Is this the end of the road for One Direction?
Liam Payne, one of the main songwriters in the British boy band, announced on Twitter on Thursday that he had signed a solo deal with Capitol Records.
Happy to have signed to @CapitolUK. They have an amazing history of artists, I hope I can follow in their footsteps pic.twitter.com/tVlDsXVVW3
— Liam (@Real_Liam_Payne) July 21, 2016
Payne’s cryptic tweets – which don’t clarify if he’s staying with the band or departing solo forever – have Directioners panicking that 1D is done.
One direction will always be my home and family but I'm very excited to see what this chapter brings.
— Liam (@Real_Liam_Payne) July 21, 2016
The group said back in 2015 that they’d be going on a hiatus from March 2016 so they could pursue solo careers. Although no specific timeline has been mentioned, Harry Styles, aka the cool one, told reporters last year to “give it 18 months”.
Directioners have cornered the market on obsessive online fandom and quickly had #OneDirectionisOverParty trending on Twitter – noting that it’s the group six-year founding anniversary in two days.
Brother: did you see Liam left? You good?
— dead inside cause 1D (@NoControlProjec) July 21, 2016
Me: pic.twitter.com/v5n6Goq5c7
when theyre 6th year anniversary is in 2 days and liam goes solo #OneDirectionIsOverParty pic.twitter.com/RyBdnNtbPr
— maddy (@dazzeldan) July 21, 2016
REASONS OF WHY I HAVE TRUST ISSUES. #OneDirectionIsOverParty pic.twitter.com/4quNy7Ykhq
— One Direction (@1DsVocal) July 21, 2016
But it’s entirely possible that Payne is simply working on solo music and the pop super group remains intact. Styles is currently filming a Christopher Nolan-directed movie called Dunkirk in France. Louis Tomlinson, the other main songwriter, is a judge on America’s Got Talent and adjusting to new fatherhood. Payne already had some solo songs recorded with rapper Juicy J that leaked earlier this year.
But even boss Simon Cowell, who created the band, flamed the breakup rumors back in March.
“I don’t know if it’s a hiatus or a breakup, to be honest,” he told Billboard.
“In a weird way, I don’t want to know. I don’t think they’ve had enough time to experience what it’s like not being in the group to really answer that,” said Cowell.
Although quitting the band does seem to pay off. Last March the internet nearly melted when Zayn Malik announced he was leaving the band permanently to be a “normal 22-year-old”. Since leaving, Malik’s single Pillowtalk debuted at the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and he’s dated supermodel Gigi Hadid.
