Niall Horan confirms One Direction is taking a break, as Gossip Cop reported on Sunday, but is stressing, “We are not splitting up.” The singer tweeted on Monday that “we still have lots we want to achieve.”
In a series of messages on Twitter, Horan broke the silence for the group, which had not addressed its taking a hiatus around March 2016. In the first tweet, Horan said, “Ok so Lots of rumours going round. We are not splitting up, but we will be taking a well earned break at some point next year.” He followed that up with a second note that read, “Don’t worry though, we still have lots we want to achieve ! Can’t wait for you to hear all the new music we have for you and to perform.”
So far, none of the other remaining members have commented on their scheduled break. Both Harry Styles and Liam Payne’s last tweets were to thank the audience from Sunday’s show in Chicago, and Louis Tomlinson only commented on the show, “The Walking Dead.”
As Gossip Cop reported on Sunday, One Direction is expected to take a year off from performing beginning in March 2016. The band will finish promoting their fifth album together, but will not follow up their promotional duties with a tour. Instead, the members plan to focus on relaxing and solo projects during their hiatus.
The band’s decision to take a reported year-long break reportedly came out of a meeting in London last week around the time “Drag Me Down” was released. But, as Horan has now confirmed, the band has every intention of eventually regrouping.
UPDATE: Not long after Horan’s tweets, Tomlinson posted, “Your support is truly indescribable! It’s just a break :) we’re not going anywhere!! Promise.”