Niall Horan on Tour

As a member of the mega boy band One Direction, Niall Horan honed his stage presence in big venues, first on the UK edition of The X Factor and then in front of stadiums packed with screaming fans. His affable personality shines through no matter the size of his audience, and his songs sparkle whether he’s backed by a band onstage or simply strumming his acoustic guitar solo.

Niall Horan in Concert

When Niall Horan was 11, his brother gave him a guitar for Christmas. He didn’t take to it right away, but he kept at it, using online tutorials and becoming adept enough at the instrument to impress his family members and people in his hometown of Mullingar, Westmeath, Ireland. Horan tried out for the seventh season of the UK’s The X Factor and was eventually put together with Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson to form a band, One Direction. The group quickly took over The X Factor under Simon Cowell’s guidance, and even though they finished in third place, they became one of the true megastar acts to come from the show, selling out stadiums and causing fan frenzies around the world.

One Direction went on hiatus after the release of their fifth album Made in the A.M. in 2015, and Horan began his solo career in late 2016 with the sweet single “This Town,” which he followed up with the slinky, blues-inspired “Slow Hands.” His first solo album, Flicker, came out in 2017 to great reviews, topping charts around the world and showing off his appreciation of folk-rock acts like The Eagles and modern country artists like Maren Morris, with whom he duetted on the scruffy “Seeing Blind.” In 2020 Horan released his second album, Heartbreak Weather, which added synths to his pop-rock mix.