Let’s face it, the possibility of a One Direction reunion is an idea that every fan has had on their mind since the group called it quits in 2016. Rumors have circulated, of course, but it’s only gossip.
News broke that bandmates Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Harry Styles decided to “not renew their recording contract” after the fifth member, Zayn Malik, abruptly exited the band in 2015. “My life with One Direction has been more than I could ever have imagined. But, after five years, I feel like it is now the right time for me to leave the band. I’d like to apologize to the fans if I’ve let anyone down, but I have to do what feels right in my heart,” Malik said in a statement to the group’s official Facebook page. “I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight. I know I have four friends for life in Louis, Liam, Harry and Niall. I know they will continue to be the best band in the world.” But after Styles appeared on James Corden’s final episode of The Late Late Show in April 2023, rumors began circulating of a possible 1D reunion.
Is One Direction reuniting?
Is One Direction reuniting? Nothing has been confirmed but Harry Styles participated in the very last Spill Your Guts or Eat Your Guts—a popular segment on The Late Late Show With James Corden that asks guests to reveal the answers to hot questions or eat something gross—and teased the possibility of a 1D reunion.
“Yes or no, will there be a One Direction reunion? Will it ever happen?” Styles said, reading the question in the episode that aired on April 27, 2023. “I fear that it’s not a yes or no question. I think I would never say never to that. If there was a time when we wanted to do it, I don’t see why we wouldn’t.”
James Corden, Harry Styles. Photo: Terence Patrick / CBS Broadcasting, Inc.
After The Mirror reported that the boy band’s full lineup was rumored to make an appearance during Corden’s final episode of the show on April 27, the official Late Late Show Twitter account shut down any speculation. “Nobody loves the boys more than us… but this story just isn’t true,” the show’s official account tweeted. “What is true is we’ve got an absolutely brilliant 2-hour finale planned to celebrate 8 years of #LateLateShow at 10 pm on April 27th.”
Late Late Show executive producer Ben Winston went on to reveal that getting the group back together for the show was practically impossible. “I don’t think it was even logistically possible,” he told Metro.co.uk. “I don’t know the ins and outs of their diary. We got a message out early because we saw that bubbling online and a lot of stuff can be said online and it’s taken as fact. The team saw that and we’ve got such a beautiful finale planned, the last thing we wanted was for everyone to be disappointed by our finale.”
Speaking about Styles being one of the last guests, Winston added: “We knew that Harry was coming on at the time, so we didn’t want to say ‘Harry’s coming on’ and then suddenly those rumors go even further. We didn’t want to let anyone down and pretend that [reunion] was happening when it’s not.”
He continued: “James and I have been such massive fans of One Direction since the beginning, I did their music videos and produced their [concert] movie. So I’m a huge One Direction fan and I wouldn’t want to upset any One Direction fans that thought something was happening.” He concluded: “So rather than tease everybody and pretend it was happening to get better ratings, I was pleased we could set the record straight. Some of them still don’t believe us, but we’re really not.”
A year after One Direction split in 2016, Styles debuted as a solo artist with his first single, “Sign of the Times” from his debut self-titled album. Since then, Styles has released two more albums—2019’s Fine Line and 2022’s Harry’s House (both of which reached number one on the Billboard 200—as well as has won a Grammy for his 2019 single, “Watermelon Sugar.” In an interview with NPR in 2020, Styles opened up about his thoughts on fame and meeting his idols. “I think ultimately you meet [other famous people] and you’re kind of in awe of them, but at the same time you get to hang out with them on this human level, where you’re just talking and it’s really amazing,” he said.
“Those are the moments that kind of mean the most because it’s real. And when everything else about being in music goes away, that’s the stuff that I think you end up telling your grandkids. For example, with Stevie, my favorite moments about it aren’t usually the show, it’s the practicing. When we first played together, it was at the Troubadour — famously, where Elton John did his first U.S. show — and it was an amazing moment, but my favorite was soundchecking. It’s like four people in there and just us singing in the empty Troubadour. For me, that’s a moment that I’m going to hold on to.”
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