Louis Tomlinson Explains Why One Direction Split Was 'Really F***ing Scary'

Ten years after One Direction went on an indefinite hiatus, Louis Tomlinson is proving that he can stand on his own.

In a new cover story for Billboard published Monday (January 12), the "Lemonade" singer, 34, shouted out his fellow 1D bandmates Harry Styles and Niall Horan for the success they have found outside of the boyband following their 2015 split and shared why he "always" had a feeling they would go far.

"I always knew Harry was going to go on to do what he's done — I'm sure he's superseded his own expectations in the way that he's taken over the world, but we knew he's got everything it takes to be a great artist," he said, adding, "Niall I had a good feeling about too — he's Irish, he's lovely, everyone loves him."

However, his bandmates' success also left him worried about what his own career could look like after One Direction, explaining that it was "really f---ing scary" to consider as bands in the past have only seen a few members succeed as solo artists, per People.

"There might be one or two people from a band that prosper, but history says there's not normally more than two," he said, adding, "I was never thinking, 'I'll be in that group [of One Direction alumni] that succeeds."

Tomlinson has helped buck that trend, finding success with his previous two solo albums Walls (2020) and Faith in the Future (2022). He is also preparing to release his third studio album How Did I Get Here? on January 23.