Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles and Niall Horan of One Direction attend the BBC Music Awards in 2015 in England. (Photo : Getty Images / Eamonn M. McCormack)
Liam Payne of the British boy band One Direction announced his own solo deal with Capitol Records in the United Kingdom. The singer-songwriter shared the news via his Twitter account on July 21, Thursday, citing the firm has produced big artists whose footsteps he said he wants to follow.
Payne's news was met with mixed reactions. Some fans congratulated the singer while others expressed their hopes to see One Direction's comeback someday.
"What about one direction ..," a fan asked Payne. "I believed you guys when you said you were coming back but lately idk what to think."
Another fan was obviously worried about One Direction. The band's follower wrote, "WHAT THE HELL WHAT WHAT ABOUT THE BAND LIAM."
However, Payne did not clarify if he and his co-band members are parting. He had some solo songs with Juicy J leaked earlier this year. He tweeted the band will always be his family and home though he is excited for his new endeavor.
One Direction was formed in 2010 with five members by music mogul Simon Cowell via "The X Factor." It produced hits like "What Makes You Beautiful" and "Story of My Life" and became one of the world's most favorite boy bands. The boy band is among the most successful groups in the world and its original members Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Liam Payne are adored by many.
In March 2015, Zayn Malik unexpectedly left the group. The band then announced in August they would go on hiatus from March 2016 to pursue solo careers, which Styles told reporters to "give it 18 months," Perez Hilton reported.
Styles is filming in France for Christopher Nolan's "Dunkirk" and also signed a solo recording contract last month. Tomlinson, one of the group's songwriters judges America's Got Talent and is adjusting to fatherhood.
"Directioners" are confused where the band is heading. So, was the band's boss and founder Cowell who put more fire to the breakup rumors.
"I don't know if it's a hiatus or a breakup, to be honest," he told Billboard in an interview in March. "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."
Listen to One Direction's 2015 song "Drag Me Down" below.
