Niall Horan Reveals He Stayed Hotel-Bound in One Direction to Avoid Fame’s Spotlight

Niall Horan has revealed he ‘didn’t leave a hotel once’ for the duration of his time in One Direction as he struggled with fame.

The Irish singer, 32, shot to fame when he was grouped together with Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles and the late Liam Payne on The X Factor in 2010.

Before disbanding in 2016, they had won almost 200 awards, including seven Brit Awards, four MTV Music Awards, six Billboard Music Awards, seven American Music Awards, and 28 Kids’ Choice Award.

However, Niall has now shared how he struggled with his worldwide fame from the highly successful boyband.

In an attempt to maintain peace in his life, he remained inside his hotel rooms, avoiding the gathered crowds outside.

He explained: ‘I tried my best to try and keep things private outside of work because my whole life was very private and there were periods where I literally didn’t leave, I’d say for five years, didn’t leave a hotel once.’ 

He added: ‘I just couldn’t get used to not being able to go outside and stuff. I struggled with that side of it.’

Speaking to football aces Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes and comedian Paddy McGuinness on The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast, he recalled how the lads had once planned to visit a shopping centre in Peru.

However, they remained inside their accommodation after police informed them how 10,000 fans had gathered outside to catch a glimpse of them. 

Niall also said he credits his Irish upbringing in Mullingar for stopping him from getting ‘too big for my boots’. 

He explained: ‘Until we left the band, we never really knew how big it was, even though we were standing there on stage, looking out, we were just in this little bubble, and it was only afterwards looking back in.’  

He added: ‘Usually a musician has a slow build in their career, it takes a while to get going but our first appearance was on national television to 10 million people and from there it was just arenas or stadiums.’ 

Asked if they ever ‘b******ed ‘ one another, he replied: ‘Yeah, there was a little bit of it. None of us were maniacs, but we definitely looked out for each other.

‘That’s just the way it is. We had a good crew around us, we felt like we were in our bubble.’

Now as a solo artist, Niall admitted he ‘misses’ having his bandmates in the recording studio or onstage with him as it’s a lot of ‘pressure’ on one person. 

In March this year Niall confirmed he was working on his fourth album after previously teasing new music. 

In a interview with Golf Pass, he was asked what he’s most excited about for the future.

Niall answered: ‘I am literally, this week, just about to sit down and I’ve been like accumulating some ideas but I’m going to sit down and start writing my next album.’

The star added: ‘That’s an exclusive, I’m working on a new album guys.’

Meanwhile, last month it was revealed how Louis, 33 and Zayn, 32, had reportedly signed a multi-million pound deal to travel the US whilst discussing their lives and reflect on memories from their days in the band.

However, Louis was keeping tight-lipped during a radio appearance last Wednesday when he was asked about the reported show, which is set to air on Netflix.

Appearing on the Capital Evening Show with Jimmy Hill, Louis was hesitant to talk about the project that bosses are trying to keep under wraps.

Host Jimmy said: ‘I saw you and Zayn have been hanging out a little bit. I don’t know if this is confirmed but the rumour is you are making a road trip show or something for Netflix.’

Grinning, Louis replied: ‘I’ve heard the rumours, apparently so.’ 

As the DJ tried to push him into confirming the show was officially in the works, Louis said: ‘Well, I’ve heard the rumours same as you.

‘It’s not something I can really talk about too much. I know you’re desperate to talk about it and I understand that, but it’s not really something we can discuss much yet.’