cujoy | Entries tagged with niall horan

Yes, I know, my Title for May is my worst metaphor yet! I'm going to keep this month as brief as possible. And it turns out that "brief" may be relative LOL:

Here is a recap of the recap to date:

Hiatus Direction 2016 - Preamble: Birth Love and Death
Hiatus Direction 2016 - January Part 1 - Freddie Reign
Hiatus Direction 2016 - January Part 2 - Into the Wilderness
Hiatus Direction 2016 - February Part 1 - Secret Love Song #1 Louelle
Hiatus Direction 2016 - February Part 2 - Secret Love Song #2 Cheriam
Hiatus Direction 1016 - March & April - Silent Sprint

So let's begin:

Hiatus Direction 2016 - Come What May

Liam In Paris

One of the reasons that this May recap is lengthy is that I am starting out with Cheriam again.

Liam and Cheryl did a number of gorgeous high profile red carpet appearances during the month of May, They went to both Paris of The Global Gift Gala (in which Cheryl was an honoree) and an event in Cannes the Chopard Trophee, in association with Cheryl and L'Oreal.

<---5.9.16, The Paris Global Gift Gala - I'm sorry, haters, but they are a very attractive couple. And there is no debate about that. And he looks at her like she's his world.

And again in Cannes

<--- 5.12.16, Again they are just plain smoking HOT!

But I'm sad to report a couple of things going on regarding this couple from the fandom's POV.

1. The hate was fast and it was furious. The 1D fandom hating on a 1D girlfriend isn't unusual, but the nastiness they unleashed on Cheryl's IG, and even on Liam's IG when he mentioned her - was rank vicious. The two words that trolls liked to use against Cheryl were (and continue to be...) Grandma and Ziam. (Yes, people still ship Ziam as though it is real... ::eye roll::)

2. Even as early as May, pregnancy rumours were very prevalent. Of course she wasn't actually pregnant... yet. (oops, Spoiler Alert!)

pssst - a couple of pictures were the basis for the original rumors:

<--- People started speculating about the shape of her belly in this gorgeous but tight dress. And about her hand on her belly at the Paris airport. The people doing that speculation were of course wrong... at that particular time. ;)

Finally on the subject of Cheriam...

<--- That is the way he looks at her! ::::thunk::: Haters can bite me.

Harry's Haircut

Another reason why this May post is relatively long is... Harry got a haircut.

Harry was MIA for most of May, and would generally remain so for the rest of the year. But on May 6, the big, earth shattering news broke: Harry Styles had cut his hair. This shocking turn of events had been anticipated by the reality based portion of the fandom, the fans who understood the inevitability of the haircut. Remember the news that broke in March that Harry had accepted a role in the Christopher Nolan movie Dunkirk - a war movie - playing a soldier in a WWII period movie. And we understood that playing such a character is a historical drama would require much shorter hair.

So RIP Long Haired Harry:

<--- RIP

Here is how this monster news story unfolded:

First, Harry posted a shot of just his hand... holding the erstwhile lock of hair on and Instagram post on May 7th

<--- He kindly donated the proceeds for the auctioned lock to a charity, Little Princess Trust, which provides wigs to children who suffer hair loss due to cancer treatment.

This story was covered high and low, such is the magnetism of Harry Style's hair.

Here are just a few examples:

GQ
Glamour UK
E News

The next anticipated step was for Harry to unveal his new look in public. Alas, new glimpses would be painfully slow in coming.

But Harry didn't post a picture of himself with his shortened hair, leaving his fans waiting with baited breath. Finally on May 9, the paps found him out and about. Unfortunately, his hat kept the new hairstyle discretely covered. The full reveal would have to wait for later in the month.

<--- Much ado about this haircut.

When the hair cust was at last unvealed, it was indeed in conjuction with Harry's movie role. In Mid May Dunkirk filming was ramping up on location in the town of Dunkerque France, and in Amsterdam. And on May 18th, Harry was spotted in Dunkerque and that is where he would continue appear for most of the Summer. You will see all of that Dunkirk filming goodness in the Summer round up post to follow this one.

On May 26, we got the first official glimpse both of the haircut, and even more exciting, of Harry in costume as a WWII soldier...

