This week it was announced that One Direction was planning on taking a "well deserved break" sometime next year. Teen girls were stunned, but felt a bit comforted when one of the guys assured them it was just a break. Sorry to say Directioners, but I wouldn't take much comfort in the reassurance.

When I heard the big rumor, my reaction was exactly the same, that this is not good for fans of the band. I likened it to the announcement in the Spring of 2002 when N'Sync announced a hiatus. By 2006, the official website disappeared, followed by an announcement the following year from one of the members that the band was definitely done, confirming what we all kind of guessed about 3 years earlier.  Their reason for hiatus was "to pursue their other interests for a while", which sounds awfully familiar to One Direction's reasoning.  During that time, Justin Timberlake decided to do some solo stuff, and, well, it kinda worked out for him.  Meanwhile, the others also tried doing solo stuff, and, well, were not nearly as successful.  Take for example Joey Fatone. Who?  He's the "second most successful" member of the band. (Which included JC, Chris, and Lance btw... again who?)  A recent letter penned by him to the guys of 1D spells it all out. (Okay, so it's not really written by him, but might as well have been.)

Jason Kirk - Getty Images
Jason Kirk - Getty Images
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Caution, it is a bit profane and entirely offensive, especially to Directioners, but unfortunately, there's quite a bit of truth.  Harry has always been compared to Justin Timberlake, has already formed collaborations with big names, and was always assumed as the first to break off and go solo, which is why the Zayn announcement was so stunning.  If things work out for Harry like they did for Justin, I doubt there will be any looking back. And we're all pretty sure things will work out for Harry.

Let's compare Zayn to J.C. Chasez. Like Zayn, JC tried to go solo. Luckily, what he had going for him, Zayn does not.  JC tried the solo thing during the hiatus, and still had fan support.  Zayn, meanwhile, turned his back on the band and fans, leaving early.  The fans don't seem so supportive, and he's going to need them to launch.

As for Louis, he's been very active with soccer, and is about to be a dad. He'll certainly stay busy, but it doesn't seem like music is in his direct future.

Then there's Liam and Niall. Like Chris, Lance, and Joey, I just can't say there seems to be a ton of doors open. Hopefully I'm wrong. Who knows, they may have movies to star in, Like Joey's role in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" or Lance's starring role in... "On The Line" (which his own now-defunct company produced, before the band split btw). You probably don't remember that one anyway. Maybe they'll spearhead a record label, a joint of the Syco label.  Lance tried that too, which hasn't worked out.  Maybe they'll apply to be astronauts, which Lance also did, and it didn't work out.  They hopefully should be at least able to find game show host or infomercial success.  That's what Joey did, and if he can do it, well...

I wish the guys the best.  Honestly I do.  Unfortunately, I agree with the letter from fake Joey though, that the future is about to be terrible.

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