Why One Direction Fans Are Seeing Red
One Direction fans are not too happy about the nominations for the 2021 BRIT Awards. The nominations for the annual show got released on March 31, 2021, and had Dua Lipa, Arlo Parks, Celeste, and Joel Corry leading the board with three nominations each, per NME. Also included on the list is Harry Styles in the category of British Single for his hit "Watermelon Sugar."
Fans were elated to see Styles — who just weeks before won his first Grammy in the category of Pop Solo Performance for "Watermelon Sugar" — being recognized for his hard work. On the other hand, they were not too pleased that none of his former One Direction bandmates were nominated for a single award. "How could they pass up louis, niall and zayn there albums are so phenomenal with actually meaning and emotions behind there lyrics," one angry fan tweeted. "They were snubbed!" Another said that he doesn't have faith in award shows anymore. "These awards have lost their credibility for me but I'm still sure that other boys deserve to be appreciated for their music," he wrote.
The topic lit Twitter on fire, and One Direction fans, or "Directioners," had multiple hashtags trending at once, including "Proud of Harry," "Proud of Niall," "Louis deserved it," and "Niall and Zayn." Although it's clear One Direction fans were upset about the nominations, only one former member addressed the situation. Here is what he had to say.
Niall Horan had something to say about his BRITs snub
As One Direction fans took issue with the BRIT Awards' 2021 nominations list, Niall Horan cracked a joke. Following the announcement, the "Slow Hands" singer tweeted the word "snubbed" with the thumbs up and laughing emojis. However, he quickly responded to his tweet and said, "I'm jokinggggg."
Joke or not, fans quickly replied with messages of support. "He don't need awards to prove him," one person wrote after calling him an "underrated king." Others used the opportunity to ask for new music from the former boy band member. Horan released his second studio album Heartbreak Weather in March 2020. His lead single, "Nice to Meet Ya" peaked at No. 63 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.
As of this writing, none of the other former One Direction members have commented on the BRIT nominations or the outburst of support from fans — including Harry Styles. The "Golden" singer has enjoyed a successful rollout for his sophomore album Fine Line, which he released at the end of 2019 and includes "Watermelon Sugar." Zayn Malik released his third studio album Nobody is Listening in January 2021, which peaked at No. 43 on the Billboard 200 chart. Louis Tomlinson's debut studio album Walls came out in January 2020 and reached the No. 9 spot on the Billboard 200 chart. Liam Payne's debut album LP1 was released in December 2019 one week before Styles released Fine Line.