Niall Horan
Information
Full name	Niall James Horan
Born	September 13, 1993 (age 32)
Hometown	Mullingar, County Westmeath Republic of Ireland
Nickname	Nialler, Neil, The Prettiest Princess in all the Lands, Our Little Irish Princess, Nigel, Ni, Nini, Niall The Church Boy
Family	Bobby Horan, father Maura Gallagher, mother Chris Gallagher, stepfather Greg Horan, older brother Denise Horan, sister-in-law Theo Horan, nephew
Romances	Holly Scally (ex-girlfriend) Emeliya Murphy (ex-girlfriend) Ellie Goulding (ex-girlfriend) Melissa Whitelaw (ex-fling) Selena Gomez (ex-girlfriend) Hailee Steinfeld (ex-girlfriend) Amelia Wooley (current girlfriend)

Niall James Horan (born 13 September 1993) is an Irish singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence as a member of the boy band One Direction, formed in 2010 on the singing competition The X Factor. The group released five albums and went on to become one of the best-selling boy bands of all time.

After the band declared a hiatus in 2016, Horan signed a recording deal as a solo artist with Capitol Records. He has since released three albums: Flicker (2017), Heartbreak Weather (2020), and The Show (2023). Flicker debuted at No. 1 in Ireland and the US, and reached the top three in Australia and the UK. The album's first two singles, "This Town" and "Slow Hands", reached the top 20 in several countries. Heartbreak Weatherwas released in March 2020, and debuted at No. 1 in the UK, Ireland and Mexico, and at No. 4 in the US.

Horan released his third studio album, The Show, in June 2023, after dropping the singles "Heaven" in February and "Meltdown" in April.

Early Life

Niall James Horan was born in Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland. Niall was a pupil at Coláiste Mhuire, Mullingar, a boys Christian Brothers school^[1]. He began playing guitar at eleven years old and would perform shows around his homeland, including as a support act for Lloyd Daniels.

Musical Career

In 2010, at sixteen years old, Niall auditioned for the seventh series of The X Factor UK in Dublin.^[2] He sang "So Sick" by Ne-Yo, and received mixed comments from the judges, who felt he was acceptable, but overconfident in his vocal abilities. Louis Walsh was in his favor, but Cheryl Cole, and guest judge Katy Perry, felt he wasn't ready. Simon voted yes, Cheryl voted no and Louis decided yes, leaving Niall's fate up to Katy. She deliberated, before eventually voting yes.

At bootcamp, Niall sang "Champagne Supernova", but failed to qualify. Along with Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik, Niall was eliminated as a solo artist but placed into what would become One Direction, instead of being eliminated from the entire series. Niall, along with Louis, was not given regular solos to perform during the group's live weekly X Factor performances. One Direction qualified to the grand finale episode, where they finished in third place.

Immediately following the conclusion of The X Factor, One Direction signed a million dollar recording contract with Simon Cowell's Sony subsidiary label, Syco Music. The band released five best-selling albums between 2011 and 2015. Fans would often emphasise how Niall appeared to be shunned vocally, and a hashtag titled #LetNiallSing would trend upon a new album release. Eventually Niall would go on to sing entire verses within One Direction songs. He also gradually contributed more to the group's songwriting, telling fans that his knee injury in 2014 stopped him from contributing creatively to their fourth album.

Solo Career

2016

In February 2016, Niall became a director for golfing company Modest!Golf, formed from his prior management company Modest Management. The company has since signed several young players. In May 2016, Niall founded Horan & Rose, a charity organization in collaboration with professional golfer Justin Rose^[3]. The organisation's premiere event raised £800,000 ($1,600,000 USD) for cancer research, and over the next three years, would go on to raise £1.5 million pounds. Also in May, Niall competed in the Soccer Aid All Stars charity match, alongside Louis. Niall was the first remaining member of One Direction to release solo music during the band's hiatus. Songwriters Wayne Hector and Ruth-Anne Cunningham both revealed in May 2016 that they had worked with Niall on solo material^[4]. On 29 September 2016, Niall released his debut single, "This Town", through Capitol Records. The song reached #1 on iTunes in 49 countries and became a top 10 single worldwide. In December 2016, Niall confirmed his debut album was in production.^[5]

