Zayn Malik joined by former One Direction bandmate at his concert 😮
Fans are hoping for a reunion
One Direction fans were in for a treat recently. While former One Direction member Zayn Malik is currently on the US leg of his 'Stairway To The Sky' tour, the singer told his fans in Los Angeles that he had a 'old friend' supporting him in the audience that night.
On hearing this news, the fans couldn't contain their excitement before Zayn could explain more, screaming wildly at the 'Dusk Till Dawn' singer.
Zayn told the thrilled fans that: "Tonight I've got a special.... An old friend of mine is here supporting me tonight. Somewhere here, I don't want to give his location away, but Louis (Tomlinson) is here tonight!"
This latest news comes just a few days after Zayn was seen at one of his gigs talking about the possibility of performing a One Direction song as part of his set. The singer told fans: "Did you like that one? Maybe I’ll mix it up at some point, maybe a 1D song in there or something."
Zayn then had to clarify: "Don’t get excited, not tonight! Sorry, I didn’t mean to tease you like (that) it’s not tonight."
However, this started a lot of speculation that the band could be set to reunite at The BRIT Awards as a tribute to their late bandmate Liam Payne, who passed away in October 2024.
Whilst The BRIT Awards haven't confirmed any tribute to the late singer, fans have been speculating for a while that a reunion could be on the cards. Since the band announced their hiatus back in 2016 there have been several rumours of a reunion, including one for their 10th anniversary, and when Harry Styles was spotted wearing a One Direction T-Shirt in a now deleted post.
One Direction reunion rumours through the years:
Harry Styles talks about a Zoom reunion
In April 2020, as the nation were in lockdown due to the Coronavirus, Harry spoke to SiriusXM Hits 1, jokingly admitting he didn't expect the 1D reunion to be over a Zoom call.
He said: "I don't know if a Zoom call is the reunion that we had in mind."
Liam Payne sent fans into meltdown
Just days later, Liam Payne sent Directioners into complete meltdown when he revealed a number of emails had been forwarded, admitting it was great for the boys to 'connect' again.
Liam said: "We've got a 10-year anniversary coming up so we've all been speaking together a lot over the last few weeks, which has been really nice."
#OneDirectionReunion trends on Twitter
Not long after Liam's interview, eagle-eyed fans noticed Harry, Louis, Liam and Niall had all followed former member Zayn Malik on Twitter, resulting in #OneDirectionReunion to start trending.
However, after further inspection, fans were quick to point out that they'd followed Zayn for a while, making it a bit of a false alarm!
Was new One Direction music on the cards?
Also in April, American showbiz site Page Six reported that One Direction could release new music for their 10th anniversary in July 2020, as well as a TV special!
Niall sends fans wild on Instagram Live
During an Instagram Live, Niall teased Directioners by touching his hair when a fan asked him to if the reunion rumours were true. Hmm.
Liam Payne talked with James Corden about a reunion
Liam chatted with The Late Late Show host James Corden, where he confessed he'd been in recent contact with both Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan!
He told James he'd enjoyed a 'beautiful' FaceTime with Niall. Aww!
Louis Tomlinson 'tells off' Liam Payne for revealing too much
After Liam got a little excited and started to dish out too much information, the singer revealed during an Instagram Live with Alesso that Louis had 'told him off' for revealing the plans.
Niall Horan shuts down reunion rumours
With July getting closer, Niall Horan broke the hearts of 1D fans across the world in May when he seemingly shut down all talk of a 2020 reunion.
Speaking to his friend Jamie Redknapp on Redknapp's Home Fixture, Niall said, "There was a bit of talk about it because in July it's ten years since the band got together, so everyone was waiting to see if anything was going to happen.
'We've been chatting about it, little bits and pieces that we can do, but nothing in terms of getting the band back together, so for now, no."
10th anniversary plans
Despite many holding out for an actual reunion, 1D launched a special website called '10 Years of One Direction', which went active on Thursday 23rd July, the official date of their anniversary.
The website went through the band's amazing career timelines, from meeting on The X Factor, to going their separate ways as solo artists. As well as this, a load of old content was visible for fans, including archived TV performances, behind-the-scenes videos, music videos and artwork!
A special 10-year celebration video was made for YouTube, which brought a tear to the eye as it highlights 1D's global success over the last decade.
Fans thought Harry could feature on Niall's album
Fans thought they'd spotted some similarities between Niall's album and a music video that Harry was spotted filming.
Harry Styles posted a pic of him wearing a One Direction T-shirt
Harry Styles posted a pic of him wearing a One Direction T-shirt. The photo appeared as an Instagram Story, but was quickly deleted by the singer. Of course it wasn't long before fans shared the photo across social media and reunion rumours started.
Harry later told fans at his Auckland gig: "I guess some of us have secrets! Maybe, maybe like some people, you chose to keep it to yourself and maybe one day, you'll like accidentally post it to your Instagram followers."
Liam Payne 'desperate' for a reunion
In 2023, according to a source speaking to OK!, Liam Payne really wanted a One Direction reunion and was trying to reach out to the other band members. Liam reunited with former bandmate Louis Tomlinson at the premiere for his documentary All Of Those Voices, and is understood to have said he would love a reunion tour to relaunch his career. Sadly Liam passed away in October 2024.
Fans want a tribute to Liam Payne at the 2025 BRIT Awards
In January 2025, One Direction fans started to speculate that there could be a One Direction reunion at the 2025 BRIT Awards with Mastercard, as a tribute to their late bandmate Liam Payne. The rumours followed a comment Zayn made while on tour in Washington DC, when he said he might mix up his set and perform a One Direction song. The BRITs have not confirmed any of these rumours.
Now read:
One Direction fans hopeful for a reunion tribute to Liam Payne at The BRIT Awards
Zayn Malik: Everything you need to know about the former One Direction star
One Direction: 100 facts you never knew about the boys ❤️