Thinking about Liam...
"The Tom Felton of One Direction"
I have an affinity for all things Harry Styles. I remember when I first saw him in a One Direction music video. His floppy hair, his wide grin, his low rise skinny pants and equally skinny scarves? I was done.
I sometimes have trouble accepting that the Harry Styles of 2024 is the same as that Harry Styles I first saw in 2011, but I think that is more due to my inability to accept the passage of time than it is due to Harry’s changing style. Am I the same person I was in 2011? Seems impossible.
His hair, clothes, and music are different but he’s still the same effervescent, goofy performer he was back then. He’s one of the world’s biggest stars and it seems that’s what he was always meant to be.
But Harry Styles wasn’t always supposed to be the star of the One Direction, was he? (This is where I really imagine myself settling into a chair in front of a white background and fixing a mic on my collar as I ask the documentarian “are we filming?”)
When One Direction was formed, it seemed pretty clear that the standout was supposed to be… one Mr. Liam Payne.
Liam had auditioned for The X-Factor once before in 2008 before the fateful audition in 2010 that preceded the formation of 1D. Simon Cowell thought he had potential but told him to come back in two years. An unaired clip from the formation of the group was spread around the internet a year or two ago that shows Nicole Scherzinger pointing to Liam’s picture and declaring that he could be the leader of the group. Simon responds by saying “he thinks he’s better than the rest.”
The clip came about after Payne went on Logan Paul’s (barf-o-rama) podcast and made some…uh…comments about his time in the band. Honestly this is a whole other newsletter because Liam went off so hard about the other boys (OK WHO PUSHED HIM AGAINST THE WALL? WAS IT HARRY?) that there’s too much to even discuss. Who among us has not misbehaved in an attempt to process the demise of One Direction? He made all sorts of claims including having a billion streams which is vehemently untrue. The whole interview, plus a light cheating scandal, was enough to initiate Liam heading to rehab. He’s since apologized, calling his comments “a scramble to stay relevant.”
I saw someone on TikTok call Liam Payne the Tom Felton of One Direction - a phrase that I feel slightly embarrassed to understand. Tom and Liam both have deep love for the franchises that made them successful and continue to talk about them a LOT. Liam, like, really wants the band to reunite. He’s always talking about how much he loves his ex-bandmates on Instagram lives and he’s really the only one who posts photos of the other boys and #tbts and whatever. Yes, it’s because he hasn’t had as much success afterwards as the others but yes, it also has caused him emotional turmoil beyond imagination.
Liam seems to be doing better and recently attempted a Reputation Era- coded Instagram refresh where he announced some new, emotionally raw, music. The first single, “Teardrops,” comes out on March 1. I’m not expecting to love it— Liam’s post 1D music is not exactly for me; ranging from biphobic to TikTok Christmas. But I’m curious and I am watching this space. I hope Liam stays healthy mentally and physically and I hope he stops giving reporters any quotes about the other guys if we want any hope of them reuniting in this lifetime.
Anyways, here’s Liam’s infamous “Strip That Down” dance:
xoxo,
Ariel