2017

In 2017, Niall won the People's Choice Award for Favourite Breakout Artist^[6]. On 4th May 2017, Niall released his second single, "Slow Hands". It was a commercial success worldwide, peaking at #11 in the United States, hitting #1 on US radio and reaching #7 in the United Kingdom. Through May 2017, Niall performed at various live events including Wango Tango and Today Show's Summer Concert Series, and appeared on the cover of Billboard and TMRW magazines for their June issues. Niall performed at Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester benefit concert on June 4, 2017. On 29 August 2017, Niall began a small venue world tour, titled Flicker Sessions 2017. Niall released his debut album, Flicker, on 20 October 2017. It debuted at #1 in the United States, making Niall the third member of One Direction to achieve this. He released his third solo single "Too Much To Ask" in September, which was a top 30 hit. In November, Niall signed a contract with Wilhelmina Models, won the American Music Award for Best New Artist and performed alongside Maren Morris at the 51st Country Music Association Awards.

2018

Niall released the fourth and final Flicker single "On The Loose" in February. He then embarked on his debut arena tour - Flicker World Tour - from March onward, concluding in September. In May, Niall performed his album while backed by the RTE Concert Orchestra. The audio was released in November as a physical album in Ireland and made available on his website for international fans. In July, Niall announced a new song, titled "Finally Free", would be featured on the motion picture soundtrack for Smallfoot.

2019

Niall featured on singer-songwriter Julia Michael's track "What A Time", from her EP "Inner Monologue: Part 1". In late January, Niall confirmed to fans on Twitter that he was working on his second album. He described it as "fun and sad all at the same time". In March, Niall confirmed he had written approximately 40 songs in preparation for his upcoming album. On 4 October, Niall released "Nice To Meet Ya" as the first single from his forthcoming second album. On November 3, he debuted the single at the 2019 MTV EMA Awards. The song peaked in the top 10 in Ireland and New Zealand but failed to break the top 20 or 30 in other countries. Niall released a second single titled "Put A Little Love On Me" on December 6, which also underperformed.

2020

Horan announced the title of his second album would be "Heartbreak Weather" on 7 February 2020, alongside the release of a third single titled "No Judgement". He stated in a press release that his intentions with the album were to "tell the story in my head, hopefully lead people down the storytelling lane of an album track listing. I wanted to write songs from different sides or from someone else looking in.".

No Judgement entered the Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles chart peaking at number 97 and 70 respectively. The music video was released simultaneously and was directed by Drew Kirsch. The song also received a remix by Steve Void and an acoustic version. The single peaked at #6 in Ireland but underperformed elsewhere.

Heartbreak Weather was released on 13 March 2020. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic had become a global emergency by this point which meant Niall was forced to cancel all promotional and touring commitments for the foreseeable future. As a result, while in quarantine, Niall began regularly live-streaming from his Instagram account, often performing many songs acoustically and answering fan questions. He participated in several Global Citizen #TogetherAtHome livestream concerts. Despite the pandemic, the album debuted at #1 in the UK and Ireland, and #4 in the US. Niall announced "Black & White" would serve as the album's fourth single. The song is Niall's all-time favorite from his own discography, and he has spoken fondly about the writing process being a uniquely moving experience. He released the single and a music video compiled of behind the scenes footage on 21 April 2020.

2021

n 2021, Horan and English singer Anne-Marie released a single called "Our Song" and a cover of Fleetwood Mac's song "Everywhere" for the BBC's Children in Need alongside other UK musicians. In 2022, his TV special that was sponsored by Guinness, Homecoming: The Road to Mullingar with Lewis Capaldi aired on Virgin Media Ireland and was later released to Prime Video.

2022

In 2022, his TV special that was sponsored by Guinness, Homecoming: The Road to Mullingar with Lewis Capaldi aired on Virgin Media Ireland and was later released to Prime Video.

2023

In early 2023, Horan became one of the coaches on the 23rd season of The Voice.

