough in the competition to see the interior of Gary Barlow's mansion or dip your toe into Nicole's swimming pool, never mind.
Alexandra Burke came back from rejection in to triumph in Or if we, the British public don't vote for you, well, we didn't realise One Direction were the world's best pop band until after they had finished their run on the show. Even if the judges do not spot your talent, it puts you in a select band that includes a certain Harry Styles and being in any kind of band with Mr Styles looks pretty good fun at the moment….
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