• frontpage-logo
  • NYI-homepage-mobile-logo

  • Harry Styles, of boyband One Direction, announced today he’s launching his first solo World tour in the fall. (Photo: Getty)

    Harry Styles, the One Direction boy bander, will take his hair and hit the road as a solo act this fall, kicking off his world tour in San Francisco. He’ll be supporting his debut solo album, which includes his new single “Sign of the Times.”

    It was only a matter of time before Styles and One Direction members–Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik–went their own way.

    Zayn has been the trailblazer. He quit the band two years ago to launch a solo career. His first solo album, Mind of Mine was a breakout hit.

    The album debuted at No. 1 on U.S. album charts and was certified as a gold record by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Malik also became the first British male solo artist to debut at number one with his first album.

    How could Harry go wrong?

    The singer, best known in the group for his mop haircut, announced the world tour on Twitter today (Apr. 28). His stops will include Paris, London and Milan and wrap in Tokyo on Dec. 8.

    One Direction went on indefinite hiatus last year.

    Bandmates Horan and Tomlinson also beat Harry out of the gate with solo music and Payne is reportedly working on new solo material as well.

    So far no other tours have been announced. Malik is reportedly still suffering from anxiety about performing live, one of the reasons he gave for quitting One Direction.

    The band proved that the sum of the parts isn’t always greater than the whole. The boys all auditioned as solo artistsin 2010 for the seventh series of the British singing competition “The X Factor.”

    They all washed out. But show producer Simon Cowell pulled them together and launched One Direction. As a group, they scored near instant success.

    It remains to be seen how well they’ll fair on their own. But so far so good.