Harry Styles Reveals Why One Direction Took A Break, Says It Was His Idea

Harry Styles is preparing to release his self-titled debut album in May. While fans of the singer are excited for the project, there are some still holding out hope for another One Direction album.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Styles revealed the reason behind One Direction’s hiatus and how it was his idea for the group to take a break. According to the “Sign of the Times” singer, it was in late 2014 that he first brought up the thought of taking a break.

READ: Everything We Know About Harry Styles’ Debut Album

“I didn’t want to exhaust our fan base,” Styles said. “If you’re shortsighted, you can think, ‘Let’s just keep touring,’ but we all thought too much of the group than to let that happen. You realize you’re exhausted and you don’t want to drain people’s belief in you.”

The band eventually agreed to a mutual break in 2015 with many of the members working on solo projects, but Styles still holds out hope for a reunion. “I love the band, and would never rule out anything in the future,” he said. “The band changed my life, gave me everything.”

With the band on hiatus, Styles began working on his solo album in 2016, calling it “Pink.” While the title of the debut record has changed, Styles said one theme remained the same. “I didn’t want to write ‘stories,’” he said. “I wanted to write my stories, things that happened to me. The number-one thing was I wanted to be honest. I hadn’t done that yet.”

Set to release his album on May 12, the English singer has been working with many big names including Johnny McDaid of Snow Patrol fame. According to McDaid, Styles’ solo music will “blow the socks off the world.” The two have been collaborating for “years” and McDaid says “the world is going to be really shocked at what he comes up with.”