The members of the now broken-up band, One Direction, have all released music in the past two months, and the public’s reactions have been great.

The previous One Direction member, Harry Styles, released his first single since his self-titled album, called “Lights Up.” The song was released on October 11, 2019. The song is step-back from Styles’ dramatic first single as a solo artist, “Sign of the Times”. The track features a light synth, a background choir, and while less than three minutes long, it feels longer from its strangeness. The public has responded well to Harry’s new single, with an overall positive attitude towards the new song. Laura Snapes from The Guardian claims “Lights Up” is, “laced with surprises and sounds refreshingly like nothing his British male pop peers are doing.”

Zayn Malik, former One Direction member remembered for leaving the band in March of 2015, was recently featured on a track from Sabrina Claudio’s sophomore album “Truth Is”, released on October 4, 2019. The song has a passionate and mesmerizing tune, similar to tracks from Malik’s previous albums “Mind of Mine” and “Icarus Falls”. The reaction from the public has been fairly positive, both towards Claudio and Malik. “The vocals went well together, especially the male voice,” said Mrs. Halter, a teacher at Lambert High School. 

Former One Direction member, Niall Horan, changed his style from his first folky solo album “Flicker”, in his most recent release “Nice to Meet Ya.” He channeled his inner rock in this new single, also released on October 4th. The playful tune includes exciting lyrics, where Horan channels his inner french with the lyrics, “I wanna blow your mind, just come with me, I swear. I’m gonna take you somewhere warm, you know j’adore la mer,” which translates to “I love the sea.” The single instills more attitude and swagger from his previous album, but it would be great to see the artist branch out of his comfort zone even more.

Former One Direction star Liam Payne released his most recent single since his EP “First Time”, and it follows the pop-formula to a tee. “Stack It Up” came out on September 18, 2019, being the first of the five to release new music. The average pop song that features known rapper, A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, going further down the path towards the radio formula. “Stack it Up” has a fun vibe, following the similar style of Payne’s previous hit-song “Strip that Down,” that hit #1 on Billboard’s Pop Songs Chart in 2017.  Overall, the song seems to be a cool pop song, following the normal stylistic approach as those on the radio.

Louis Tomlinson, another former One Direction member, released his new British pop-like single “We Made It” on October 24, following his previous works with the same style. The song talks about the struggles that a couple went through in their relationship, with the lyrics “Hold your hand in mine/We’re never coming back down/We were just two kids trying to figure it out.” Following the release of the single, Tomlinson announced that his debut solo album, “Walls”, will be released on January 31, 2020, and that he would begin his worldwide tour March of 2020. 

The British boyband, One Direction, was formed on the British show, The X-Factor, on July 23, 2010. While the group only brought in third place on the singing competition show, they went on to become a household name. Up until 2015, the band had released four albums as a five man act, bringing in a net worth total of $78 million. On March 25, 2015, Zayn Malik announced his departure from the band. Harry, Niall, Louis, and Liam, then went on to release their final album, “Made in the A.M”, on November 13, 2015. They announced their hiatus in December of 2015, claiming that they would return from their break and reconcile in eighteen months, however, since then, the boys have chosen to work on their careers.