Louis Tomlinson Confesses He Wasn't Always Happy About Harry Styles' Solo Success

One Direction, the British boy band that became an international sensation following a stint on "The X Factor," dominated the charts for nearly a decade. In 2015, however, one year after Zayn Malik announced he'd be leaving the band to be a "normal 22-year-old," the remaining members announced that they'd be taking a temporary hiatus to embark on their solo projects, according to People. The next year, Us Weekly published a report where an anonymous source claimed One Direction's hiatus was actually a permanent disbandment. But even though it's sometimes felt that some members of One Direction couldn't stand each other, most of the members have hinted that they'd be open to reuniting sometime in the future. 

In the meantime, all five members have launched solo careers to varying degrees of success. Malik was the first to take the plunge with his 2016 debut "Pillowtalk," which actually outranked One Direction's prior chart success, per MTV. The other members, including Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Louis Tomlinson, have also achieved moderate successes with their solo efforts. However, the truth is that Harry Styles' career, which kicked off with his 2017 debut "Sign of the Times" and has expanded into three successful albums, tours, multiple Grammy nominations (and one win) and feature films — yes, "Don't Worry, Darling" counts despite its rotten reviews — has ascended him to planes that the other members have yet to reach. 

Now, Louis Tomlinson has revealed that Styles' success once bothered him and the reason why. 

In August 2022, Louis Tomlinson took to Twitter to announce that his second album, "Faith in the Future" would be out in the fall. During a November interview with The Telegraph to promote the album, Tomlinson also shared his real feelings regarding the success of his former bandmate Harry Styles. "I'd be lying if I said it didn't bother me at first," he shared. "Only 'cos I didn't know where to place myself, and really my only point of reference was other members of the band," Tomlinson continued, before adding that "it's not surprising to me that Harry's the most commercially successful because he fits the mold of a modern star." The "Two of Us" singer also noted Styles' foray into the film world as well as his successful tour. Despite Tomlinson's complicated feelings, he's rooting for Styles. "I look on Harry like a brother, man. I have a lot of pride for what he's doing."

Previously, Tomlinson shared about how he measures his solo success in comparison to One Direction. "It's a difficult question," Tomlinson shared with Euphoria. "It's very easy to be over-analytical in my job about a million different things. If I leave the stage after a show and I feel like 90% of the people in there have had a good night, then I've done a f***ing good job."