<--- So much more to come!

Sporty Niall

Niall spent May reminding us all of his love for golf. On May 19, Niall partnered with good friend Rory McIlroy for an event associated with the Northern Ireland Open. Golf Digest was all over it. Let's just say that the golfing industry seems to regard Niall's involvement in their sport as a very positive thing for attracting new young golfers. Some choice quotes from Golf Digest:

"Amid the negative news dominating golf today (Muirfield and Mickelson) there was some good news. Niall Horan played golf in public. Indeed, if every teenaged girl with a crush on Horan took up golf, grow-the-game efforts could go on hiatus for a generation. Most of the crowd is kids, which is good,” Horan said. “Hopefully they’ll start playing."

<--- Niall playing at one his May golfing events.

Later in the month he played in another Pro-Am in Surrey

And he closed the month with a charity event for Cancer that he co-hosted with Golfer Justin Rose:

<--- With Justin

But there was one more sporty event that Niall attended at the end of the month/beginning of the next... But I'll save that for the end of the post.

Finally, Louis

Louis continued living with the complications of his life including being a new dad, and balancing girlfriend and babymama. Although, we would later learn, that it was in May that Louis learned some truly terrible news that he would be carrying with him for the rest of the year. A devastating twist he held in secret from the fans for most of the rest of the year.

Let's start with Louis and Danielle. During May they took two rather glamerous trips together. First they took a vacation to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico...

<--- Seen here taking what must have been a glorious selfie on a Yacht.* May 12, 2016

*Ahahahaha, Poor Larries. Another yacht!

Later during their stay in a resort, they were caught making out (and worse) by a long distance paparazzi. Unfortunately, the Pap caught pictures of Louis taking off Danielle's bikini top, of her topless, as well as the two of them kissing.

<-- Here are some of the makeout photos, but I won't repost the topless pics... Sorry.

Later in the month, they went on a trip to Monaco for the Grand Prix. They looked very glam walking around the beach.

<-- Surely few couples ever looked this glorious and perfect together. At least for this moment in time. If only Danielle had had a crystal ball.

Between those two trips, Louis was twice papped in Los Angeles with Freddie and Briana, apparently exchanging the baby in public places for Louis' visitation.

<-- May 8

<-- Here on May 19 with Briana.

<--- Again with Briana on the 21st.
These pubic exchanges in parking lot are actually good practice for parents who are co-parenting. It keeps the exchanges on neutral ground. Of course most co-parenting couples are not so high profile. And Boybander with a Baby is a pap magnet. :(

Finally, on May 25th, just after the trip to Monaco, Louis and Danielle attended the wedding of James Vardy in London.

<--- Louis and Danielle at the Vardy Wedding. Looking every inch the happy and in-love couple.

But the fandom learned later that there was a dark side to this appearance.It was at this event, the fandom later learned, that Louis first learned that his mother's cancer was terminal.

***
On that note, Louis had one more event for the end of the month. A charity football match in London. And Niall had agreed to come as well. For the end of May, we were treated to lovely images of these two boys forming the new IT BROMANCE of 1D.

Long live NOUIS

<-- Louis and Niall on June 1. They put on a fantastic event.

***
And the so the year wound on into the Summer. Things would start to quiet down as the Hiatus settled in on the boys. The star of the Summer will be Harry Styles.

March & April - Silent Spring

As Spring unfolded, the boys started to retreat a little bit from the public eye. So for the rest of this series, I'm going to be able to cover whole seasons in one post starting with this one. Yay!!! So this one is going to cover most of Spring, specifically the notable events of March and April.

Here is a recap of the recap of 2016 so far.

Hiatus Direction 2016 - Preamble: Birth Love and Death
Hiatus Direction 2016 - January Part 1 - Freddie Reign
Hiatus Direction 2016 - January Part 2 - Into the Wilderness
Hiatus Direction 2016 - February Part 1 - Secret Love Song #1 Louelle
Hiatus Direction 2016 - February Part 2 - Secret Love Song #2 Cheriam

March & April - The Hiatus Settles In

In 2016 the boys of One Direction were on Hiatus obviously, as that is the subject of this series. That means that, quite often they would be MIA for long periods of time. With the Winter over, and the Hiatus settling in, most of the boys were starting to take advantage of their break. Increasingly as the year went by, for some of the boys the MIA periods would go for weeks.

