Niall Horan

Niall James Horan (born 13 September 1993) is an Irish singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence as a member of the English-Irish band One Direction. In 2010, Horan auditioned as a solo contestant for British singing competition The X Factor. After being eliminated as a solo performer, Horan joined four other contestants to form One Direction. As a group, they have released five albums, embarked on four world tours, and won several awards.

Following the band's hiatus in 2016, Horan signed a recording deal as a solo artist with Capitol Records. His singles "This Town" and "Slow Hands" from his debut studio album Flicker (2017) reached the top 20 in several countries. The album debuted at number one in Ireland and the United States, as well as charting within the top three in Australia and the UK. He embarked on the Flicker Sessions tour (2017) and the Flicker World Tour (2018) to support the album.

Early life
Niall James Horan was born on 13 September 1993 in Mullingar, Ireland. He has an older brother, Greg Horan. His parents, Bobby Horan and Maura Gallagher, divorced when he was five years old, so he and his brother, Greg, lived with their mother for a year. After spending a year apart from their father, they later decided to move in with him. He attended St. Kenny's National School, a primary school, and Coláiste Mhuire, a Catholic boys school, which are both located in Mullingar.

Horan tried to play the guitar that his brother got for Christmas, but was not able to play it. Horan, then aged 11, taught himself how to play the guitar by following YouTube tutorials. His aunt discovered his talent one day when she was in the car with Niall as he started singing. She originally thought the radio was on. As a teenager, he performed at the Mullingar Arts Centre during a fund-raiser for the local football team, the Shamrocks. He was also bagging a support slot with former X Factor contestant Lloyd Daniels at the Academy club in Dublin.

2010: The X Factor
In 2010, at sixteen years old, Horan auditioned for the seventh series of The X Factor in Dublin. He sang "So Sick" and received mixed comments from the judges. Louis Walsh was in his favour, but Cheryl Cole and guest judge Katy Perry felt that he needed some time to grow. Simon Cowell voted to let him through, Cole said no, Walsh said yes, and Perry decided to vote yes. Horan was then put through to bootcamp.

At bootcamp, he sang "Champagne Supernova", but failed to qualify for the "Boys" category. After a suggestion from guest judge Nicole Scherzinger, Horan was put in a group with four boys who also failed to move on in the competition, and since they were too good to let go, the judges decided to agree with Scherzinger. Horan along with Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik formed One Direction. Styles came up with the band name, which he thought would sound good when announcer Peter Dickson read their name out on the live shows.

The group got together for two weeks to get to know each other and to practice. For their qualifying song at the "judges' houses" and their first song as a group, One Direction sang an acoustic version of "Torn". Simon Cowell later commented that the performance convinced him that the group "were confident, fun, like a gang of friends, and kind of fearless as well." Within the first four weeks of the live shows, they were Cowell's last act in the competition. During the competition, the band performed different songs such as Kelly Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You" and Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart", quickly gaining popularity in the UK. They finished in third place, behind runner-up Rebecca Ferguson and winner Matt Cardle.

2011–2015: One Direction
Following The X Factor, One Direction had been signed by Cowell to a reported £2 million Syco record contract. They began recording their debut album in Los Angeles in January 2011. In February, the band and other contestants from the series participated in The X Factor Live Tour. During the tour, the group performed for 500,000 people throughout the UK. After the tour concluded in April, the group continued working on their debut album. Recording took place in Stockholm, London, and Los Angeles, as One Direction worked with producers such as Carl Falk, Savan Kotecha, Steve Mac, and Rami Yacoub.

In 2011, they released their debut studio album, Up All Night. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 176,000 copies in its first week. This led to One Direction becoming the first British band to debut its first studio album at number one. Their first single, "What Makes You Beautiful", reached number one in Ireland, Mexico and the UK. The subsequent singles, "Gotta Be You", "One Thing", and "More than This", had moderate success. To promote the album, they embarked on the Up All Night Tour and released the tour's DVD, Up All Night: The Live Tour. In November 2012, they released their second studio album, Take Me Home. This album had a better reception than their first album, reaching number one in the UK and becoming their first album to top the UK chart. It also reached the first spot in Australia, Canada, the United States, Ireland, and New Zealand. "Live While We're Young", one of the singles, reached number one in Ireland and New Zealand, while "Little Things" reached number one in the UK. The third single, "Kiss You", made it to several charts, but never topped any. To support the album, they embarked on their second tour, the Take Me Home Tour, which covered four continents. Their movie, This Is Us, which was directed by Morgan Spurlock was mostly shot during the tour, and grossed more than $60 million worldwide.

The band's third studio album, Midnight Memories, was released on 25 November 2013. Their fourth album, Four, was released on 17 November 2014. In August 2015, it was revealed that the group would be going on a hiatus after the release of their fifth album, Made in the A.M., in November 2015.

