Harry Styles is “struggling to put into words” his feelings over One Direction’s 10th anniversary via a touching Instagram statement where he shared a photo of the band prior to the exit of original member Zayn Malik. The image depicted members Harry, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Louis Tomlinson as they hugged one another at the close of a concert.
Harry spoke about how grateful he was for the success of the band. He revealed that being part of One Direction allowed him a life he would have never dreamed of as a young working-class boy from Holmes Chapel, England. Harry said that he will always treasure the personal and professional relationships he has made throughout this time period. The singer also said he realizes that none of his life successes would have been possible without the band’s strong fanbase.
In a nod to his fellow bandmates, Harry stated the following.
“And finally.. to the boys, I love you so much, and I couldn’t be prouder of everything we achieved together. Here’s to ten. H.”
It was 10 years ago that Harry left his job at a bakery to audition for the British talent series The X-Factor . He was just 16 years old at the time. Each of the young men who would eventually form One Direction auditioned separately for judges Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, Cheryl Cole, and Katy Perry.
The 10th anniversary celebrates the day that the British mega-producer told the fivesome they would progress together on the show — not as separate performers but as a group. The singing group would famously finish in 3rd place on The X-Factor. They would go on to be signed to Simon’s label, Syco Music, and would eventually release four albums — Up All Night, Take Me Home, Midnight Memories, and Four — before Zayn departed in 2015. The group would release one more album, Made in the A.M., before ending their run as one of the most successful boy bands of all time at the close of their final show at the end of 2015.
Fans liked Harry’s post 2,825,453 times less than one hour after he shared his message. Two of his bandmates, Niall and Liam, also stated how much they valued his friendship in the comments section of the post.
“Still lowkey waiting for you guys to perform together again #1D forever,” said one fan.
“What a beautiful journey brother. I’m so proud of you guys,” stated a second follower.
“I’m crying in a cool way,” joked one user of the way they felt about Harry’s anniversary post.