"Heaven", the lead single from his third studio album The Show, was released on 17 February 2023. The single debuted at number 4 on the Irish singles chart one week later. On 17 March 2023, Horan performed the song at the White House for U.S. President Joe Biden and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar's Saint Patrick's Day celebration. "Meltdown", the second single from his upcoming album, was released on 28 April 2023. The Show debuted at number 1 in eight countries, including the Irish and UK album charts, and number 2 in the United States of America. In May 2023, it was announced that Horan would return for the 24th season, which premiered in late 2023. On 23 May 2023, Gina Miles, a member of Horan's team, won The Voice, making Horan the winning coach on his first season.] On 19 December 2023, Huntley, also a member from Horan's team, won the 24th season, making Horan the winning coach for the second consecutive time.[

Horan made his festival debut at the Boston Calling Music Festival and also performed at other festivals such as the Isle of Wight Festival and TRNSMT in summer 2023.

Personal Life

Family

Niall's parents are Bobby Horan and Maura Gallagher. They divorced when he was five and his mother remarried. Niall has one older brother, Greg Horan. Greg has tweeted about feeling estranged from Niall since his rise to fame, hinting at ongoing familial tension. Niall has spoken about their volatile early relationship, as Greg struggled with babysitting Niall while their parents both worked full time. Niall has eight cousins, some of whom live in Australia. In 2015, Niall lived with his cousin, Willie.

Knee Injury

Niall struggles with ongoing patellar subluxation, or an unstable kneecap^[7]. His first tweet regarding the injury was in October 2011^[8]. Niall eventually addressed the injury in One Direction's 2014 autobiography Who We Are, stating he first injured it during The X Factor whilst playing football, and that his doctor knew what was wrong as soon as he looked at Niall's knee^[9]. Niall has tweeted numerous times throughout the years about battling with pain symptoms that have often forced him to use crutches or sometimes sit down during concerts^[10]. On 6 January 2014, Niall travelled to the United States to undergo extensive surgery on his knee^[11][12]. On 29 May 2015, Horan described the surgery as "huge, not one I expected...the sort of operation that my knee will never be 100% again"^[13]. Fans criticized Niall's label and management for allegedly delaying the surgery over 12 months, as Niall had first tweeted about needing an operation back in October 2012^[14]. Niall was still using crutches when he attended the 2014 Brit Awards with One Direction, just 13 days after his surgery. Based on further social media posts, Niall was still recovering from his surgery shortly before One Direction's third world tour, Where We Are, began^[15]. His knee was injured again during that tour when a fan threw an object on stage^[16]. A similar incident occurred the following year during the On The Road Again Tour. Niall still refers to his struggles on social media, he was initially hesitant to participate as a player in the May 2016 Soccer Aid charity match, stating on Twitter "if I knew for certain my kneecap wouldn't end up in row Z, I'd be out there". He eventually participated with no injuries. In October 2016, Niall posted to Snapchat saying "my knee is in bits" after participating in the 2016 Ryder Cup. In March 2018, Niall told fans at Flicker World Tour soundcheck that his other knee would also need an operation.

Relationships

Holly Scally

Niall dated Holly Scally in 2010. They broke up in 2012 due to his music career keeping them apart. Scally told media "We were apart for four weeks, which felt really long because we used to see each other all the time. One day Niall called and said "I think we should finish because I never see you." I said "Yeah, I know. I understand". So it's cool. I think he felt bad because he kept saying "I'm so sorry." I tried to sound like it was no big deal but it was a bit sad for me. I liked him more than I'd let on. I missed him but we still talked on Skype and we met up whenever he was back.'^[17]

Melissa Whitelaw

While Niall never spoke publicly about a relationship with Melissa, he was spotted with the Australian 21-year-old numerous times between November 2014 and April 2015. In February 2015, Melissa was spotted with Niall outside Sydney's Allianz Stadium just before the band's first On The Road Again Tour concert. A short video of Niall and Melissa holding hands as they walked through a casino in Australia went viral online later that month. Melissa and Niall were last seen together in London, at a Trekstock charity ball held by Liam in April 2015.^[18]. It was widely reported the pair split by June 2015 because of long distance.^[19] Melissa interviewed Niall on Australian radio station Fox FM on 13 October 2016.^[20]

