Louis Tomlinson, a member of the globally successful boy band One Direction, knows more than anyone just 'how fast the night changes.' Once part of the world’s biggest boy band, Tomlinson has since watched BTS rise to global dominance and surpass records previously held by One Direction.
In a recent interview with Billboard, Tomlinson spoke candidly about BTS’ rapid ascent and the group’s success in breaking milestones once claimed by One Direction.
Sharing his honest reaction, he said, “There was a time where BTS, they just got to their peak, I know they are still there, but when they were on their way up, I felt like every time I got onto Twitter, they had taken one of our, like we got some record for something— some fastest selling thing, and they had taken it. It felt like every week, I was going and seeing a new thing taken away from me by BTS.”
He added, “It did make me a little, it was a bit of shame, we had all these things, but I don’t begrudge them. That’s the nature of the music industry, it keeps moving.”
.@Louis_Tomlinson opens up about seeing new groups, like BTS, break One Direction's records:
— billboard (@billboard) January 12, 2026
"I don't begrudge them [...] that's the nature of the music industry, it just keeps moving." pic.twitter.com/5jKy4cC9h9
Despite the changing industry, Tomlinson noted that he believes there has not “been anything similar” to the phenomenon One Direction represented during its peak in the early 2010s.
It has now been a decade since the boyband announced their hiatus, initially planned to last 18 months. Following the group’s pause, Tomlinson transitioned into a solo career, marking his first major release with the 2016 collaboration “Just Hold On” alongside DJ and producer Steve Aoki.
