NEED TO KNOW
Louis Tomlinson “always knew” Harry Styles had star power post-One Direction.
In a Billboard cover story published on Monday, Jan. 12, the “Lemonade” musician reflected on how the “As It Was” artist was always going to have a hit solo career after One Direction split up in 2015.
“I always knew Harry was going to go on to do what he’s done — I’m sure he’s superseded his own expectations in the way that he’s taken over the world, but we knew he’s got everything it takes to be a great artist,” said Tomlinson, 34.
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He then noted that another member was one he thought would prosper as a solo artist.
“Niall [Horan] I had a good feeling about too — he’s Irish, he’s lovely, everyone loves him,” said Tomlinson.
The “Bigger Than Me” artist noted that it wasn’t likely that more than one or two people from a band usually “prosper” as solo artists.
“History says there’s not normally more than two,” added Tomlinson.
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He then noted that it was “really f—ing scary” for him when it came to thinking about life after One Direction.
“I was never thinking, ‘I’ll be in that group [of One Direction alumni] that succeeds,'” said Tomlinson.
In a February 2023 interview with The Times, Tomlinson admitted that the “What Makes You Beautiful” group’s breakup in 2015 left him “mortified.”
“When One Direction split up, I was mortified, I was absolutely gutted,” he said at the time. “I was a bit bitter, I suppose because it just felt like another loss to me.”
Added Tomlinson, “But I’ve a better understanding of things now, and there’s not as much anger. It is what it is.”
Later in the interview, he said at the time that while he missed band members Styles, 31, Horan, 32, Zayn Malik and Liam Payne (who since died in October 2024 at the age of 31), he liked “doing my own thing too” and “it was time” for a change.
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Tomlinson is set to release his third studio album How Did I Get Here? on Jan. 23.
