One Direction‘s Harry Styles has left Directioners in turmoil after reportedly signing a solo recording deal with Columbia Records, which suggest that the end of One Direction is closer than ever.
As Billboard reports, sources close to Styles say that a long-awaited solo deal has now been made official, but the deal terms aren’t yet known, and there’s apparently no timeline in place for when a solo album will arrive.
The first hints that Styles might begin a solo career arrived last year, when four songs performed and written by the singer — titled 5378 Miles, Already Home, Coco and Endlessly — were registered with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). What’s more, Styles joined the roster of Full Stop Management in March this year.
Former One Direction member Zayn Malik officially left the group in March this year, and since then reports have suggested that 1D’s current hiatus will turn into a full-blown breakup.
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, UK? https://t.co/QDEW9dQzUk
— Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) June 24, 2016
One Direction’s Liam Payne is reportedly looking towards a career as a producer, and even shared new music in January this year. Fellow 1D member Louis Tomlinson became a dad in January this year when his son Freddie Reign Tomlinson was born, while Niall Horan has launched a management company to scout for British golf talent.
One Direction were formed on the 2010 UK version of The X Factor with the help of Simon Cowell, who told Billboard earlier this year that he didn’t know if the group’s current hiatus is an actual hiatus or a legitimate breakup.
“In a weird way, I don’t want to know. I don’t think they’ve had enough time to experience what it’s like not being in the group to really answer that,” Cowell said.
One Direction did momentarily reunite earlier this year though, but only for an illustrated appearance on Family Guy.
Styles, who is currently filming the Christopher Nolan World War II drama Dunkirk, is also rumoured to be in talks to play Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger in a new biopic about the legendary rock band.
Watch: One Direction – History