So here are some of the glimpses we saw that Spring.

HARRY'S MAKING PLANS

This tendency to disappear from the public eye for days at a time was especially true for Harry. There were several months of 2016 for which there were only fleeting glimpses of him. And that included the Spring.

When he was spotted, it was usually in his usual Malibu haunts such as Nobu Restaurant:

<--- Hanging with his usual crowd outside on Mar 16

<--- And again on March 20 in those rad shades.

April was more of the same:

<--- Getting gas in Brentwood April 3

But even with these sparse sightings in public, Harry was busy shaping his future. On March 11, Variety announced that Harry had won a part in the upcoming Christopher Nolan movie Dunkirk. MUCH more on that in the Summer... Which meant that...

HARRY STYLES WAS ABOUT TO BECOME A MOVIE STAR!!!

What's more the rumors of the bidding war between record companies for Harry's services continued unabated. Much more on that later in the year as well. The most consistent rumors came from Hits Daily Double and Billboard - That Harry had, or was about to sign with Columbia. Which meant that...

HARRY STYLES WAS ALSO ABOUT TO BECOME A ROCK STAR TOO!!!!!

****

NIALL - The Wanderer Returns

Next, let's see what Niall was up to that Spring. Basically, after the Australian Open, Niall disappeared into the Wilderness on a backpacking trip to several countries far away from Ireland. They included Australia, Thailand and Vietnam. The fandom only saw small, occasional glimpses of him.

The beauty is, that that is the way he wanted it. And he was having a blast. Good on him!

<--- A couple of those glimpses.

<--- He posted this lovely selfie of himself on a beach in the Phillipines

When he got back, his focus was on GOLF again. He once again attended the Masters Tournament in Augusta Georgia. Niall was becoming a fixture on the Golf circuit..

<--- Back at the Masters

and other than that, when he returned from the backbacking trip, he appeared to continue to relax and enjoy himself.

,<---- And there was that time he was caught by a Pap peeing on a wall in L.A for no reason.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But it turned out there was much more ahead in 2016 for Niall then Backpacking, late night hijinx and golf. Including a surprise twist that nobody saw coming that we will see unfold in September.

****

LIAM - Setting Up Housekeeping

I covered Liam quite extensively in February. But like the others, following the big public splash of the reveal of his relationship with Cheryl, Liam was starting to turn quite private with his life, most of the time. Probably that was in part because of the negative response he and Cheryl got from so many of his "fans".

That being said, the glimpses we did get, were in fact, mostly with Cheryl. They went on a high profile date early in March, which, I think based on the hate they got, may have convinced them to be lower key about their relationship. Seriously the fandom was not taking it well at all based on the sheer cruelty of the IG and Twitter comments alone.

<--- Needless to say the Liam/Ziam fans were NOT impressed with here LOVE necklace. And the expression on his face while being papped was described as "Tense" and therefore the whole thing was inevitably "FAKE". This is 1D fandom, so you know the drill.

<--- They were, never the less, very cute on social media. What little they posted.

But even so, the fandom hopes that this would turn out be be a short term thing were being dashed with each appearance. But the fandom was going to have to get used to Cheriam, because they weren't going anywhere anytime soon.

In fact, interestingly, pregnancy rumors would surround this couple from the very beginning. The rumors were of course unfounded... In the Spring... Spoiler alert: Just wait till the Fall. ;)

*****

LOUIS: The Exception

Finally, lets talk about Louis . Unlike the other boys, Louis was all over the place that Spring. He seemed to be everywhere, doing everything. With everybody.

<--- He was papped quite a few time at a shopping mall called the Calabasas Commons, including the above picture taken on March 16 pushing Freddie in a stroller. Because Boybander with a Baby will never get old, the Paps were all over it!!

<--- His sister Lottie seemed to be staying with him because he was also often seen out and about with her, such as taking trips to Starbucks for coffee. Picture taken March 1.

