Niall James Horan ( NY-uhl HAW-ruhn; born 13 September 1993) is an Irish singer-songwriter. He rose to prominence as a member of the boy band One Direction, formed in 2010 on the singing competition The X Factor. The group released five albums and went on to become one of the best-selling boy bands of all time. Following the band's hiatus in 2016, Horan signed a recording deal as a solo artist with Capitol Records and has since released two albums: Flicker (2017) and Heartbreak Weather (2020). Flicker debuted at number one in Ireland and the US, and reached the top three in Australia and the UK. The album's first two singles, "This Town" and "Slow Hands", reached the top twenty in several countries. Heartbreak Weather was released in March 2020, and debuted at number one in the UK, Ireland and Mexico, and at number four in the US. Horan's third studio album, titled The Show is due for release in June 2023. It was preceded by the singles "Heaven" and "Meltdown", which were released in February and April 2023, respectively.