One Direction's Breakup Was Necessary

Despite popular opinion, I think One Direction's breakup had to happen. Of course, I wish they were back together, and I wish there were more One Direction songs, but I think the breakup was necessary.

One Direction called it quits in January 2016. The band had been together for five years. Why would they stop when they were so popular? They sold hundreds of thousands of records and left with their last tour earning over $200 million! Below you can see One Direction's "Hot Sheet" that highlights many of their accomplishments. If they were so successful, why did they break up?

Former member of One Direction, Niall Horan, in an interview with The Telegraph, said

“We were gonna end up killing each other. We all sat down one day, had a chat and it was like, we need to take a break. Step back, chill out and try something new.”

Imagine being with four other guys almost every single day for five years. Tense times were bound to appear. Niall Horan goes on to say, "It was incredible. But we got tired. Not tired of it, just tired out. Five albums, five tours, in five years. We were all knackered."

One Direction worked non-stop for five years. Like Niall said, they released five albums, had five world tours, filmed the movie "One Direction: This Is Us, filmed 19 music videos, and attended hundreds of interviews and events, all in the span of just five years. To do this, the band had to record new music while on tour singing the currently released songs.

Harry Styles, in an interview with Zane Lowe, recently said, "On the last two tours, we bought this old surveillance van and converted it into a studio...It would follow the tour around, so at the venue, you would go into this tiny little surveillance van with no air conditioning." Before the van idea, the boys record their new songs in hotel rooms. Niall said, "we set up two mattresses against the wall, and then a microphone, a laptop, a couple of speakers, and there we are- that's how we did the last album." The boys would be on tour, singing all night, then have to go back to their hotel and sing to record the next album that was going to be released. They had no time to relax, let alone rest their voices. Harry Styles had to go on vocal rest to protect his voice several times, which is less than ideal.

With Zayn leaving the band in early 2015, the breakup seemed inevitable. One Direction released their last album (without Zayn), Made in the A.M., in November 2015 and ended soon after. The boys were tired. Like Niall said, not tired of it, but just tired out. It was time for One Direction to take a break. When news of the breakup was released, Louis Tomlinson said

" [we] wouldn’t be away for too long. No, Let’s give it 18 months.”

Well, five years later, that break or "hiatus" has never ended. As of February 8, 2021, One Direction has been in their solo careers longer than the band was together. Of course, everyone wants One Direction to reunite and possibly be a band again, but I think they had to break up in order to be where they are now.

All five boys have incredibly successful solo careers, in and out of music. Below are some of the many highlights of each of their careers so far.

Niall Horan

-Released 2 albums, Flicker and Heartbreak Weather

-Flicker World Tour

-Song collaborations with Julia Michaels, Ashe

-Wrote and sang the song "Finally Free" for the movie S"mall Foot"

-Co-writer and writer of many songs

-Nominated for and won many awards

-Founder of MODEST! Golf

Liam Payne

-released 1 album, LP1

-Song collaborations with Zedd, Cheat Codes, J Balvin, Jonas Blue, Lennon Stella, Alesso, Rita Ora, and Dixie D'amelio

-Sang the song "For You" for the movie "Fifty Shades Free"

-Nominated for and won many awards

-Held four very successful virtual shows during COVID on Veeps

-Discovered his love for making YouTube and Tik Tok Videos

-Fashion partnership with HUGO

-Focused more on art

-Able to spend more time with his son Bear

-Met and got engaged to Maya Henry

Louis Tomlinson

-Released many singles and his debut album, Walls

-song collaborations with Bebe Rexa and Steve Aoki

-Nominated for and won many awards

-Held the most successful Male live stream concert of 2020

-Judge on the 15th season of the X-Factor

-Able to spend more time with his son Freddie

Zayn Malik

-Released 3 albums, Mind of Mine, Icarus Falls and Nobody Is Listening

-song collaborations with Taylor Swift, Sia, and Nicki Minaj

-sang the song "I don't Wanna Live Forever for the movie "Fifty Shades Darker"

-Nominated for and won many awards

-had a baby girl named Khai, with his girlfriend, Gigi Hadid

Harry Styles

-Released 2 albums, Harry Styles and Fine Line

-Harry Styles World Tour

-Owner of the record label "Erskine Records"

-Key investor in the new Manchester Arena

-First Male to be on the cover of Vogue

-Co-writer and writer of many songs

-Nominated for and won many awards

-3x grammy nominee

-Starred in the movie "Dunkirk"

-Currently starring in and filming the movie "Don't Worry Darling"

-Recently cast for the Amazon film "My Policemam"

-Rumored to be acting in many other movies, such as Marvel's Eternals

If One Direction had not broken up, none of these things would have happened. Each member needed a break to focus on other hobbies and to build new relationships. There is definitely the potential for them to get back together, but for the time being, this break is a necessity to further their careers and personal life.

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cover image is from J-14.