Nearly 10 months after One Direction went on hiatus, Liam Payne is ready to get back into the game. Republic Records announced on Monday morning (Oct. 17) that Payne has signed to the label in North America, joining a star-packed roster that includes Drake, Ariana Grande and the Weekend, among others.
The label said that Payne will release new music «soon» through an alliance with the Capitol UK label. The singer/songwriter’s manager, Simon Oliveira, said in a statement, «With Republic’s track record of launching powerhouse talent in the U.S. including superstars like Drake, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, The Weeknd, Ariana Grande, Lorde, and countless others, I am more than confident we have assembled the best possible team alongside Capitol’s UK label to launch and shepherd Liam’s solo career.»
Republic co-founder and CEO Monte Lipman added ,“Being a member of the most successful group of the last decade, Liam has a tremendous opportunity to make an even greater impact on pop culture. We’re honored by LIAM’s decision to join Republic Records, and have extremely high expectations for his solo career.”
News of Payne signing comes a week after fellow 1D member Niall Horan released his first solo track, «This Town.» While Harry Styles has signed with Columbia Records, no music has emerged from that pact just yet as Styles has been busy filming the Christopher Nolan war drama Dunkirk. Louis Tomlinson announced plans to start a girl band through Louis imprint on Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment label.
CREDITS TO TO BILLBOARD.-
