Niall Horan– a name that made teenage girls cry. From 2011 to 2015, the Irish heartthrob from the boy band One Direction stole the hearts of millions. After the band’s “hiatus” all four members went their separate ways, leaving their fans wondering…

Where are they now?

Horan’s first shot at success was on the X-Factor in 2010. Simon Cowell put all five boys in a boyband now known as the famous One Direction. Although they lost, their fanbase quickly grew, awarding them with the opportunity to record their first album, “Up All Night.”

As One Direction’s success skyrocketed, Horan and the other boys received countless awards, including seven Brit Awards, six Billboard Music Awards and seven AMA’s. These are possibly their most noted achievements, however in total, they received over 193 awards from various groups.

The music of the boy band was extremely directed towards their target audience— teenage girls. Upbeat pop and serenading emotional songs helped skyrocket their career. Horan was always the one to play acoustic for the band.

The one thing that was always lacking in these songs? Solos from Horan. He was normally the least likely to receive any individual singing opportunities in One Direction’s music.

Despite this struggle in his group career, the overall boy band success of One Direction is one not seen before. The countless awards and four world-wide tours speak for themselves.

Of their five albums, they sold about 6.6 million albums, went platinum twice and double platinum twice. Their success was immense. However, Horan as a solo artist has been doing well too.

The 26 year old singer/songwriter has been producing music alone since One Direction’s break-up. In Sept. of 2016 his first single “This Town” was released. The soft folk song went on to catapult his solo career.

In 2017, “This Town” was accompanied by “Slow Hands,” which made a strong radio appearance. “Slow Hands” was a groovy song that showed off Horan’s versatility as a new artist, and helped him establish an even greater approval from his growing audiences. “This Town” peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and “Slow Hands” at number 11.

His true style of singing and songwriting was finally seen in his first album, “Flicker,” which was released in 2017. The folk-style music is a blend of relaxing guitar riffs and melodic soft pop songs about heartbreak and love. The album featured three of his most popular songs, “This Town,” “Slow Hands,” and “She’s on the Loose.”

In 2017, Horan won “Best Breakout Artist” at the People’s Choice Awards, a feat not yet achieved by any of his former band members.

In 2018, Horan embarked on his Flicker tour with Maren Morris, a popular American country singer who is featured on his song, “Seeing Blind.” While he may not be in One Direction anymore, Horan focused some songs on his set list to honor his boy band days.

Recently, Horan has not been seen as active in his music career. While “Flicker” was an immediate success, his fans have not seen much else of his creative talents since then. “Nice To Meet Ya,” a peppy and exciting pop song was released earlier in 2019 but has lacked traction in the music industry.

This may have to do with the quiet nature of Horan’s music style. Since his breakout from One Direction, he has focused more on music he enjoys making rather than the pop industry’s demands. Die hard fans however still enjoy listening to him.

Horan’s ability to make music he enjoys and find success in today’s industry is something many people can find inspiring. In the future, fans will definitely see Horan as one of the most successful members of the band.

Where is Niall Horan now? Finding success in his own passion and creativity.