One Direction, the boy band juggernaut of which Tomlinson was one-fifth, had just performed for the final time together in late 2015, capping a mega-selling run that included five albums, 13 top 40 hits and over 100 stadium shows.
—
Jason Lipshutz,
Billboard,
12 Jan. 2026
But early albums did not produce songs with mass appeal, at times frustrating record label executives who craved shorter, radio-friendly tunes that would drive sales.
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