Taken from this week’s Future Pop mailer. Click here to subscribe.
Niall Horan may not be one of the most famous members of One Direction, but he’s always been a fan favourite. His persona is sweet and unintimidating, and he’s always shown commitment to the band. He’s known as One Direction’s biggest fan. As such, it makes sense that despite choosing to sign with Universal rather than 1D’s home of Sony, he stuck with the group’s management, Modest!, and continued working with the same writers and producers. His debut single This Town was co-written by Jamie Scott, the key writer on the last three 1D albums. Niall’s solo interviews so far suggest he lacks the character and depth to be a superstar on his own, and his debut TV performance was unengaging, but his musical direction has potential to sell not only to the 1D fanbase but a more mature audience. It’s totally mum-friendly, and ideal for the Christmas market. So far, This Town has reached no.1 on iTunes in 60 countries – not quite as good as Zayn’s 86 for Pillow Talk, but it’s not bad for one of “the other ones.”