Ellie Goulding

In 2014, Ed Sheeran released a single called "Don't", which media reported was about British singer Ellie Goulding, Ed's supposed girlfriend at the time, and an alleged affair she had with Niall. Sheeran and Goulding both denied the claims, with Sheeran explaining it was a rumor that got out of hand: "I never let it slip. What happened was one of the newspapers in England just printed that it was confirmed when it never was. We got in touch, and they took the story down. But obviously the damage had already been done by that point because every other newspaper picked up on it. So I never actually confirmed it". Niall has never addressed the rumors. In June 2015, Goulding confirmed she had been on dates with Niall but denied ever dating Sheeran, stating "I did go on a few dates with Niall but I was never in a relationship with Ed. I have absolutely no idea where that came from and why it was turned into such a big thing. I find it so frustrating that female musicians are constantly defined by the men they have or haven't dated." Niall has remained friends with both Sheeran and Goulding.^[21] In June 2016, Niall uploaded a photograph after attending one of Ellie's concerts, with the caption "Yesterday I watched my best friend play main stage at Glastonbury. She killed it as always, so happy for her". Goulding responded with a love heart emoji. In 2016, Goulding was Niall's answer for two romance based questions on two different chat shows. On The Ellen DeGeneres Show, she was the winning result of a game of "Who Would You Rather?" and on The Late Late Show With James Corden, Goulding was Niall's answer when asked "Who would you spend your last night on Earth with?".

Selena Gomez

In January 2014, a fan met Niall in Denver as he recovered from knee surgery. They left a note for him stating "Hope everything works out with Selena". The American singer/actress was later photographed in Denver with another fan^[22]. They spent time together publicly in May and August 2014, where fans took photos of them attending a concert and dining at a restaurant^[23][24]. They took pictures together with the same fan on July 13, 2015^[25]. Gomez attended One Direction's Apple Music Festival performance in London during September 2015^[26]. The pair were seen publicly spending time together in California throughout November and December 2015^[27]. During a November 2015 interview, Gomez described Niall as one of her 'best friends'^[28]. On December 13 2015, Gomez attended One Direction's final X Factor performance before their hiatus, then attended the afterparty^[29]. Fans caught Gomez liking a video titled "Niall is hot", featuring Niall shirtless, on Instagram^[30]. On December 9, 2015, Selena commented on Instagram that she preferred One Direction's album Made in the A.M. over ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber's album, Purpose^[31]. On December 6, 2015, One Direction filmed a Carpool Karaoke segment for The Late Late Show With James Corden. During the car ride, James asked Niall who he would Sleep With, Marry or Go On A Cruise With out of US comedian Tina Fey, US singer Demi Lovato, or Selena Gomez. Niall responded that he would sleep with Tina, go on a cruise with Demi and marry Selena. On The Late Late Show With James Corden, Corden clarified Niall had dated Gomez.

Hailee Steinfeld

Niall dated American actress and singer Hailee Steinfeld for approximately a year. They first met at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards. In 2017, the pair began regularly interacting on social media, posting updates about spending time together^[32]. In late 2017, Niall and Hailee were spotted outside of work by fans, while friends, family and staff of both began following Horan and Steinfeld respectively. The pair were spotted out on numerous dates together in early 2018. In February 2018, Hailee was filmed touching Niall's face affectionately while they attended a Backstreet Boys concert together^[33]. In March 2018, Hailee performed at Niall's Flicker world tour with opening act Julia Michaels. In April 2018, Niall was filmed with his arm around Hailee kissing her cheek as they vacationed together in the Bahamas^[34]. During a July 2018 concert, Hailee introduced her song "Used To This" by saying she had fallen in love and was making room for someone new in her life. In August 2018, the pair were photographed kissing as they left a department store. The two ended their relationship in December 2018.

Amelia Woolley

The singer has been romantically linked to Amelia Woolley since Summer 2020, but are they still going strong? According to photos obtained by the Daily Mail Opens in a new Window. in May 2021, the duo was spotted on a rare outing in London. In the snaps, Niall walked alongside the brunette beauty, who was wearing white jeans styled with Converse sneakers and a long black coat. The “Slow Hands” crooner, for his part, walked with his hands in the pockets of his white pants, which he wore with a navy sweater. Niall stayed comfy for their outing in a pair of Nike sneakers.