<--- And of course he was papped out and about with Danielle, here on March 6. They really were very pretty

Finally towards the end of March, Louis' extended family from the UK, paid a visit to Los Angeles so that the whole clan could meet baby Freddie. Louis' mother Jay brought everyone including her husband, her parents, and her six other children including her two year old twins, Ernest and Doris.

<--- The entire clan including Danielle was seen at the Calabasas shopping mall on an family outing on April 4.

<--- and baby Freddie in his carrier was there too.

The family also took the time to take a Family Portrait during their visit to Los Angeles. Here we see Jay's beautiful and happy family. Pictured below is Jay with her seven children, (Lottie, Felicite, twins Daisy and Phoebe, twins Ernest and Doris and of course Louis.) And there also was her first grandchild, Freddie Tomlinson, age 2 months on the lap of his proud father.

I'm sure that they are very grateful that they had the opportunity for this photograph. The rest of the year was going to be harsh for them. And the end not as happy as the beginning.

Sometimes I wonder if the Universe itself has a way of foreshadowing some of the inexplicable things it does. Why else would Jay's eyes be closed in this picture. It is as though the Universe decided to give the world a heartbreaking spoiler alert.

***
So, that was the summary of the Spring 2016, Year One of the Hiatus. I'm going to do another rather long post for the month of May, But after that I'm hoping to wiz through the Autumn and on to the end of the year.

And here we go!

Welcome to my first official One Direction Series in two years!

I'm so excited! It has been awhile, but I have finally been inspired to write more of my adventures in One Direction fandom. One Direction has been on Hiatus for the last two years, and so have I. But my Hiatus ends today, even if theirs goes on for another ten years. ;) (Or forever...)

The last series I wrote was my OTRA tour recap of 2015 which I titled Roadkill: A Love Story.   2015, and the OTRA tour feels like a long time ago now. I remember being quite drained by the time that series was finally finished. Perhaps that is why my hiatus has lasted this long.

That being said, I give you a warning, I'm pretty sure this recap of 2016 will also be another opus. A lot has happened these last two years. Real life has happened to One Direction, including both the births of children and the deaths of parents. This story isn't all fantasy this time, it's about babies and surprise romances and also about grievous loss.

First I have a few points of order.

*This is essentially a combo of the shipping series I did in 2014 and 15, with a Recap similar to the Roadkill series.

*I considered including Zay, but I decided I had my hands full just covering the recaps of OT4. I will include a Zayn in a follow up post attached to the next series I'm going to do... Speaking of which:

And yes, another warning because I am a glutton for punishment, I'm also planning a followup series to this one which will be called Solo Direction 2017. But that is down the road. First comes:

Hiatus Direction 2016: Birth, Love and Death

****

The story of One Direction 2016 was a journey. It literally begins with the birth of a baby boy, and ends with the death of his grandmother. I suppose that was a spoiler alert.

Lets set the stage for 2016 with these images in our minds from the X-Factor in London on December 13, 2015. This was the last appearance of One Direction together before the Hiatus began.  Remember these. They are important.

<--- The boys together on the X-Factor stage where it all began for them five years earlier. Perhaps for the last time. Perhaps not. Only time will tell if we will ever see them together again.

<--- There are some great pictures from that night, though I have an unpopular opinion about Harry's suit...

<--- The last group hug ::sniffle::

This last picture is especially... entertaining... Hindsight being 20/20 and all, but you'll see ;).

<--- The boys with the X-Factor judges at the end of the evening.

After that last X-Factor performance, as that December moved towards the New Year, each boy prepared to go his own way. Here's what we knew about where they were headed.

***

Niall

I don't think that anyone had high exceptions regarding Niall starting a solo career. Towards the end of 2015 he had formed a company in partnership with 1D's Management team called Modest Golf. Niall's interest in golf and participation in various golfing events made everyone assume that his future lay on the course, and perhaps with this new Golf Management company it would.

