Back in March of 2015, One Direction member Zayn Malik left the very popular band. Soon after the release of their fifth album the rest of the members announced a hiatus. Now we know that the break was permanent as the band members decided to release solo projects. This week Weekly Music Commentary features the third ex-One Direction member Niall Horan. Each member appears to bring a unique story of their start in life and music. Their story of how the band formed is one that is like many of our day of the reality television talent show. Now it appears a new type of story is emerging as those bands experience breakup. Niall is a good subject for our post because he has now released his second solo album since leaving One Direction. It’s time to tell his story, and also look at life after One Direction. However, it would be good to go back to his young life to help everyone know him a little better.
Niall James Horan was born on September 13, 1993 in Mullingar, Westmeath, Ireland. He has an older brother, Greg Horan. His parents, Bobby Horan and Maura Gallagher, divorced when he was five years old, so he and his brother, Greg, lived with their mother for a year. After spending a year apart from their father, they later decided to move in with him. He attended St. Kenny’s National School, a primary school, and Coláiste Mhuire, a Catholic boys school, which are both located in Mullingar.
Horan tried to play the guitar that his brother bought for Christmas, but was not able to play it. Horan, then aged 11, taught himself how to play the guitar by following YouTube tutorials. His aunt discovered his talent one day when she was in the car with Horan as he started singing. She originally thought the radio was on. As a teenager, he performed at the Mullingar Arts Centre during a fund-raiser for the local football team, the Shamrocks.
Those humble beginnings are what eventually led Niall Horan toward a larger stage. In most of the stories about how it started for an artist, there is always one family member that usually can see or hear something that stands out from others. In Niall’s case it was his aunt. If you thought that was interesting, wait to you read what happened next.
In 2010, at sixteen years old, Horan auditioned for the seventh series of The X Factor in Dublin. He sang “So Sick” and received mixed comments from the judges. Louis Walsh was in his favor, but Cheryl Cole and guest judge Katy Perry felt that he needed some time to grow. Simon Cowell voted to let him through, Cole said no, Walsh said yes, and Perry decided to vote yes. Horan was then put through to bootcamp. Interestingly, Walsh and Cowell, seasoned music industry executives obviously saw something that performers Cole and Perry did not. However, Perry decided to vote along with Walsh and Cowell to put Horan through and see a little more of him.
At bootcamp, he sang “Champagne Supernova”, but failed to qualify for the category. After a suggestion from guest judge Nicole Scherzinger, Horan was put in a group with four boys who also failed to move on in the competition, and since they were too good to let go, the judges decided to agree with Scherzinger. Horan along with Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik formed One Direction. Styles came up with the band name, which he thought would sound good when announcer Peter Dickson read their name out on the live shows.
The Pussycat Dolls’ Scherzinger gets the credit for delivering the English pop boy band that had one of the most successful five year runs in music history. The group got together for two weeks to get to know each other and to practice. For their qualifying song at the “judges’ houses” and their first song as a group, One Direction sang an acoustic version of “Torn”. Simon Cowell later commented that the performance convinced him that the group “were confident, fun, like a gang of friends, and kind of fearless as well.”
In September 2016, it was announced that Horan had signed a solo deal with Capitol Records. On September 29, 2016, Horan released his debut solo single “This Town”. Since its release, it has peaked at number 9 on the UK Singles Chart and number 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100. On May 4, 2017, Horan released his second solo single “Slow Hands”. It also entered the top 10 in the UK and the top 20 in the US.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Horan stated that his upcoming album, Flicker, was inspired by classic rock acts, including Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles, “Whenever I would pick up a guitar, I would always naturally play chords like that, and finger pick a lot and play that folky kind of style.” Not surprising, but interesting that Horan would choose classic acts as inspiration. Upon careful listening it becomes a little more apparent as he is now able to perform in his own style, and not that of the five piece vocal group. Flicker was released on October 20, 2017, and debuted atop the Billboard 200. It also reached number one in Ireland and the Netherlands.
In September 2019, Horan stated that he had been working on his upcoming second studio album with Greg Kurstin. The album’s lead single, “Nice to Meet Ya”, was released on October 4, 2019. On October 30, Horan announced that he would be embarking on the Nice to Meet Ya Tour in 2020. “Put a Little Love on Me” was released as the album’s second single on December 6, 2019. On February 7, 2020, Horan released the album’s third single, “No Judgement” alongside revealing the album’s title as Heartbreak Weather and announcing March 13, 2020 as the release date.
The album received generally favorable reviews from music critics which might bode well for future endeavors. AllMusic’s Neil Yeung reviewed the album positively, stating that the production of the album was better than Horan’s 2017 debut album, Flicker, adding that “despite the often dour and forlorn lyrical content, the songs are full-blooded and more energetic than the average breakup album”. Chris DeVille, writing for Stereogum, stated that the album is “much better” than Flicker, commenting that Heartbreak Weather’s writing, production, and performance all represented “an upgrade”. However, he felt that “Horan is capable of evolving” but added that “such flourishes suggest this boy-band alumnus may someday grow up to be the man after all — or at the very least he won’t be desperate for a reunion tour”.
Through the coronavirus pandemic the album will have to play through without a tour. We’ll see how the album ages with the mostly young fan base. However, I always felt that Horan was the member who would deliver the long-lasting hit songs. Time will tell if my feelings are right!