Every member of One Direction has officially gone solo, with each guy releasing a single this year. Zayn Malik led the charge in 2016 with “PILLOWTALK” and now Niall, Harry, Louis and most recently Liam are also Timberlake-ing. Street listened to all their songs so you don’t have to.
ZAYN is really pushing the bad boy aesthetic.
If his first single named “PILLOWTALK” didn’t send the message, ZAYN is flexing his “I’m the cool kid of One Direction” muscle once again with his latest single. “Still Got Time” is an optimistic, up–tempo jam that came out right in time for summer. It’s got the cuttingly rhythmic vocals of a Drake track with the tropical–infused production of a Kygo song. The song features PARTYNEXTDOOR, the singer/songwriter who co–wrote Rihanna’s “Work.”
Listen to “Still Got Time” if you like: Drake, The Weeknd, bad boys who can sing.
Harry Styles thinks he’s Bowie.
Styles is a bit late to the solo–album party—he only released his self–titled album a little over a month ago. The song, though released on Prince’s 30th anniversary of his song “Sign O’ the Times,” likens more comparisons to Bowie’s “Life on Mars” with its the piano–infused dramatics.
Listen to “Sign of the Times” if you like: David Bowie, “Hey Jude,” dad–centric classic rock.
Niall is playing the singer–songwriter card.
“Slow Hands” is the second song that Niall has released in the past year, preceded by the acoustic, confessional “This Town.” Slow Hands is a refreshing contrast from the Top–40–inspired jams of his fellow ex–bandmates. This slow country–inspired jam lets Niall show off his fantastic vocals and guitar prowess— seriously, the chorus has a lick that sounds like it would be fun to learn on guitar.
Listen to “Slow Hands” if you like: Alabama Shakes, Shawn Mendes, songs that make you feel like you should drive a tractor as you listen to them.
Louis Tomlinson wishes he were headlining Ibiza.
Louis partnered with Steve Aoki to produce a tropical house hit. “Just Hold On” is also accompanied by 8 official remixes—which makes sense given Tomlinson was ranked as one of the worst singers in the group. Maybe that explains why he released only remixes to the song. Now that I think about it, his name actually sounds like he could be a DJ.
The music video, featuring a couple ending up in different parts of the world by traveling through space and time, took place in Vegas. He doesn’t even make an appearance in the video. Serious DJ vibes.
Listen to “Just Hold On” if you like: Dillon Francis, Gov Ball, festival tans.
Liam should be bumping’ in the club.
Liam Payne’s first single is an absolute club banger. No, the lyrics are not the most profound (“Girl, I love it when your body grinds on me. Oh yeah”), but sonically, “Strip That Down” is bound to make you want to move. The beat is an instant banger, verses are fun, and the chorus is insanely catchy. And rightfully so—this song was co–written by Ed Sheeran. Well played Liam, well played.
Listen to “Strip That Down” if you like: Ed Sheeran, Migos, Jason Derulo
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