<--- One of Niall's many Golf Outings in 2015

***

Liam

Liam had spoken several times in interviews that he was planning to write and produce music for others, but not necessarily for himself during the upcoming break. Believe me, lots of Liam girls were heartbroken about the prospect of no Solo Liam. But because of his statements there were few expectations for a solo career. He had also recently broken up with his long time girlfriend, Sophia Smith so it seemed that he was in a lonely place. He was posting a lot of pictures of quality time with his enormous Great Dane. Oh how little we knew... LOL

<--- Liam with his Great Dane, Watson

<--- Hint Hint

***

Harry

Because Harry is everyone's Media Darling, there was a rumored bidding war going on to sign Harry's solo record deal, which everyone other than the willfully blind* knew was going to happen. Harry did nothing to dissuade those rumors when he made an extremely public appearance on New Years weekend, in Saint Barts, on a Yacht, with Kendall Jenner and his music management company owning best friend Jeff Azoff. The paparazzi were all over it.

<---Harry & Kendall on the infamous St. Barts New Years Yacht excursion.

There was even what appeared to be a contract signing ceremony on New Years Day for Jeff to officially become Harry's new manager. The theory is that New Years day, 2016 was the first possible day that Harry was free to sign a new contract.

<--- signing ceremony photographed by Kendall herself...

* The Willfully Blind = the fandom's plague of tinhats... I'll probably address them in this series in one way or another.

***

Louis

Finally, Louis prepared for the upcoming birth of his child with his Ex Briana Jungwirth by revealing that he had a NEW girlfriend, Danielle Campbell (known for playing Davina on The Originals). In late December, she took him to meet her parents in Chicago, and fans spotted them all over various places in and around the Chicagoland area for a solid week. And then he took her to the UK for the Holidays with his family in Doncaster.

<--- Louis hugging Danielle from behind at an Oberwies, a local Ice Cream parlor.

<--- One of Louis and Danielle's stops was a tattoo parlor, where Louis apparently had a penguin tattooed on his ass.

Meanwhile Briana waited in Los Angeles for 2016 to come.

<--- Briana chilled out in L.A... Waiting. Tick Tick Tick Tick Tick.

***

And so began 2016, Year One Of Hiatus Direction.

This is the last of the Weed Scandal Aftermath series. Though, I will continue to keep you all alerted on Zouis' redemption status. If someone is photographed with a puppy, or wearing their fiancé's clothing, you will be the first to know.

Let's Recap each member's role in the aftermath.

Liam Payne did the early heavy lifting. First, he dramatically won back his girlfriend the day after the scandal hit, creating some happy stories. Then he carried the weight of the whole band by making the only official public response to the scandal via Twitter. Finally, he tweeted about chicken. Which is a dinner. As in poultry. So, in short. Liam is the DADDY.

Harry Styles floated above it all. No way, no how was he involved in any stinking drug scandal, and he was furious about the whole damn thing. Plus there was a puppy, and maybe he was naked, the world still wants to know. Harry was just the AGGREIEVED INNOCENT BYSTANDER in all of this.

Niall Horan, coming off his glorious homecoming in Dublin, and his victorious charity football match simply lent his sunshine in solidarity with the other two golden boys. Sweet IRISH PRINCE.

Zayn Malik, AKA Culprit #1, kept a low profile, except to be spotted backstage at his fiancé's concerts. He also got a big, forgiving hug from Liam on stage at Wembley, and has since been spotted with a kitten. In short, he's going to be OK.

Louis Tomlinson, AKA Culprit #2, and the harder case, because he filmed it, and because he said the N Word, kept an even lower profile. But behind the scenes, it turned out he was in the midst of a huge business deal that has landed him as co-owner of his favorite sports team. In short, he's going to be OK too.

In the end, they are all just RAYS OF SUNSHINE. Speaking of which...

****

When a band's in deep water, and needs some good publicity, what is the single most valuable event they can hold? CHARITY of course. Especially a Children's Charity. So, on June 10, two weeks after the scandal hit, the entire band participated in a photo op with a London charity for sick children called Rays of Sunshine. This is a charity they have been previously associated with.

There were lots of gorgeous and heartwarming pictures from this event:

I mean seriously, how do you beat that?

And there was this cute bit:

Perfect. Of course Niall. He is the Living Ray of Sunshine, after all.

Rays of Sunshine everyone. Rays of Sunshine. :)

Good way to end, yes?

This part of my One Direction Weed Scandal Aftermath series will discuss Niall Horan's role. His role could be defined as: Living Ray of Sunshine.

