Harry Styles is heading in a new direction. The 22-year-old singer has signed a solo recording contract with Columbia Records, the same label behind One Direction. Sources confirmed the news to Billboard, adding that the "deal terms are not yet known and there is no timeline for a solo album".
So far Harry and his team have not commented on the news - and upset 1D fans are insisting that it is a "hoax". But if it is true, Harry's signing could signal the end of his days with the boy band, who are currently on an extended hiatus.
Harry Styles has signed a new solo record deal
Harry is following in the footsteps of his former bandmate Zayn Malik, who quit the group last year to pursue his solo career. Zayn's first single, Pillowtalk, was released in January, followed by his debut album, Mind of Mine, in March.
The future of One Direction certainly seems uncertain. In an interview with Billboard in March, boss Simon Cowell admitted that even he doesn't know if it's "a hiatus or a breakup".
"In a weird way, I don't want to know," he said. "I don't think they've had enough time to experience what it's like not being in the group to really answer that."
He is following in the footsteps of former bandmate Zayn Malik
"Whenever I was with them, we talked about [going on a break], and I couldn't argue with them," Simon said of Harry, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson. "They had achieved so much in a short period of time, and I didn't want them to get jaded. As I've gotten older, I've learned to trust people more, particularly artists. They'll decide when they want to come back together."
Harry, meanwhile, has been busy expanding his horizons. He has been filming a role in Christopher Nolan's upcoming World War II drama, Dunkirk, having famously cut off his trademark curly hair.
