Niall Horan, one fourth of the world famous One Direction (who are currently on an ‘indefinate hiatus’), is reportedly the latest to sign a solo contract with Universal Music – a fierce competitor with his current label Syco.
The 22-year-old has reportedly snubbed his mentor Simon Cowell by declining to carry on with his Syco record label, and instead gone for rival Universal Music, according to the Daily Star newspaper.
Horan has also began working with Adele’s writer and producer Greg Kurstin on his solo album in an effort to launch a massively successful career.
According to a US source, Simon Cowell’s label Syco “made a number of big money offers to try and persuade Niall to sign up but, in the end, Universal came in and put even more money on the table”
The Sun on Sunday newspaper reported that while Niall wrote songs with his band mates, he wanted to move away from his boyband image and on to writing serious music. “He wants to move away from boyband stuff and show what he can do, and he’s being doing some great work with Greg (Kurstin), among others,” a source told the publication.
On Twitter, the hashtag #WeAreReadyForSoloNiall was trending, with over 104,000 tweets.
A source also said “This will come as a real blow to Cowell who has been talking to Niall for months, wanting him to sign a deal with his label Syco. They’re chuffed to have got one over on Cowell and have taken one of 1D”
Meanwhile, the other members from the band have also been doing their own things. Liam Payne has signed a solo deal with Capitol UK and is looking to swap pop music for grime, while Harry Styles, who has recently finished filming Christopher Nolan’s new film ‘Dunkirk’ is believed to have an $80m deal with Columbia, which is owned by Sony. Louis Tomlinson is also believed to be planning to focus on his record label during the break, and he recently teamed up with Cowell to launch a new girl group.
The US source continued: “Cowell will be unhappy about it. “But Niall’s thrilled. He’s been telling pals he is really excited about his new music and this solo deal.
“It’s anyone’s guess where this decision leaves One Direction now.”
