Niall Horan, like the rest of the members of the band formerly known as One Direction, is trying to make it on his own. Judging by the music charts, it seems like he has a decent chance of doing so. But it will still undoubtedly be a challenge to live up to the previous chapter of his career - in fact, he admits as much. During a FaceTime interview, he spoke about the band's legacy. He also spoke about trying to build his own legacy through his solo work, which is set to result in an album in less than a month.
Horan dives into the past...and the future
Earlier in the week, Horan appeared spoke with Zane Lowe for Apple Music's Beats 1. On the show, the 24-year old spoke of the success his bandmates achieved together. He claimed that nothing any of the individual band members do in their solo careers would reach the highs that One Direction was able to achieve during their run together. He seems content with that.
He also discussed how he has been able to break out as a songwriter since leaving One Direction. Horan believes he's coming from a more adult perspective now. Prior to that, the songs sounded more juvenile. Supposedly, being in the public spotlight has caused the singer-songwriter to grow up, something he couldn't truly show back in the days of One Direction.
Now that he's on his own, there's nobody who has the potential to hold him back (although that wasn't what he seemed to be saying in this instance).
So far, so good for Horan
One Direction disbanded some time after their fourth studio album was released in November 2015; by that point, Zayn Malik was already gone. Horan signed a solo deal with Capitol Records in September 2016.
He immediately released his first single, "This Town." It reached No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart but didn't blow up in the way many were anticipating. He had to wait for his second single to do that.
"Slow Hands" has exceeded all expectations. It's lurking just outside of the top ten of the same Billboard chart. In recent weeks, he has released the third single, "Too Much to Ask." The full album, "Flicker," is now less than a month away.
On October 20, Horan will achieve the same feat his former One Direction mates Zayn and Harry Styles already have: a solo record. He's still beating Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne to the punch. It's hard to predict sustained success for his solo career, but judging by the music charts, it's safe to say he's off to a good start.
