Since One Direction announced that they were to take a lengthy hiatus, One Direction fans have been wondering what direction Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles and Liam Payne would take. Fans had been hoping that Horan and his bandmates would split with One Direction’s management. Fans have long believed that Simon Cowell and One Direction’s management team have exploited Horan and his pals, making huge sums of money whilst driving the boys into the ground.
Hopes were raised when Harry Styles dumped Modest Management and HJPR to sign up a new team for his solo work. Fans don’t need to be reminded that Niall launched a sports management company in partnership with Modest earlier this year. As a result, many were disappointed to see Horan strengthen links with One Direction’s management. With Louis Tomlinson working with Cowell on America’s Got Talent and Harry Styles choosing to stay with a Sony label, many fans’ hopes were dashed.
Liam Payne recently announced that he had signed a solo deal with Capitol Records, a subsidiary of Universal. As was reported in Inquisitr at the time, Simon Cowell was reportedly “furious” and appeared to brand Payne “disloyal” whilst praising Horan for his loyalty.
Happy to have signed to @CapitolUK . They have an amazing history of artists, I hope I can follow in their footsteps pic.twitter.com/tVlDsXVVW3
— Liam (@LiamPayne) July 21, 2016
Horan fans will be raising a wry smile today because it appears that Niall is also set to snub offers from Cowell to join Liam on a Universal label. According to the Daily Star , Universal seems to have made Horan an offer he couldn’t refuse , and as a result Niall is set to leave Cowell and SyCo in his wake. What is more, it seems that a source claims that Cowell, the man who formed One Direction on the 2010 season of X-Factor , is not happy.
“This will come as a real blow to Cowell who has been talking to Niall for months, wanting him to sign a deal with his label Syco.
“He made a number of big money offers to try and persuade Niall to sign up but, in the end, Universal came in and put even more money on the table. They’re chuffed to have got one over on Cowell and have taken one of One Direction.”
The Daily Mirror reflect on the fact that, just weeks ago , Cowell was singing Niall’s praises and saying that he was confident that Horan would stay on his label. Cowell indicated that a deal with Horan was close.
“I think they’re all gonna do great. Niall is the most loyal. We are expecting to announce something soon with him. I’ve always known he’s loyal.
“You know what, we’re talking to all of [the One Direction guys] at the moment. You know what the great thing about these boys are, well not all of them, just most of them, they’re incredibly loyal. And you don’t always expect that. Niall, Harry, Louis are amazing.”
Many One Direction fans interpreted Cowell’s comments as a snub to Liam Payne because Simon talked about the loyalty of Niall, Harry and Louis and failed to mention Liam. The news that Niall has joined Liam by jumping ship is sure to be a huge blow to Cowell. One Direction are by some distance Cowell’s biggest musical asset as they are thought to have generated more income than all of Cowell’s other acts combined.
Cowell has managed to maintain some links with Styles and former One Direction member Zayn Malik through the Sony labels, but has lost both Horan and Payne. At present, there is no clear indication about whether or not Louis Tomlinson will stay with Cowell for his solo work. That said, Tomlinson has his own label and Cowell is involved in that project. It could well be the case that Louis releases any solo material on his own label.
Of course with Niall reportedly signing with Universal, we will undoubtedly see another rush of “One Direction are over” stories. Indeed Unreality TV is speculating that Niall’s deal spells the end for One Direction.
“It has to be said that it looks increasingly unlikely that they will reunite. After all, in addition to the above-mentioned solo recording deals, Harry looks set to make acting a big part of his career going forward.
“So all in all, there now seems little chance that One Direction will ever reunite.”
Of course no one knows what the future holds, but Niall has told fans on several occasions that One Direction will reunite. Fans are much more likely to trust Horan’s promises over tabloid gossip. The same stories reemerge every time Horan or one of his bandmates takes on a solo project. Is it really so hard for people to understand that One Direction took a hiatus to concentrate on solo work. Why should anyone be surprised when Horan or his bandmates do exactly that?
In other Niall Horan news, generous One Direction fans are marking Niall’s forthcoming birthday by running yet another fundraising drive in aid of one of Horan’s favorite charities. This years effort will again support Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland.
[Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP]