One Direction’s Transformation: See The Legendary Boy Band’s Then & Now Photos

It’s Liam Payne’s 27th birthday today! We are celebrating by taking a look back at his then and now photos along with all the other 1D band members.

Grab the balloons and blow out the candles because Liam Payne officially turns 27 today! The British heartthrob has been making fans hearts melt for years ever since he became a part of the legendary boy band One Direction alongside Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan. Along the way we’ve seen Liam transition into the world of solo superstardom where he’s churned out hit after hit all while becoming a father and finding love with fiancee Maya Henry! 

Liam & One Direction officially made their debut 10 years, yes, 10 YEARS AGO, in July 2020. Their rise to fame was incredible to witness as they started out on The X Factor across the pond in London before emerging as chart-topping pop stars shortly after. They also proved that you don’t have to win a show to be winners in life as the 5 lads came in third during their season behind runner up Rebecca Ferguson and winner Matt Cardie.

The early 2010’s were a non-stop force of One Direction mania as the boys released several smash hits and albums while touring worldwide to millions of screaming fans. Things took a massive change, however, in 2015 when Zayn decided to leave the group and pursue his own solo opportunities. They forged on regardless and continued to make scrumptious hit after hit while their former bandmate eventually achieved his own success with the song and video “Pillowtalk” which featured his now pregnant girlfriend Gigi Hadid.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end as they guys went on an indefinite hiatus shortly after Zayn’s departure. Their fans still enjoyed what they brought to the table as each guy developed their own musical stylings that was quite different from what they did when they were in the group. Harry, whose physical appearance has changed recently for the studlier thanks to his rocking mustache,  shot to the top of the charts with his eponymous debut album and 2019 follow up Fine Line.

We can’t forget what the other three have been up to as they’ve made just as much of an impact in the music industry. Irish cutie Niall has embraced his Ed Sheeran side on tracks like “Slow Hands” and “This Town” and made his solo Saturday Night Live debut in 2019.

Zayn is about to join the parenting world just like his former bandmates Louis and Liam are already experiencing! Louis and Briana Jungwirth welcomed their son Freddie Reign in January 2016 while Liam and superstar Cheryl became parents after she gave birth to their baby boy Bear in March 2017.

Don’t forget to clickthrough the gallery above to check out how much the guys of One Direction have changed over the years!