The Daily Mail Opens in a new Window. was first to report that Niall and Amelia were more than friends in July 2020, with the publication reporting that the duo grew close amid the coronavirus lockdown. “Niall is very serious about Amelia, lockdown has definitely intensified his feelings for her,” a source said at the time. “Niall has been seeing Amelia for the last two months. He thinks Amelia’s gorgeous but they also really get on — and she’s told close friends this could be the real deal.”

The insider also noted that the pair met in London, while revealing Amelia’s occupation as a shoe buyer. While the pair has yet to comment on their relationship publicly, the fashionista did share a photo sitting alongside the singer via Snapchat that same July. “Sunday’s vibe,” she captioned the post at the time. While her Instagram account is private, and only has about 600 followers, a few eagle-eyed fans have noticed that Niall is one of her followers.

Controversies

2012

Niall was mobbed by a group of fans while leaving an airport. He expressed frustration with them, calling them a "shower of c**ts". He apologized for his language on Twitter later that day, but also asked fans not to stalk him.

2015

A tabloid publication claimed to have pictorial and video evidence of Niall taking illegal drugs, alongside pop singers Justin Bieber and Cody Simpson. In one released video, Niall can be seen sitting in a room where drug paraphernalia is visible on the table in front of him. The magazine was eventually made to apologize for the fabrication in 2016, after Niall filed a successful lawsuit against them^[35].

2016

On October 13, a pre-recorded appearance from Niall on A League Of Their Own caused controversy within the One Direction fanbase, after Niall joked that he would not trust any of his band mates around a naked girlfriend, particularly Harry. Fans felt the comment was misogynistic, and offensive toward Harry. While fans addressed both Niall and co-host James Corden, asking for an apology, neither responded.

Niall has previously noted his particular talent for avoiding controversy since becoming famous, especially in comparison to his bandmates. He has said that because he tries to lead a normal life, as a result he does not court the same amount of publicity as the rest of the band seems to.

Credits

Credits adapted from album liner notes

Up All Night

• "Taken" — writing
• "Everything About You" — writing
• "Same Mistakes" — writing

Take Me Home

• "Live While We're Young" — additional guitar
• "Kiss You" — additional guitar^[36]
• "Heart Attack" — additional guitar^[36]
• "Change My Mind" — additional guitar^[36]
• "Back For You" — writing
• "Summer Love" — writing
• "Still The One" — additional guitar^[36]
• "Irresistible" — writing

Midnight Memories

• "Don't Forget Where You Belong" — writing
• "Story of My Life" — writing 

Four

• "Fool's Gold" — writing
• "Night Changes" — writing
• "Change Your Ticket" — writing

Made in the A.M.

• "Never Enough" — writing
• "Temporary Fix" — writing
• "Wolves" — writing
• "A.M." — writing

Flicker (2017 solo album)

• "On The Loose" - writing
• "This Town" - writing
• "Seeing Blind" (with Maren Morris) - writing
• "Slow Hands" - writing
• "Too Much To Ask" - writing
• "Paper Houses" - writing
• "Since We're Alone" - writing
• "Flicker" - writing
• "Fire Away" - writing
• "You and Me" - writing
• "On My Own" - writing
• "Mirrors" - writing
• "The Tide" - writing

Heartbreak Weather (2020 solo album)

• Heartbreak Weather -writing
• Black and White - writing
• Dear Patience - writing
• Bend The Rules - writing
• Small Talk - writing
• Nice To Meet Ya - writing
• Put A Little Love On Me - writing
• Arms of a Stranger - writing
• Everywhere - writing
• Cross Your Mind - writing
• New Angel - writing
• No Judgement - writing
• San Francisco - writing
• Still - writing
• Dress (bonus track) - writing
• Nothing (bonus track) - writing

Others:

