Before they became part of one of the biggest and most successful boy groups in history, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, and Liam Payne were ordinary boys from the United Kingdom.
It is for that very reason that they managed to stay grounded and focused on their music and performances despite being it all.
"I just think we never believed the hype," Horan explained in an interview when asked about One Direction handling their level of success.
"As I said, the state of shock was always there. You have to remember, it was us, our team, our bubble around us, and we just went from place to place worldwide and kind of went along with it."
The members of the group set out their music careers by joining "The X Factor" in the UK. They all joined as soloists, but along the way, the judges grouped them together.
They placed third in the show and were signed to Simon Cowell's Syco Records afterward, and the rest is history.
One Direction's Philosophy
Elsewhere in the interview, Horan elaborated on how the members viewed themselves as "normal people with an abnormal job."
"If you're looking in, it must have looked crazy, and everybody's going, 'You're in the biggest band!' We were just having a great time," he added.
"We always used to say we're normal people doing an abnormal job, which is a good outlook to have."
One Direction was active for a total of six years, from 2010 to 2016, and released five albums and went on four tours.
The novelty of being a superstar has never worn off-at least for Horan, who frequently reflects on the success he has achieved with the group and even after, as a solo artist.
"One of the stadium tours was called Where We Are tour, because we always used to be like, 'Look where we are.' Every now and then, you catch yourself looking at each other, just going, 'This is nuts.'"
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Post One Direction
Despite Malik leaving the group in 2015 and the subsequent hiatus in 2016, all five members stayed in touch and close.
In recent years, fans have seen the members interact every so often, but have never collaborated. However, that has not stopped fans from speculating that One Direction might be having a reunion.
According to reports, the members have been nodding to their boy group roots recently, which fueled the reunion rumors even more.
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