Niall Horan is known primarily as one of the members of the youth group One Direction. After the breakup of the group, the young singer and composer managed to prove his worth as a solo artist, selling millions of copies of his solo music album around the world and touring the world with success.
Biography. School years
Niall Horan was born on 13 September 1993 in Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland. His parents, Bobby and Maura Horan, divorced when he was still a child. Together with his brother Greg, he moved from house to house, living with his mother, then with his father, until they finally settled in their father's house.
Niall was educated at Mullingar. It was there that he first appeared on stage in the choir and played in school theatrical performances. In addition, he attended Colaiste Mhuire (Saint Mary's College) High School, where his creativity was also noticed.
Participation in "The X Factor"
In 2010, when Niall was 16 years old, he applied to participate in the popular television program The X Factor. After passing preliminary auditions, he was eventually invited to Dublin, where he sang "So Sick" by the American singer Ne-Yo in front of judges Simon Cowell and Katy Perry. Despite the fact that Katy Perry stated that he "needs to grow up", he was admitted to the final audition.
Horan was unsuccessful in the competition as a solo vocalist and was eliminated in the semifinals. Fortunately, on the advice of the invited guest Nicole Scherzinger, they decided to give him a second chance as part of the new group "One Direction", which consisted of four more members.
Career in One Direction
The group failed to take the main prize, coming third in the final. However, Simon Cowell saw the potential of young musicians and signed a contract with them.
The debut album "Up All Night" immediately topped the British and American music charts. One Direction became the first group to make their debut album to the top of the charts. However, despite the fact that Niall wrote several songs that were included in the album, he, along with Louis Tomlinson, remained in the background of the group, performing as backing vocals.
Over the next few years, the group regularly delighted fans with new albums, releasing one a year. In support of each of the albums, large-scale concert tours were held, the group released several fragrances, books and even shot the film "This Is Us". However, in March 2015, it became clear that the members could no longer live at such a frantic pace. On March 25, Zayn Malik left the group. To thwart rumors of a breakup, the group released a new album, Made in the AM. This was immediately followed by the official announcement of a break in the band's work.
In January 2016, US Weekly wrote that One Direction had actually ceased to exist as the members' record label contracts had not been renewed. Indeed, each of them pursued their own personal careers. While Harry Styles signed a solo contract with Columbia, Liam also began a solo career with Capitol, Louis decided to take a break to focus on his family, no one knew what Niall had in mind.
Solo creativity
In September 2016, the recording studio Capital records announced the start of cooperation with Niall Horan. Following this, Niall released his debut solo single "This Town", which revealed his talent as a vocalist and talented composer. In support of the single, Horan also released an acoustic version of the song. The composition peaked at # 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
In May, the new single "Slow Hands" was released, in which Horan paid tribute to his beloved classic rock of the 70s and 80s. Niall also recorded this song later in an acoustic version.
The third single "Too Much To Ask" followed on September 15th, and the official video was released in September.
In October 2017, Niall Horan's debut solo album, Flicker, was finally released. The album contained 10 tracks in the standard version and an additional 3 bonus songs in the deluxe version. It immediately became # 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. In the first week of official sales, 152,000 copies were sold. The album peaked at # 1 in Canada, the United States, Mexico and Ireland, as well as # 1 on iTunes in 60 countries. The number of copies sold worldwide has reached 2.2 million copies.
Also in 2017, Niall Horan received an award for Best New Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards.
In 2018, the Flicker World Tour was launched in support of the album of the same name.
The single "On the loose" was announced on March 5, 2018, and the official music video was shot a month later. The single "Finally free" was released on July 6th.
Personal life and family
Despite the fact that the famous singer cannot escape the close attention of journalists, not much is known about his personal life. At one time, his name was associated with the popular singer Demi Lovato, then there were rumors that Niall Horan had an affair with Victoria Secret model Jessica Serfati.
In 2018, the paparazzi began to notice Niall more and more often along with actress Hailey Steinfield. For the first time, the couple was noticed in December 2017, and although none of them confirmed or denied rumors about the romance, the kissing couple quite often got into the camera lens.
Social activity
As a member of the One Direction group, Niall Horan took part in Action 1D, which raised the issue of global warming. In May 2014, Horan became the host of the Charity Football Challenge, which raised money for the Irish Autism Foundation. In 2016, Horan released a series of T-shirts, the sales of which went to the same organization. Also, at various times, he took part in aid campaigns for children and adolescents with cancer. Horan received the 2017 Arnie Charity Contribution Award
