Niall Horan: I now feel more comfortable as a solo artist

Niall Horan now feels “more comfortable” as a solo artist. The 26-year-old singer is set to release his second solo album, ‘Heartbreak Weather’, later this week - and Niall has admitted to feeling more “confident” than when he released his debut solo record, ‘Flicker’, back in 2017. Niall reflected: “I was excited with the first one. But now that I have lived with my new solo life for a little bit, I feel more comfortable and I am feeling more confident when I walk into a studio. “I feel like I’ve written personally - I mean, it could all go head t**s up and it could be game over - but I feel like I’ve written my best stuff. You don’t realize until you look back in hindsight, the difference between to when I was 17 to 20 or 20 to 22. “When I made the first album, I was probably 22 or 23 years old and the gap between 23 and 26 years is even more. You look completely different; although I hope I hold onto the baby face for a little bit.” Niall - who first found fame as part of One Direction - thinks he’s “matured” in his personal and professional life over the last few years. He said to Glamour magazine: “I feel like I matured a lot in certain aspects. “Musically, I found I’m willing to take a few more chances and it’s given me a little bit more confidence when I walk in a room.” Meanwhile, Niall recently claimed touring with One Direction was like going on a “school trip”. The band - who are currently on an indefinite hiatus - embarked on their first arena tour of the US back in 2013, and Niall admitted to having had an “unbelievable” time on the road. He said: “The craic we had was unbelievable. Because we were so young, it was literally like being on a school trip, but we’d go on stage in the evening. It was such a good laugh.”