Niall Horan

Background

Niall James Horan is an Irish singer and songwriter whose talents have won him armies of loyal fans worldwide. Horan was born in Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland. He is of Irish descent and a Virgo by design. Horan’s parents divorced when he was five, so he and his brother lived with their mother for a year, after which they decided to move in with their father. He attended St. Kenny’s National School and Mary’s College in Mullingar.

Horan auditioned for “X Factor: Season Seven” in 2010. After a disagreement between the judges, he was allowed to go through boot camp. He failed to advance to the next stage and was placed in a group with four other boys; Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, and Louis Tomlinson. Together, this group of five became the boy band One Direction. The band kept practicing and performed on “X-Factor,” emerging in third place. After the show, they signed to Syco and began recording. Their debut single, ‘What Makes You Beautiful,’ released in 2011, became a global success and topped the charts in multiple countries. In March 2012, One Direction’s debut studio album, “Up All Night”, was released internationally. Following that they went on their first headlining tour across North America, Europe, and Australia to promote the album. At this stage, One Direction was an internationally popular band, so their tickets sold out in minutes.

One Direction released their fourth studio album, “Four,” in 2014. This was the last album with Zayn, and it debuted at number one in 18 countries. After their fifth studio album, “Made in the A.M.” (2015), One Direction went on an indefinite hiatus. In 2016, Horan founded a golf company, Modest Golf, with Mark McDonnell and Ian Watts, and in September, he signed to Capitol Records as a solo artist. He released his debut single, ‘This Town,’ in the same month. In 2017, Horan released his debut studio album, “Flicker.” His sound is soft rock, country, folk-pop, and pop. His music is influenced by Frank Sinatra, Michael Bublé, and Dean Martin.

As a famous and talented singer-songwriter, Horan’s personal life is pretty public. He had a relationship with actress Hailee Steinfeld, but the pair broke up in December 2018. He started dating Amelia Woolley in 2020, and the two are still together. Horan has never been married and has no kids.