Liam Payne of One Direction revealed Thursday that he is working on a solo album, becoming the latest member of the boy band sensations to pursue his own career.
The 22-year-old heartthrob took to Twitter to announce that he had signed to Capitol Records to record his debut solo album.
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
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
The announcement is certain to further predictions from One Direction’s fans that the band is no longer.
One Direction in November released its fifth studio album, Made in the AM, with the group saying it was going on indefinite hiatus but not splitting up. The band at that point had already seen the departure of founding member Zayn Malik who, shedding One Direction’s squeaky clean image, released a racy, R&B-driven debut album, “Mind of Mine,” in March.
Another One Direction member, Harry Styles, has reportedly also reached a lucrative recording deal with One Direction’s label Columbia Records.
One Direction — whose ranks also include Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan — emerged in 2010 when the then teenagers appeared on British television contest The X Factor.
The boy band went on to release an album of radio-ready pop each year in time for the holiday shopping season and became one of the highest-grossing live acts in the world.
Payne’s deal marks a commercial coup for Capitol Records, a legendary label now under the Universal umbrella, as all other One Direction works have been on Sony marks.
The remaining four band members have been on a One Direction hiatus the past six months. With Payne, Styles and Malik now singing solo, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan could be next.
