Niall Horan Joins Harry Styles, Expresses Interest In One Direction Reunion

Niall Horan has something reassuring to say to the One Direction fans who fear that their beloved band is finished for good.

During an October 14 appearance on The Graham Norton Show, the Irish singer informed Directioners that he’s been in touch with bandmates Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and Liam Payne. Niall Horan revealed that the boys have talked about their future plans as a band, and he said that fans won’t have to wait until they’re middle-aged to see the group performing “What Makes You Beautiful” again.

“For now we are doing our own thing,” Niall said, as reported by MTV News.”We can’t put a date on it but it won’t be in fifty years time. It’s in the foreseeable future. We’ve talked about it, but for now we’ll just play by ear and see what happens.”

This news will likely be music to the ears of Simon Cowell, the man who is responsible for bringing the One Direction boys together on The X Factor UK. The music mogul has made it no secret that he’s unhappy with some members of the band for abandoning him as they pursue solo careers and other opportunities, and he was particularly peeved at Niall Horan for deciding to release his first solo album with Universal instead of showing loyalty to his old boss by releasing it under Cowell’s record label, Syco. Back in July, Cowell told the Sun that he was “confident” that Horan would sign with Syco. However, this didn’t happen, and it obviously left Simon Cowell feeling a bit bitter.

According to Cowell, Niall Horan’s first solo single, “This Town,” could have been a chart topper in the U.K. if the 23-year-old singer had signed with him.

“Niall probably would have had a No. 1 single if he’d stayed with me,” Simon told the Daily Star. “But you know who does have the top spot this week? James Arthur. I’m pleased he’s back with us with a fantastic record. Hashtag loyalty.”

According to Sugarscape, “This Town” only debuted in the No. 9 spot on the Top 40 U.K. Single Charts. However, Niall Horan doesn’t view his first solo single as a failure. He admits that he was nervous about releasing his own music, but his fans’ reaction to “This Town” has assured him that enduring all that anxiety was worth the final result.

“I’ve been sitting on it for so long and keeping it a secret. It was a nerve-wracking time,” Niall told Graham Norton. “It’s always been a daunting prospect but the reaction has been insane.”

During a recent radio interview on Fox FM’s The Squad, Niall Horan revealed that it felt strange to sing an entire song by himself.

“The weirdest thing I found was singing the whole song,” Niall said, as reported by the Mirror.

However, Niall was already used to writing songs without his One Direction bandmates’ help, so he didn’t struggle with this part of the music production process. According to Teen Vogue, Niall said that he wrote “This Town” after going backpacking in Asia. The trip inspired him to go back to “doing acoustic stuff” that’s similar to the music he grew up listening to. Horan’s first solo album will likely be released sometime next year.

Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Harry Styles proved that they’re both still on good terms with Niall Horan by tweeting their support for his debut single.

“Good luck boss give him all your support huge day for him proud of you boss,” Liam wrote.

When Louis Tomlinson tweeted his congrats, he revealed that he and Niall are still such good friends that he had scored an invite to Niall’s birthday bash.

“Feeling super proud. You sound great! Great to see you at your bday bash!!” Louis tweeted.

Harry Styles also praised his old pal’s new sound.

“Ahhh, a lovely tune my friend. Congratulations. H,” he wrote.

Harry Styles talked about One Direction’s future during his recent interview for the print edition of AnOther Man, saying that he thinks it’s a good thing that he and his bandmates are “exploring different things.“ However, as Fuse reports, Harry also said that he would love to reunite with the remaining three members of One Direction whenever everyone is on board with the idea of getting back together.

“Maybe at some point everyone will want to do something again but it’ll be better if it happens naturally like, ‘Hey, we all really want to do this again.’ If that were to happen it would be amazing.”

Harry Styles has inked a record deal with Columbia Records, but so far fans haven’t heard any of his solo material. Simon Cowell wasn’t upset about this deal because Columbia and Syco are both Sony labels, and Simon actually encouraged Harry to sign with the American record company. However, Simon did not approve of Liam Payne’s decision to sign with competing label Capitol Records. Louis Tomlinson hasn’t signed a solo record deal yet, so perhaps Simon will convince him to stick with Syco.

How long do you think it will be before Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, and Louis Tomlinson perform as One Direction again? Sound off in the comments below.

[Featured Image by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images]