One thing that you should know about the four days prior to the scandal: All four of those days were all about Niall and how wonderful he is. May 23-25 the band played at Croke Park in Dublin Ireland as part of their ongoing tour. Croke is also the place where Niall made his first audition for X-Factor back in 2010, so it was very much his homecoming. And it was a three day celebration for Niall in his own country. Those three concerts may as well have been Niall-palooza.

<--- Daddy and the Irish Prince at Croke Park

Which brings us to May 26, the day before the scandal hit. One of the saddest parts of the weed scandal is that it broke the very day after Niall's marvelous charity football match. It was a very impressive event which Niall had organized along with Piers Morgan, and which made 300,000 pounds for an Irish children's charity. For the 24 hours before the scandal hit, Niall was the toast not just of Ireland, but of London too.

There was a ton of wonderful photos and pictures that came out of this event. Niall, could not play because of a recent knee surgery, but he managed the team, and Harry, Liam and Louis all played in the game. Harry even scored a goal! (Zayn was the only non-participating member of 1D. He was attending his fiancé's concert elsewhere...)

Just look at these wonderful pictures. These are the images and stories that the unsuspecting 1D world was wallowing in on the fateful morning of May 27:

One odd thing though. For some reason, Louis, who is a noted football aficionado, (and I'll be getting to that in a few days...) did not stay to the end of the match. All things considered, that now sticks out like a sore thumb. So, at the end of the match, Niall, accompanied by Harry and Liam, made a victory march around the stadium. They waved, smiled and thanked the fans. It was kinda glorious. It didn't matter at all that they actually lost the game.

<--- Interesting. The day before Narriam was Narriam. Narriam was Narriam.

Since the scandal hit, Niall has been a steady, and calm presence. There aren't any articles focusing particularly on his perspective, but some note that he's upset that the band might break up. Other than that, he's been featured in lots of pictures either by or with Harry or Liam, and otherwise closely associated with one or both of them.

<--- Interesting this last. The girl next to Niall is Harry's sister Gemma. This has many fangirl hearts atwitter. It is said that Harry is trying to fix them up.

So, I guess my Niall discussion wasn't as brief as I thought. And now I'm feeling all emotional about Niall's wonderfulness. But next, we're going to hit rougher waters. We'll finally arrive at the heart of the matter, which is of course what to do about Zouis. First, I'm going to discuss the Rehabilitation of Zayn Malik, and then I'll tackle what's up with Louis Tomlinson.

So, another 1D Birthday has arrived. Niall Horan turns 21 at midnight this evening. If you look on Twitter, you'll see this fact is already trending world wide, and will continue to trend for the next 24 or so hours. As long as it is Sept. 13, somewhere in the world, "Happy Birthday Niall" will continue to trend, as it did for Liam on his birthday two weeks ago.

The boys are playing the Rose Bowl again tonight, and will tomorrow as well. It should be quite a birthday party.

Judging from the volume of fan works, Niall is probably the 2nd most popular member of 1D after Harry Styles. It could be as simple as the blond hair and blue eyes, But I think the fact that he has miraculously been able to maintain a wholesome boy bandy image for the last four years, has a lot to do with it as well.

<---Reasonably current Niall.

( The Five Facts About Niall... And Why He Is The Hufflepuff of Hufflepuffs! )

So... Niall doing his signature leap...

Happy birthday Niall...

See previous entries on Harry, Liam, Zayn, Louis

Good news! The next 1D birthday isn't until Dec. 24. On that day, Louis, the old man of the group, will turn 23.

Crossposts: http://cujoy.livejournal.com/296408.html

I am a completionist, so of course I'm writing up the other two 1D boys, birthdays or not... Niall today, Louis coming soon.

See previous entries on Harry, Liam, Zayn, Louis

This is Niall Horan. Judging from the volume of fan works, Niall is probably the 2nd most popular member of 1D after Harry Styles. I'm guessing this is because he usually claims to be single, and so fan girls can project themselves on him. Or, perhaps because he has blond hair & blue eyes?

<---Reasonably current Niall.

As One Direction Members go, he is pretty straight forward. So lets just get on with it...

( The Five Facts About Niall... And Why He Is The Hufflepuff of Hufflepuffs! )

So... Niall