One Direction is on a much-needed hiatus after spending five long years on the road and in the studio. Five world tours and five albums later, how are they really doing? Is this what Rolling Stone tried to warn Simon Cowell about in 2012?
Zayn Malik is suffering from symptoms of severe stress as he tries to pursue a solo career. He has been forced to cancel a couple of his largest shows because he can’t deal with big venues. People quoted Zayn’s recent announcement canceling a huge concert in Dubai.
“Dear fans, I have been working over the last three months to overcome my extreme anxiety around major live solo performances. I feel I am making progress but I have today acknowledged that I do not feel sufficiently confident to move forward with the planned show in Dubai in October.”
Niall Horan recently had a severe bout with acid reflux just weeks after signing a recording contract. Horan’s acid reflux is so severe he may be forced to have surgery to protect his vocal cords from permanent damage. The Inquisitr has the details.
Louis Tomlinson isn’t even singing music anymore. Has Louis chosen another direction in his life? Tomlinson seems content to be a dad and be a judge on The X Factor .
Are these One Direction guys suffering from really bad burn out? In 2012, Rolling Stone asked Simon Cowell a meaningful question that in hindsight may have had everything to do with where 1D is now.
“Many of these groups [boy bands] get huge but burn out after three or so years. What’s your plan to make sure that doesn’t happen?”
One Direction had only been performing together for a couple of years at the time. They were extremely popular as they are now, even during hiatus.
Were Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, and Louis Tomlinson due for a break? It could have really been just in time to take 1D in another direction. However, Simon Cowell believed he was taking care of the boys. He apparently thought they were not under all that much pressure.
He replied to the Rolling Stone that he had a plan.
“Be sensible and treat them as human beings, genuinely. That’s the most important thing. Traditionally, record companies would put out the most possible product in a short period of time, thinking you only have two or three years. I don’t think that’s necessarily the case now. If you’re sensible and you don’t burn them out, you don’t have to put a time limit on this anymore. And they’re so young, these guys.”
Yes, the One Direction boys were young at the time of the Rolling Stone article in 2012 and even younger when the One Direction odyssey started.
Louis Tomlinson was born December 24, 1991, making him the oldest of the five. Tomlinson turned 19 near the end of 2010, but he would have been 18 when the band first started.
Zayn Malik was born January 12, 1993. Zayn was only 17 in 2010.
Liam Payne’s date of birth is August 29, 1993, as well, which means Liam too was only 17 at the beginning of One Direction.
Niall Horan was born in Ireland on September 13, 1993. Horan turned 17 during the early days of one direction.
Harry Styles is the youngest. Born on February 1, 1994, Harry was only 16 when the band started. Yet, it seems Styles has adapted better than some of the others.
One Direction became the most popular boy band since the Beatles. Their success was largely driven by social media and the internet. Still, the boys produced an album each year, and the albums were followed by world tours with sometimes over 20 shows per month.
Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, and Niall Horan had been solo acts thrown together by Simon Cowell and asked to perform as a group. They got along but had no prior history together. They were shipped about, performing in a different town nearly every night for years. Was it too much?
One Direction was a cash cow, but for how long? Boy bands have a pretty short shelf life, historically speaking. Two to three years is generally the maximum, but Cowell said he was being sensible in the amount of pressure he was putting on the One Direction boys. He thought the band might actually last. But perhaps it was hard to know how much might be too much. Perhaps he counted on these young boys to speak up, but were they just putting on a brave face?
RELATED REPORTS FROM THE INQUISITR
Zayn Malik’s Anxiety Is Extreme: Gigi Hadid Continues Being Supportive
Zayn Malik is seriously impacted by his stress and anxiety. Malik has had to cancel several concerts, and the last time he was seen in public, he looked more than a bit nervous just walking down the street , as previously reported by the Inquisitr .
Niall Horan is suffering from acid reflux disease. Although this illness has many causes, it is worsened by stress and sometimes associated with prolonged stress and exhaustion. Is Niall’s severe acid reflux related to years on the road? Is it an example of what Rolling Stone calls burn out?
Has Louis Tomlinson lost all interest in singing? Tomlinson seems very content without a career in music.
One Direction is set to reunite in the summer of 2017, but will Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, and Liam Payne want more say in how and when they perform?
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