If you're a diehard Directioner, or just a fan of pop music, then you already know that
Niall Horan landed a spot in the juggernaut boy band One Direction after competing on
The X Factor.
But there's more to this pop music-crush turned solo artist than meets the eye.
This is the untold truth of Niall Horan.
When he was just 5 years old, Niall Horan's parents divorced.
But while most kids end up living with whichever parent is deemed best for them, Horan made
the decision of who he would live with himself.
Although he and his brother Greg initially split their time between both their mom, Maura,
and their dad, Bobby, they made the decision just a little later to live with their dad
full-time, according to the Daily Record.
"Summers were spent kickin' football around until the sun went down at 10 o'clock."
But Nial and his mom apparently still have a great relationship.
Maura once said, via the outlet,
"It makes me very emotional seeing what he's doing, it really is changing his life, it's
so huge.
What else could a mother ask for her child?
It's mind-blowing.
Last weekend he met the Obamas, so the child's mind must be blown with what he's getting
to see and do."
Even with all the success her son has experienced, Maura says fame hasn't changed him.
She added,
"[He has] a great head on his shoulders…He's very humble."
While he was still a student, Horan unsurprisingly enjoyed his music classes.
And during the annual Christmas carol concert, he stood out as a clear star, according to
Niall Horan: The Unauthorized Biography.
The book revealed,
"With his cherubic face and sweet voice, he certainly looked and sounded the part of the
classical choir boy…A teacher called Anne Caulfield…first noted Niall's vocal ability."
"There's pictures of me as a child, like, playing little play guitars and singing into
microphones, and kind of, a bit, I suppose a little bit of a show off."
But Horan's teacher wasn't the only one who realized that he had some serious vocal talent.
Apparently, while driving with his aunt when he was younger, Horan began singing a Garth
Brooks song.
His rendition was so impressive, that his aunt thought that she was hearing the radio.
When she figured out it was actually Horan belting out the tune, she knew in that moment
that he was going to become something special.
According to Biography, Horan was just 16 years old when he first auditioned for The
X Factor, going on to become part of One Direction.
"I'm Niall Horan, I'm 16, I'm from Mullingar in the midlands of Ireland."
But the jam-packed schedule that surely came along with his role in the boy band prevented
him from experiencing a few things that normal kids get to do.
He told J-14,
"I didn't even get to go to my prom."
While that's certainly a little sad, it's not an uncommon occurrence for kids who get
an early start in the industry.
But it turns out, it wasn't the only thing he missed out on.
He also didn't finish school.
Thankfully, he's been a massive success without the high school diploma and has even proven
his knack for teaching himself the things that he didn't pick up in class.
Fans of One Direction know that Horan was the group's quote "resident musician," as
Bustle put it.
They also added,
"He's played the guitar during some of their concerts and was even featured on some tracks
on the group's album Midnight Memories."
But did you know that he taught himself to play guitar at just 12 years old?
After picking up the instrument that his uninterested older brother got for Christmas, Horan soon
got the hang of things.
He became so adept that he even taught bandmate Harry Styles how to do a little strumming.
And Horan could maybe also show Styles how to play the piano.
After Horan took to social media to share a live video of himself tickling the ivories,
a fan hopped onto Twitter to ask,
"Niall how [do] you manage to play this well on the piano?
Did you teach yourself or [take] some lessons?"
To that, Niall responded,
"I've never had a lesson or actually know what chords I'm playing.
I play a guitar chord and try and match up notes wise to make the chord.
Then my right hand plays a lot of the melodic stuff."
Aside from his duties as a famous pop star, Horan has to deal with a health issue that
affects people from all walks of life.
He admitted back in 2018 while chatting with Nova FM's Kent 'Smallzy' Small,
"I struggle with the old acid reflux."
As for what that means for the star, Medical News Today describes the issue as:
"A common condition that features a burning pain, known as heartburn, in the lower chest
area.
It happens when stomach acid flows back up into the food pipe."
But while that might be a painful annoyance for most people, it's something that causes
real problems when it comes to Horan's singing.
He said,
"Honestly, you're standing at the mic and obviously singing and opening your mouth and
taking deep breaths allows the food to come up, so sometimes you just go 'burp' all over
the mic and it's not great."
Things were actually so bad that the Irish Mirror reported that quote, "acid reflux threatens
to stall [Niall's] solo singing career."
That's why, in 2016, he sought treatment for the condition.
Sharing a photo of himself with monitors stuck to his chest, Niall wrote:
"Hooked up at the doc's office acid reflux is no joke."
One thing that Horan's fans love about him is his blond hair.
Girlfriend magazine explained,
"Each member of One Direction had their own, unique thing.
Zayn: the broody one.
Harry: the adorable one, Louis: the sassy one…Niall: the blonde one.
He was the only one in the band with these lighter locks, and he totally stood out because
of it."
But during an interview with The Zach Sang Show in May 2017, the singer let the cat out
of the bag on his true hair color.
Pointing out that it takes around three hours to lighten his naturally brown hair each time
he meets with his stylist, he added,
"It's just like…:
"Waste of time!"
"...a pain in the ass.
I started doing it when I was like 12 or 13."
"Oh wow."
"So, ten years' a long time, putting that crap in your hair."
When Horan took a break from dying his hair and let his naturally brunette locks grow
in, fans kind of lost it.
Bustle reported,
"People online are either in love with the new 'do or are lamenting the good old days
when the band was performing together and Horan's hair was a bright, white blonde."
His hardcore blond hair-loving fans may not have been impressed but that hasn't stopped
Horan from sticking with what he likes.
You might assume that Horan's got a bunch of other boy bands on his playlist and just
as many girl groups.
