Liam Payne. Grumpy Spice. One Direction's fifth Direction. I think of him as such because he's now the only Direction without at least the beginnings of a solo career, and in many ways, this inclination to hold back was a smart one: let the others dip their toes into chart music's choppy waters first. Watch them. Learn from their mistakes.But on the other hand, whenever Liam does attempt to break out of his boyband box, he'll be doing so in the shadows of Zayn – who, despite his current inability to perform live, seems finally to be morphing into the R&B singer he was born to be – and Harry Styles, whose mere face routinely brings grown adults to tears. They're difficult acts to follow, and between Zayn's Usher-esque crooning, Harry's lite glam rock, Louis' EDM leanings and Niall's acoustic schtick that seems to plug the gap that 1D left, there are fewer and fewer niches left where Liam's sound can fit.
Advertisement
But that hasn't stopped him from experimenting over the last few years. You can't, after all, keep Wolverhampton's most famous export down. Despite having not made his formal debut as a Solo Artist since 1D's split, Liam has tried out a few genres – musical amuse-bouches, let's say – in an attempt to begin to do what very few boyband members before him have done: Go Credible.There's very little I love more than a delve into the psyche of a man at a crossroads, and Liam Payne, the Gary Barlow of One Direction, more than fits this description. Since 1D's split, it seems that he's hopped between genres, trying to find his place in the musical world. His mind, I imagine, runs through thoughts like: Where does he fit? What should he do? How the fuck will he manage to Timberlake the shit out of the rest of these 1D pricks? These are difficult questions to answer when you're trying to map out a career. I figure, then, that perhaps I can help. Maybe a rundown of where he's been so far might help him:Something that some people don't actually know is that Liam, much like Gary Barlow – who I am convinced is somehow related to him – is credited as one of 1D's primary songwriters at the end of the boy band's run. On their album Four, for example, he is listed as a songwriter on eight of the 12 tracks, including the single "Night Changes," which I have helpfully included above. His 1D songwriting chops (and who knows how involved he really was) prove that for better or worse, Liam Payne knows his way around a pop song. But Liam Payne wanted more. 1D was, and is, not the musical credibility he craved. So he was forced to look elsewhere…
One Direction (obviously)
Advertisement
Payno (otherwise known as 'Big Payno')
Smooth Liam Payne (with a little help from close personal friends Wiz Khalifa and Juicy J)
Advertisement