Why Harry Styles Won’t Apologize For His One Direction Years Following Group’s Hiatus

While most singers who leave boy bands spend their solo careers trying to shed their teenage pop image, Harry Styles has instead embraced his five-year career in One Direction.

In 2015, the remaining members of the English-Irish group — Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson — announced they would be taking a hiatus to work on individual projects. The group released five studio albums from 2011 to 2015 and sold an estimated 70 million records.

Since the group split, Styles has released two albums and gone on a solo tour. He also had a notable acting role in the 2017 Christopher Nolan film, "Dunkirk."

There have been no ill-feelings about Styles' time with One Direction and he has not expressed any regret about his time in the group.

In an interview with Variety, Styles reflected on the stigma behind boy band breakups and how it doesn’t apply to One Direction.

“When you look at the history of people coming out of bands and starting solo careers, they feel this need to apologize for being in the band. ‘Don’t worry, everyone, that wasn’t me! Now I get to do what I really want to do.’ But we loved being in the band,” the 26-year-old told the publication.

“I think there’s a want to pit people against each other. And I think it’s never been about that for us. It’s about a next step in evolution. The fact that we’ve all achieved different things outside of the band says a lot about how hard we worked in it.”

Since departing from One Direction, Styles has felt fulfilled by his solo career though the success and accolades have not matched his time with the famed boy band.

“It’s always nice to know that people like what you’re doing, but ultimately — and especially working in a subjective field — I don’t put too much weight on that stuff,” Styles explained.

“I think it’s important when making any kind of art to remove the ego from it.”

Styles then shared a quote from 20th-century French painter Matisse to sum up his message. “It’s about the work that you do when you’re not expecting any applause,” he said.

Styles has also been involved in business ventures. Los Angeles-based investment advisory group Oak View Group announced in October that Styles was investing in Co-op Live, potentially the largest arena in the U.K., which looks to open in 2023 in Manchester, England.