One Direction's Horan brings soft touch with new album

NEW YORK, United States - One Direction's Niall Horan on Friday released a soft breakup ballad with echoes of the heartthrob boy band as he announced his debut solo album.

Horan announced on social media that his album  "Flicker" will come out on October 20 followed by a tour in 2018 of the United States and Canada.

The 24-year-old Irish singer marked the announcement by releasing a track off the album entitled "Too Much to Ask," a piano-led ballad in which Horan, his voice turning soulful, mourns the end of a relationship.

The song is produced by Greg Kurstin, the increasingly in-demand musician best known for co-writing Adele's smash hit "Hello."

Kurstin also worked with Horan on the first track off "Flicker," the acoustic guitar ballad "This Town."

Horan's soft touch is more consistent with One Direction than the solo music of his two most successful bandmates.

Zayn Malik cast away One Direction's squeaky-clean image to go for a sensual, urban vibe, while Harry Styles surprised critics with an album that sounded influenced by 1970s David Bowie.

One Direction, formed when the five young men auditioned for the British reality show "The X Factor," turned into one of the best-selling bands of the decade, packing arenas worldwide with screaming teenage girls.

The band went on an indefinite hiatus after an album at the end of 2015 while stopping short of calling it quits. — Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com

One Direction will return, says Tomlinson

One Direction "fully intend" to reform, the British pop phenomenon's Louis Tomlinson said ahead of Saturday's final concert before their planned hiatus.

The four-piece boy band, who have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, are ending their On The Road Again Tour at the Sheffield Arena in northern England.

The group are set to separate for at least a year, leaving the band's enormous global teenage following devastated.

"We fully intend to come back," Tomlinson told ITV television.

"We absolutely love this. We had a little sit down before and we decided that we wanted a break.

"We've had a very intense couple of years so we're just going to have a little bit of breathing time and spend that with our families.

"I don't think anyone could keep this pace up forever so I think it's the most healthy and constructive thing for all of us."

The band consists of Tomlinson, 23, Niall Horan, 22, Liam Payne, 22, and Harry Styles, 21. Zayn Malik, 22, quit due to stress in March.

Horan admitted the last gig of the tour would be difficult.

"We've done almost 1,000 shows or more over the last few years so to think we won't do one for over a year will be strange, so it will be a little bit emotional," he said.

The group's fifth studio album, "Made In The AM" will be released on November 13 and they will make a promotional appearance on US television four days later.

Put together for a British television singing contest in 2010, the group swiftly developed a giant, fiercely loyal following of young girls worldwide.

Malik has signed a new recording deal as a solo artist.

"I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight," he said at the time.

The Sunday Times newspaper's Rich List 2015 reckoned the band members were worth £25 million ($39 million, 35 million euros) each. —Agence-France Presse

source: gmanetwork.com

One Direction scotch split rumors

LONDON, United Kingdom - British boyband One Direction insisted Saturday they would not be splitting up despite the departure of band member Zayn Malik.

The chart toppers, who have sold more than 50 million records worldwide and have a huge teenage following, hit back at rumors concerning their future.

Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson played their first Brtish concert as a foursome on Friday night in Cardiff.

Payne responded to rumors of a split before they performed Saturday at London's Wembley Stadium.

"We don't know where that came from because we've got loads of stuff going on," he said.

"We have just started the process for recording the new album, we've got a whole new tour going on, there are some really good songs so I don't think we are going anywhere for a while."

One Direction announced in March that Malik was quitting, but that the band would continue as a foursome.

"I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight," Malik said. — Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com