Here’s Just About Everything the One Direction Guys Have Accomplished as Solo Artists
In November 2016, Billboard published an update on what each member of One Direction was up to nearly a year after beginning their hiatus. Now, the guys are four years removed from the band — and needless to say, quite a lot has happened.
Of course, these guys have each done several different things in the past four years, from movie roles to fashion campaigns. So, we’ll keep it to the music. And with the arrival of Louis Tomlinson’s debut album, Walls, marking the final debut LP from a One Direction member, it feels fitting to revisit everything the 1D guys have done musically since starting on their own.
Below, take a look at all of the songs, big-time performances and chart feats that Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik have done over the past four years (for Malik, almost five).
Harry Styles
Styles has released two albums, toured the world, and appeared on Saturday Night Live twice — serving as both host and musical guest on his most recent visit. He has also become a close friend of Stevie Nicks, no big deal.
May 2016: Started his own label, Erksine Records
June 2016: Signed with Columbia Records (Editor's note: His music is released through Erksine under exclusive license to Columbia)
October 2016: Landed a cut on Michael Bublé’s Nobody But Me, “Someday,” co-written with Meghan Trainor
April 2017: Made solo debut with “Sign of the Times,” which debuted at No. 4 on Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the UK Singles chart
April 2017: Performed on SNL solo for the first time
May 2017: Performed on the Today show plaza
May 2017: Released his self-titled debut album, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200
May 2017: Released Harry Styles: Behind the Album on Apple Music
May 2017: Performed "Landslide" with Stevie Nicks for the first time
June 2017: Hit No. 1 on the Artist 100
September 2017: Covered Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” in the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge
September 2017: Set out on Harry Styles: The Tour
November 2017: Performed and won best international artist at the Aria Awards
November 2017: Performed on the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show
March 2018: Won a Brit Award for best video
March 2019: Honored Stevie Nicks at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony
October 2019: Surprise released “Lights Up,” the first single from his sophomore album
November 2019: Hosted and performed on SNL, debuted “Watermelon Sugar”
November 2019: Announced Love On Tour
December 2019: Released sophomore album, Fine Line, scoring a second (and massive) Billboard 200 No. 1 debut
December 2019: Covered Lizzo’s “Juice” and Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime” during another visit to the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge
December 2019: Returned to No. 1 on the Artist 100
Liam Payne
After having huge success with his first solo release "Strip That Down" in 2017, Payne released his eagerly awaited debut album in December. But he's kept fans plenty pleased thanks to several collaborations along the way.
July 2016: Signed a solo record deal with Capitol Music in the UK
October 2016: Signed a solo record deal with Republic Records in the US
February 2017: Accepted video of the year Brit Award on One Direction’s behalf (for "History")
May 2017: Made solo debut with “Strip That Down”
September 2017: Scored his first top 10 Hot 100 hit with "Strip That Down"
September 2017: Battled James Corden in a Boy Band Riff-Off
October 2017: Topped the Pop Songs chart with "Strip That Down" (ironically, dethroning Horan)
October 2017: Released “Bedroom Floor"
November 2017: Covered Pink’s “What About Us”
January 2018: Released Rita Ora collab “For You” from Fifty Shades Freed
February 2018: Performed “For You” with Rita Ora at the Brits
March 2018: Performed and won the global special award at The Global Awards
April 2018: Teamed up with J Balvin on “Familiar”
May 2018: Covered Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey’s “The Middle” in the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge
August 2018: Dropped first EP, First Time
October 2018: Teamed up with Jonas Blue and Lennon Stella on “Polaroid”
October 2018: Reunited with Louis Tomlinson on The X Factor
November 2018: Returned to the X Factor stage as a solo artist
November 2018: Performed on the Teen Awards with Lennon Stella
September 2019: Released “Stack It Up” with a Boogie Wit Da Hoodie
September 2019: Covered Post Malone’s “Circles” at SiriusXM
October 2019: Released “All I Want (For Christmas)”
November 2019: Covered “Let It Snow” at the Spotify studios
December 2019: Released debut album, LP1
Louis Tomlinson
Though Tomlinson hasn't been quite as prolific as his fellow One Direction guys in the past few years, his debut set features 12 songs, and he's released a handful of singles (as well as collabs) prior to the album release. And with a big tour plotted for 2020, Tomlinson is ready to be as busy as his former bandmates.
