Irish-born singer Niall James Horan gained worldwide popularity as the member of the boy group One Direction. After years working in a group, he established himself as a solo artist with his chart-topper singles from the debut album Flicker in 2017.

Niall Horan was born in Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland on September 13, 1993 and grew up having one older brother. He spent his childhood in Mullingar and was active at school St. Kenny National School in the school choir and plays. The teenage Horan used to perform at The Academy in Dublin and at the Mullingar Arts Centre.

He was only 16 when joined a singing competition, the 2010 X Factor. After passing several rounds, he impressed the judges–Katy Perry and Simon Cowell–with Ne-Yo’s “So Sick” and entered the competition. At the semifinals, Horan was eliminated along with Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik, but the judges decided to put them together and continued the competition as a group. The group then named One Direction and made it to the grand finale.

As the third winner, One Direction signed a record deal to Syco Music, a Simon Cowell’s Sony subsidiary label. In 2012, the group released the mega hit “What Makes You Beautiful” and a debut album Up All Night which made them rise to stardom. Besides being the vocalist, Niall Horan contributed more to the songwriting progress for One Direction’s albums. After the departure of Zayn Malik in 2015, the members went their separate ways, built their solo career.

Read: Niall Horan Bio & Family

Niall Horan began his career as a solo singer with the debut single “This Town” that was released in 2016 through Capitol Records. It was followed by other two singles before launching the 2017 album Flicker. His album successfully peaked on top of the music charts in some countries, including the US and UK. At the end of the year, he got a chance to perform in the 51st Country Music Association Awards and received an American Music Award for Best New Artist. He also performed at Ariana Grande’s concert in Manchester. The following year, Horan’s effort was honored with Best Lyrics for the single “Slow Hands” at the iHeartRadio Music Awards in 2018. He began the Flicker World Tour from March, as his second tour after Flicker Sessions in 2017.

Horan worked steadily as a new solo artist, releasing one single to another. His song “Finally Free” was featured in Warner’s musical comedy animated movie Smallfoot (2018). In 2020, his second album Heartbreak Weather was released, featuring the hit single “No Judgement” which entered the Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles chart.