Last weekend One Direction have concluded their final performance before starting their break from the band for the next 18 months. The band closed their first chapter at the very place where it all began five years ago: UK’s X Factor.
1D is not the first boyband to take a break
The group is not the first boyband to take a hiatus. NKOTB took a couple of months off during their height of success, and so did the Backstreet Boys. Neither returned to the same success they had before. Though, maybe that’s a good thing for the group’s members.
Getting to the top is easy, it´s staying there that´s hard
It usually takes a lot of work getting your break in music, but once it’s there, the schedule intensifies. As most people in the business are aware that you never know how long your time lasts, everyone is set to take full advantage of those days. Usually working a little harder than what could be good for them.
Full focus on you and everything about you
There’s also an enormous amount of additional pressure. Suddenly you’re a role model or everything about you is being analyzed to great detail. Rumors about drug use have been surrounding former 1D member Zayn Malik, as well as current member Louis Tomlinson even to a few months ago. And then, there are always the rumors about your love life, as Niall Horan is experiencing currently, and Harry Styles had to face during his relationship with Taylor Swift.
Craziness all the time
When I was at the end of my teens, I used to try to meet artists when they were visiting Amsterdam. The days in which I was trying to meet teen idols usually were hectic and crazy. The crowds following these groups were large and there’s a constant noise of excitement, a buzz so to speak, when they were moving from one place to the next. Even when they were just stepping out to get something to eat.
I was usually glad those days were over, but for these groups it was an ongoing thing. They didn’t get a day off from being famous.
And then fame lasts
All those things are something you could live with, while you are thinking it could be over tomorrow, but a lot of artists get into trouble when fame actually lasts. Beyoncé had a break down, during the height of her early days, which leaked to the Internet. It sparked her to take time off and come back rearranging things. She managed her own career since and, you can tell from her Instagram account, she balances work now better with play.
New direction
For boybands a break has usually sparks solo careers. *N Sync’s, for instance, are rumored to actually still have one album to release under their record contract, but that has been put on hold due to Justin Timberlake’s solo success. In other cases, it’s a chance for the group members to start families or start other types of careers.
One Direction now get a chance to also take a step back from it all. They can explore what else they can do musically, or what else life has to offer. This will, no doubt, change them and want to do things differently. The band are currently making promises of a return in 2017, but time will tell.