October 2015: Launched his own record label, Triple Strings Ltd, as an imprint of Syco (One Direction's label)
July 2016: Served as a guest judge on America’s Got Talent
December 2016: Teamed up with Steve Aoki for “Just Hold On”
December 2016: Returned to The X Factor as a solo artist to perform with Steve Aoki
July 2017: Released Bebe Rexha collaboration “Back to You” (hit No. 40 on the Hot 100)
July 2017: Signed to Epic Records in the US
August 2017: Performed “Back to You” with Bebe Rexha on Teen Choice Awards
October 2017: Released “Just Like You”
December 2017: Released “Miss You”
September 2018: Started as newest X Factor judge
February 2019: Signed to Arista Records in the US
March 2019: Released “Two of Us”
April 2019: Released (adorable) alternate "Two of Us" video featuring an 83-year-old man named Richard
September 2019: Released “Kill My Mind”
October 2019: Released “We Made It”
October 2019: Announced a world tour
November 2019: Released “Don’t Let It Break Your Heart”
January 2020: Released debut album, Walls
Niall Horan
The first to release a song after One Direction began their hiatus in January 2016, Horan hasn't slowed down since his solo debut. He released his debut album, Flicker, and has teased that his next LP is "officially complete."
September 2016: Signed a solo record deal with Capitol Records and released his first single, “This Town”
October 2016: Became first artist to debut at No. 1 on Social 50 Chart
November 2016: Made his solo award show debut at the AMAs
January 2017: Scored his first solo top 20 Hot 100 hit
May 2017: Released “Slow Hands”
May 2017: Performed on the Today show plaza
June 2017: Performed on the iHeartRadio MMVAs
June 2017: Covered Julia Michaels’ “Issues” in the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge
September 2017: Released “Too Much to Ask”
October 2017: Scored first solo No. 1 on Pop Songs chart
October 2017: Released Flicker, which debuted atop the Billboard 200
November 2017: Topped the Artist 100
November 2017: Performed with Maren Morris at the CMA Awards
November 2017: Performed and won best new artist at the 2017 AMAs
March 2018: Kicked off the Flicker World Tour
April 2018: Released Mirrors EP
July 2018: Released “Finally Free” from Smallfoot
January 2019: Teamed up with Julia Michaels for “What a Time”
October 2019: Released “Nice to Meet Ya”
October 2019: Announced his first-ever arena tour
November 2019: Performed on the EMAs
November 2019: Covered Post Malone’s “Circles” in the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge
December 2019: Released “Put a Little Love on Me”
December 2019: Made solo Saturday Night Live debut
Zayn Malik
Malik broke hearts in March 2015, when he announced his abrupt departure from the group. Though he hasn't toured or even really been in the public eye much since, he hasn't disappeared completely, releasing two albums and a handful of high-profile collaborations.
July 2015: Signed a solo record deal with RCA Records
January 2016: Made solo debut with “Pillowtalk,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100
February 2016: Recruited Lil Wayne for a “Pillowtalk” remix
February 2016: Hopped on a remix of Chris Brown’s “Back to Sleep” with Usher
March 2016: Released debut solo album, Mind of Mine, which opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200
April 2016: Hit No. 1 on Artist 100 chart
April 2016: Made his solo award show debut at the iHeartRadio Music Awards
May 2016: Scored his first solo Pop Songs No. 1 with "Pillowtalk"
May 2016: Performed on The Voice finale
August 2016: Landed his first solo Dance Club Songs No. 1 with “Like I Would”
July 2016: Teamed up with Snakehips for “Cruel”
November 2016: Won new artist of the year at the American Music Awards
December 2016: Surprised fans with Taylor Swift collaboration “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” from Fifty Shades Darker
March 2017: Released Ty Dolla $ign collaboration “Still Got Time”
September 2017: Released Sia collaboration “Dusk Til Dawn”
April 2018: Released “Let Me” as lead single from sophomore album
May 2018: Released “Entertainer”
June 2018: Dropped a cover of Beyonce’s “Me, Myself and I”
July 2018: Released “Sour Diesel”
July 2018: Dropped a cover of Elvis’ “Can’t Help Falling in Love”
August 2018: Released Timbaland collaboration, “Too Much”
October 2018: Released “Fingers”
November 2018: Released Nicki Minaj collaboration, “No Candle No Light”
November 2018: Released “Rainberry”
December 2018: Released sophomore album, Icarus Falls
May 2019: Teamed up with Zha Ward for reimagined “A Whole New World” from Aladdin remake
May 2019: Released a bilingual version of “A Whole New World” ("Un Mundo Ideal”) with Becky G and a full Spanish version with Aitana
September 2019: Hopped on a remix of Shaed's “Trampoline”
November 2019: Teamed up with R3hab and Jungleboi for “Flames”
October 2019: Teamed up with Sabrina Claudio for “Rumors”
January 2020: Released the cinematic video for “Flames”