Niall Horan and Zayn Malik Open Up About Life After One Direction

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Niall Horan and Zayn Malik are moving forward.

The two singers recently opened up about life after One Direction. Horan stopped by the Graham Norton Show last week to promote his new solo project and talked about how he handled the band's decision to go on a hiatus.


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"I went backpacking around the world with my two cousins," Horan revealed. "I wanted to do it properly so we did it on a budget. All of my friends got to do it when I was traveling the world in a different way, so I thought it’s only fair that I get to do it, too."

"When I got back from Asia I just started doing acoustic stuff," he continued. "The stuff I grew up on – and thought, 'Maybe I should release them. They’re actually not that bad.'"

Last month, the 23-year-old singer released his first solo single, "This Town," a ballad inspired by his hometown of Mullingar in County Westmeath, Ireland.

"This is it now," he said when asked about the fate of One Direction. "I am writing an album for me and I am probably going to tour it on my own. For now we are doing our own thing."

Meanwhile, Malik has catapulted to success as a solo artist after releasing his first album, Mind of Mine, in March, on what just so happened to be the one-year anniversary of when he announced he was leaving One Direction.

On Thursday, the "Pillowtalk" singer shared the first excerpt of his first book, titled Zayn.

"Every lyric I’ve ever written has a story behind it," he points out in the excerpt. "All the hard work that went into the creation of 'Pillowtalk' was worthwhile because, as soon as it was finished, I intuitively felt I was on the right path. It was a sick cut, nailing the exact sound I wanted to capture in my music."

"I was also able to sing about a subject that I hadn’t really been able to go near while I was in One Direction: sex," Malik writes.


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The book is said to be a "photographic journey" featuring a collection of personal notes, thoughts, lyrics, drawings, and never-before-seen photos. "I'm going to show you as much as I can so that you can judge me on my own terms, not on what the press or anyone else says," Zayn said in a statement.

Zayn will also be executive producing Boys, a new drama series with Dick Wolf and Universal Television that centers on the ups and downs of a wildly successful boy band.

Former One Direction mentor Simon Cowell recently told ET he was not surprised by the move.

"Nothing surprises me anymore," he said, tentatively offering his blessing for the series. "I think he should have come to me with it, if I'm being honest with you."

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