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One Direction will take a year off from performing together. The break is slated to begin in March after Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, and Niall Horan finish promoting their fifth album. They will, however, not tour in support of the album.
The one-year hiatus is so that the band members can pursue their own projects. As Gossip Cop reported three weeks ago, Payne told a UK radio station that he prefers songwriting and wouldn’t outright comment on whether or not he would leave One Direction. Payne said, “I like writing songs for different artists,” adding, “I much prefer doing that sort of thing.
Tomlinson will also probably want some time off. The singer and his friend Briana Jungwirth are expecting a baby, and he’ll become a dad right around the time the band plans on taking a break. Horan, it’s said, will look to record music. And Styles has been courted for some time by music and film producers alike for a solo record and movies, respectively.
Word is the decision to put the band on pause came out of London last week around the time “Drag Me Down” was released. Apparently, there’s every intention for the guys to regroup a year later, but of course time will tell whether that really happens.
The decision to let the guys go off to pursue their own interests and projects has nothing to do with Zayn Malik, who quit the group last March to embark on a solo career. A rep for One Direction issued a “no comment currently” to Gossip Cop about the one-year break. We have reached out to a number of One Direction sources, and will update as more information emerges.
