Niall Horan confessed his nerves about his debut solo single to his One Direction bandmates.
Although the 22-year-old singer – who released his debut track ‘This Town’ on Thursday (29.09.16) – didn’t get a chance to play the song to Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson before he dropped it, he told them it was coming and admitted he was apprehensive.
Speaking to Greg James on BBC Radio 1, he said: "They knew it was coming but when I saw them last, I didn’t have a final version to play them.
"Obviously the idea was that we were all going to do our own little bits and pieces, our own projects.
"I just said to them, ‘I’m bringing out a tune, I hope it’s all OK, I’m a bit nervous about it- see you soon.’ That’s how it went down."
And Niall – who has signed a deal with Capitol US – revealed that a solo album and tour are on the way.
He said: "I obviously just wanted to let people know what I’m doing, that I am working on music. There will be an album, it won’t be this year though, I’m not finished it to be honest. I still have a fair bit of writing to do.
"I started writing in February, just because I like writing, this was one of the first songs I wrote. This was written with Jamie Scott who did a lot of One Direction stuff.
"When the album drops, the tour won’t be too far after it. That’s the way it works."
Niall also revealed the new single has a double meaning.
He explained: "The first is that if you’re from a small town there’s always this one girl, that you see when you go home, see her about in the bars and stuff and then the other meaning is about the town itself. Everything comes back to the town, it’s a mixture of both."
He also admitted he was determined to keep the new single under wraps until he was ready to share it.
He said: "I don’t think a lot of the people at the label even knew I signed with them until a couple of weeks ago.
"It was all kept under wraps between me and my immediate management."
Meanwhile, Niall’s One Direction bandmate Liam was one of the first people to congratulate him on his new song.
He tweeted: "@NiallOfficial good luck boss give him all your support huge day for him proud of you boss," and Niall replied: "@LiamPayne thank you Payno. Love you buddie. Call you when I’m off the phone from interviews."
Niall later tweeted his fans: "Guys seriously . I cannot thank you enough for the reaction to the song . I’ve been doing interviews all morning.
"Have only really got a feel for the reaction now as I’m reading online. Really appreciate the support from you all ..
"Wouldn’t expect anything less from the best fans in the world , xx (sic)."