Niall Horan is part of one of the biggest boy bands in the world right now – One Direction. Born in Ireland on the 13th of September 1993, the 22-year-old auditioned as a solo artist on the seventh series of the well-known British singing competition ‘The X Factor’ back in 2010. Niall impressed the judges initially however failed to make it through to the final seven contestants chosen by each celebrity music mogul. However, Niall was in luck. Nicole Scherzinger of the American girl group ‘Pussycat Dolls’ happened to be a guest judge on the British television show and thought he had too much talent to waste. She came up with the idea to form a band with five of the solo male artists that were unsuccessful. And so ‘One Direction’ was formed.
Over the course of the last five years, despite only coming third on the television show, ‘One Direction’ became one of the biggest and most successful boy bands of this era. They have reaped the financial rewards as a group and thanks to the great success Niall Horan is now worth an estimated $31 million.
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Niall Horan in One Direction
Despite the fact that One Direction finished as runners-up in the British television show, ‘The X Factor’, music mogul Simon Cowell signed the band to his record label Syco in a contract worth over $2.8 million. Early in 2011, the five-piece boy band flew from the UK to Los Angeles to begin recording their debut album.
The album when released was an instant hit in the pop music world. Entitled ‘Up All Night’ it reached the number one spot on the United States Billboard 200 with an impressive 176,000 copies of the debut album sold in the very first week. The debut single from the album entitled ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ shot to the number one spot in various countries including Ireland, the UK and in Mexico. Horan and the rest of One Direction then embarked on their first tour as a band – the ‘Up All Night Tour’
After the tour, One Direction went back into the studio to record their second album which they released in November 2012. The second album entitled ‘Take Me Home’ was even more successful than the first. Niall Horan and his band mates enjoyed success by topping the charts in the UK, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Canada.
One Direction released two more albums as a five-piece group. In November 2013 they released ‘Midnight Memories’ and in November 2015, ‘Four’ was released. One Direction fans were then left deeply disappointed and uncertain about the band’s future when Niall Horan’s band mate, Zayn Malik announced he was leaving the band in March 2015. He cited stress at the time but has since embarked on his own solo career.
Niall Horan and his three remaining band mates were insistent that the band would go on as a four-piece after the departure of Zayn Mailk and went on to release their fifth album in November 2015 – Made in the AM. They then went on a worldwide tour and announced they would be taking a hiatus for a year.
Niall Horan has co-written many of the hits that One Direction have had including ‘Life While We’re Young’, ‘Story of my Life’, and ‘Don’t Forget Where You Belong’ to name but a few.
Niall Horan’s Personal Life
Niall Horan grew up in County Westmeath in Ireland. When he was just five years old, his parents divorced which meant that himself and older brother Greg had to live in both houses for some time. The two brothers later decided to move in with their father more permanently. Niall initially discovered his interest in music when older brother Greg received a guitar as a Christmas present one year. Greg had no interest however so Niall capitalized on this and used the guitar to teach himself how to play, watching a series of tutorial videos on YouTube. Before the age of sixteen, Niall did not have much experience in the music industry. In 2010, aged sixteen, Niall auditioned for the X Factor and his music career began.
Niall Horan’s Other Interests
Growing up, Niall had a huge interest in sports and played golf and football. He badly injured his knee in 2010 while playing football with some friends. While on tour with One Direction in Belgium, Europe in 2013, Niall injured his knee once more on stage. He then had to undergo surgery in the United States in early 2014. A massive football fan, Niall Horan was extremely lucky to be invited to do his rehabilitation therapy with UK football club Chelsea. Niall received an invite to attend the physical therapy by then Chelsea Manager José Mourinho and recovered over the course of seven weeks with both members of the football team and the medical staff at the football club.
Niall Horan has always had a big interest in golf also. In 2015, fellow Irishman and golfer Rory McIlroy invited Niall to play the Par 3 contest with him on the Wednesday before the Masters tournament commenced. Niall got to play alongside Rory as well as act as his caddy for the day.
Earlier in 2016, Niall Horan teamed up with British golfer and friend Justin Rose. The duo decided to join forces to host a charity event in Aid of Cancer Research UK. The event, called ‘Horan and Rose Gala’ is due to take place in London, United Kingdom this June.
Niall Horan has been linked to a number of celebrity love interest over the past few years including Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez.
What’s Niall Horan Doing Now in 2018?
Niall seems to be making the most of his hiatus from One Direction and is kept busy with many other projects. In addition to working on some solo projects Niall Horan has recently started dating former disney channel star and current pop star Selena Gomez. All that said, we have no doubt that whatever he chooses to do next, it will only add to his already impressive net worth!