• "Cry Your Heart Out" - (co-writing for Vadé)
• "Finally Free" - (co-writing, for Smallfoot motion picture soundtrack)
• "What A Time" - (vocals, co-writing for Julia Michaels' EP Inner Monologue, Part 1)

Quotes

• "I want to have sold out arenas, an album." (X Factor Audition goals, 2010)
• ”We figured out recently, that - it’s not a conscious decision- but we don’t really see each other on our time off, do we?” (A Current Affair Australia interview, 2014)
• "5 years, literally sittin' down talking about last night. Insane! I remember the day we were put together like it was yesterday! You guys have changed our lives and we all love you so much! Best fans on the planet, easy! Thanks to the boys too, we've seen and done some incredible things together, love you all!" (Commemorating the band's fifth year anniversary on Twitter)^[37]
• "They pay my bills, not you" (To a paparazzo bothering fans)
• "I think Where Do Broken Hearts Go is perfect, what we should've done a long time ago" (FOUR Hangout, 2014)
• "We were really really really overworked" (Talking in 2015 about One Direction's schedule)
• "I don’t think anyone really gave us, 1D, enough credit. In terms of what we were like in the studio. People just thought ‘Oh, here we go, another manufactured lot that don’t really write their own stuff’, but, people would be wrong if they thought that." (Talking on the Zach Sang Show about songwriting)

Trivia

• He is a natural brunette.
• His star sign is Virgo.
• He is left handed.
• His favorite colors are green and blue.
• His favorite animal is a Lion.
• His favorite drink is guinness
• His favorite sport is football.
• His favorite movie is Grease.
• His favorite dessert is a cake.
• His favorite TV show is Two And A Half Men.
• His name is pronounced "Nigh-all". Due to the unique spelling, many errors have led to numerous nicknames for Niall, including "Neil" and "Naill". The band members call him "Nialler" as a nickname.
• Like Liam, his middle name is James.
• He had a twin, but it died during pregnancy.
• He is claustrophobic, his phobia can be seen in the Where We Are concert film's behind the scenes segment, when the band is forced to hide in the back of a windowless van.
• He has spoken about dealing with anxiety and low self esteem.
• He is the only band member who doesn't have tattoos.
• His favorite song from the band's third studio album, Midnight Memories, is "Don't Forget Where You Belong", his favorite song from the band's fourth studio album, Four, is "Where Do Broken Hearts Go", and his favorite song from the band's fifth studio album, Made in the A.M., is "Never Enough".
• For the United Kingdom's 2016 referendum vote regarding separating from the European Union, Niall announced he was voting to remain a part of the EU. He expressed disappointment with the result to leave the EU on Twitter the following day.
• Niall travelled the world in the first three months of One Direction's hiatus (Jan-March 2016). He told Graham Norton in October 2016: "I went backpacking around the world with my two cousins. 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.^[38]" Some of the places he visited included Australia, Vietnam and Thailand. In June 2016, Niall also travelled to Portugal.
• He was the first member of the band to publicly reunite with Zayn Malik after his 2015 exit from the band. The two shook hands briefly at the 2016 American Music Awards.
• In October 2017, Billboard announced Niall was the first artist to debut at #1 on the Social 50 chart, which is powered by data tracked by music analytics company Next Big Sound, ranking the most popular artists on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Wikipedia, Tumblr and Vine^[39].
• He named "Don't Let Me Down" by The Chainsmokers featuring Daya as one of his favorite songs of 2016^[40].
• In 2017, he became the first Irish person to have 30 million followers on Twitter.
• He is close friends with Canadian singer Shawn Mendes.
• He owns three companies: Neon Haze Records Limited, NJH Publishing Limited and Camden Recording Studios. He is also a director for Modest!Golf.
• His microphone is always taped green, white, and orange for the Irish flag unlike all his band members mikes which are all solid colors.
• To this day, Niall does not have any tattoos.
• He has very mild asthma.

External Links

• Niall Horan: Official Website
• Niall Horan: Official Spotify
• Niall Official Official Facebook
• NiallOfficial Official Twitter
• niallhoran Official Instagram
• niallhoran Official Snapchat
• Niall Horan Official Apple Music Artist Page

References

Gallery

2021