While that may indeed be the case, it's also just as likely that he's listening to a little
classic rock or a crooner-style tune.
A fan of both The Eagles and Michael Bublé, Horan has shown up at a concert for the former
along with Harry Styles and is known to praise the latter.
Horan even revealed during an AskAnything chat that if you listen closely, you'll recognize
the Eagles influence on his solo album, Flicker.
"I would say either the Eagles or Fleetwood Mac.
You can hear Fleetwood in a couple of songs, and you can hear the Eagles as well."
Bublé once spoke about the boys of One Direction, telling the Entertainment.ie site,
"[Horan's] a great kid.
We talk a lot.
Him and Liam [Payne] are the two boys I chat with and it's actually really refreshing to
see young guys like that get success and for them not to be d---s.
It's probably a testament to where he comes from and his family."
In turn, Horan told ET Canada in 2017 of the singer:
"He’s the greatest man.
I want to grow up to be Michael Buble."
It's official.
Niall Horan is a Belieber!
That's right, the former One Direction singer is a fan of fellow pop star Justin Bieber
and he certainly isn't afraid to let everyone know it.
Horan even tweeted praise for Bieber's music in 2012, with Billboard noting that the singer
quote "playfully parodie[d] Niall Horan's album cover on Instagram."
While that might make it seem like the two stars are always in a light-hearted mood when
it comes to their friendship, it turns out that the Irish performer actually feels bad
for his Canadian counterpart.
Horan told Glamour UK,
"You see solo stars, I watched Justin Bieber's new docuseries.
People didn't realize the pressure that he was under."
"Mmm."
"I can relate to that 100 percent."
Explaining that the members of One Direction had each other to lean on when the pressure
got to be too much, Horan noted that Beiber didn't have that type of situation.
He added,
"I always felt sorry for Justin in that respect."
When Horan isn't busy making music, he can likely be found enjoying himself on the links.
He told Virgin Radio Dubai,
"I'm a sports fan in general and I watch a lot of sports and when I was 12 or 13 I joined
my local golf club and fell in love with golf then."
According to a 2019 profile for Today's Golfer, Horan is apparently the quote "future of golf."
That's because he doesn't just play the sport for fun, but he's also the co-founder of Modest
Golf Management which he launched in 2016.
He told the outlet,
"Having the love for golf that I do was the reason I wanted to set up the company in the
first place, and here we are three years later with some of the most influential people in
golf."
But fans can rest assured that he won't be giving up the stage for the green, according
to the Brampton Guardian.
At least not any time soon.
"Not that I'm the greatest golfer ever, but I love the game, and I would like more people
to get into it."
Horan may be famous thanks to his pop song-worthy singing voice, but that's not the only vocal
skill he possesses.
Also adored for his unmistakable Irish accent, he just so happens to be able to pull off
a range of accents from different cultures.
"Oh my God, I love Temple Bar.
I go there for a Guinness.
Even though it costs eleven dollars."
The star showed off his vocal skills while sitting down for a rather unusual chat with
Jimmy Fallon in 2019.
At the host's request, Horan performed a lively reading of the classic holiday story 'Twas
the Night Before Christmas but with different accents that would pop up on a screen in front
of him.
"Not a creature was stirring, not even a wee little mouse."
Luckily, the singer was up to the task.
Hitting up Scottish, Russian, Spanish, French, Brooklyn, and Australian dialects, he basically
nailed the game, and wowed his fans.
"It was freakin' Santa Claus!"
It's known that Horan is not fond of small, enclosed spaces thanks to his claustrophobia.
"Even when, like, you know, like, people get too close, I'm like, 'Ugh.'"
But not as many know he also happens to "hate birds," specifically pigeons.
Yes, really.
He told The Sun,
"I can't stand them after one once flew in through my bathroom window and went for me
while I was having a wee.
That was enough.
I think pigeons target me."
He even revealed that when it comes to performing,
"[I get] really nervous if pigeons are flying around before shows."
However, Horan was willing to face his feathered fear during a March 2020 installment of James
Corden's Carpool Karaoke.
"I think they're horrible.
So, I don't like the fact that they're not scared of us until you get really close to
them.
People have to, like, run at a flock of pigeons and like, 'Ahhhh!' to make them move."
For the sake of some good fun, Corden thought it might help if Horan held one of the flighty
creatures…and also have one placed on his shoulder, and on his head.
While Horan met the challenge, he was wary of one of the birds doing its business on
him, which is totally understandable.
"I just had three pigeons…"
"I can't be responsible."
"...and one of them pooed on me."
"I can't be responsible for their actions."
Thanks to Horan's time in One Direction, he earned a massive fortune when he was just
barely out of his teens.
According to Celebrity Net Worth,
"Between June 2013 and June 2014, the group generated $75 million in revenue."
And the next year brought in an additional $130 million.
Beyond that, the band's Where We Are tour was the second-highest-grossing tour ever
when it comes to comparable groups thanks to the fact that it took in a whopping $282
million.
However, Horan may want to think about investing his fortune.
A source told the Irish Mirror in 2018,
"He's simply spending a lot more than he makes.
He could end up with nothing if he's not careful.
Niall is not making anything near the money he was enjoying in 1D but he's still spending
a fortune."
"This place is gonna be electric tomorrow night."
Noting that the singer and sports entrepreneur has lofty goals for both his golf-related
endeavors and solo music career, regarding Niall's solo career, the insider pointed out,
"[It] comes with a huge financial burden…and in terms of his solo career…he hasn't had
that one big solo hit that any former boyband member needs to move on from their past life
in the band."
It looks like Horan may need to be a little smarter with his fortune until he hits his
next big payday.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Nicki Swift videos about your favorite celebs are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.