2016–present: Flicker and Modest Golf Management
In February 2016, Modest Golf, a golf management company that Horan founded together with Mark McDonnell and Ian Watts, was unveiled. Modest Golf has since signed several golf players. In March 2019, Modest Golf earned its first European tour win when Italian golfer Guido Migliozzi, the first golfer that the company signed back in August 2016, won the Kenyan Open.

In September 2016, it was announced that Horan had signed a solo deal with Capitol Records. On 29 September 2016, Horan released his debut solo single "This Town". Since its release, it has peaked at number 9 on the UK Singles Chart and number 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100. On 4 May 2017, Horan released his second solo single "Slow Hands". It also entered the top 10 in the UK and the top 20 in the US.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Horan stated that his upcoming album, Flicker, was inspired by classic rock acts, including Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles, "Whenever I would pick up a guitar, I would always naturally play chords like that, and finger pick a lot and play that folky kind of style." He also described the collection as having a "folk-with-pop feel to it." Horan embarked on a worldwide tour, Flicker Sessions 2017, which started in August to promote the album.

Horan announced that he had contacted American singer Maren Morris to contribute to his song "Seeing Blind". In August, he debuted a song titled "On My Own" at Dublin's Olympia Theatre. On 15 September 2017, Horan released his third single from the album, "Too Much to Ask". On 8 November 2017, he performed alongside Maren Morris at the 51st Country Music Association Awards. In 2018, he embarked on the Flicker World Tour to promote the album.

Artistry
Horan's solo debut album was described as being on the "folkier side of pop", incorporating elements of folk music as well as pop rock, soft rock, and country music. In an interview with Digital Spy, Horan cited Michael Bublé as one of his biggest influences because they had similar life histories, as he was discovered by his aunt and the same thing happened to Bublé, except he was discovered by his father.

Horan has also stated that he is a "big, big swing fan", citing his favourite artists as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Bublé. Horan likes pop and rock music and is a fan of The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Bon Jovi, The Script, Take That, and Westlife.

Personal life
Horan enjoyed playing a number of sports while growing up, including golf, football, and Gaelic football. In the summer of 2010, while playing football with friends, he injured his knee and was diagnosed with a floating kneecap. The problem recurred several times over the next couple of years, including a 2013 incident where he dislocated his knee onstage during a concert in Antwerp, Belgium. Horan went to the United States for major reconstructive surgery in January 2014, after the tour ended. After the surgery, he was invited to do physical therapy with Chelsea by their manager, José Mourinho. Horan went through more than seven weeks of physical therapy with the members of the team and their physical therapist at their training ground in Surrey.

Horan is a supporter of Football League Championship side Derby County. He is also a fan of golf. He can be seen at numerous golf events and has participated in the BMW PGA Championship Pro-Am at Wentworth. He caddied for professional golfer Rory McIlroy for the Par 3 contest prior to the 2015 Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia. He also expressed his support for the Ireland cricket team. Horan is also a rugby fan. He has tweeted several times in support of the Ireland rugby team and was seen attending a Leinster rugby match with Rory McIlroy.

In 2016, Horan was actively involved with the Drive, Chip, and Putt initiative that encourages and supports children golfers. Horan also helped promote the Northern Ireland Open.

In April 2018, Horan opened up on his diagnosis of mild obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and his anxiety.

Philanthropy
As a former member of One Direction, Horan was involved in the Action 1D campaign that "aims to end extreme poverty, tackle inequality and slow down climate change with the help of their millions of fans". The band also supported Comic Relief.

In May 2014, Horan hosted the Charity Football Challenge at Leicester City's King Power Stadium to raise money for Irish Autism Action. The celebrity football match had 10,000 spectators and raised about £300,000 for the charity. In 2016, Horan continued to support Irish Autism Action by creating limited edition T-shirts.

Horan teamed up with Golf Digest to raise money for the REACH military families. Horan and golf player Justin Rose created the "Horan and Rose Gala", a charity event in aid of Cancer Research UK Kids and Teens.

Horan was announced to be joining the Soccer Aid 2016 star lineup fundraiser for UNICEF as an assistant manager and player for the Rest of the World team. In 2017, Horan received an Arnie Award for his work with charities. In 2019, Horan joins Unicef’s Soccer Aid World XI team, formerly called Rest of the World, alongside retired sprinter Usain Bolt and former Chelsea FC player Didier Drogba. Unicef’s soccer aid tournament aims to raise funds to benefit children around the world.

Discography

 * Flicker (2017)

Tours

 * Headlining
 * Flicker Sessions (2017)
 * Flicker World Tour (2018)