Entertainment

Simon Cowell On One Direction's Future As A Band

I consider myself to be a pretty optimistic person. But when I heard that One Direction was going on an extended hiatus, every fiber in my body was like "NOPE THIS IS IT THIS IS THE END." Sure, they aren't actually saying they're breaking up — but this isn't my first time at the rodeo. Historically, in my own life, "going on a break" has been synonymous with "I'm not sure you're gonna be able to handle this news, so I'll feed it to you a little at a time." Like, remember Ross' whole dilemma on Friends? You think you're just taking a week or so away from somebody — and then, the next thing you know, he's showing up at a party with his new girlfriend and pulling you aside with big pseudo-sympathetic eyes to ask how you're doing. I know how this goes. But, I also know how to listen to reason from people who know better than me, which, in this case, I can get from the following sentence: Simon Cowell thinks One Direction will stay together.

Or he's optimistic they will, anyway, which is all I can really ask from anyone who lives in the real world. And even if our boys Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Liam Payne don't reunite after their conscious uncoupling, Cowell told Yahoo! in an interview that this burnout was a long time coming and that the lads more than deserve a break.

Even though they were young, that was a grueling schedule and after a while I could see they were exhausted. Having a year off is going to be a healthy thing.

I mean, yeah, they were doing an album and a tour every year, in addition to writing on the road. Not a lot of space in there to be a human being — as we noticed when Zayn Malik peaced out earlier this year.

But Cowell pointed out that these guys are loyal to each other, and there's a good chance they'll come back after their hiatus.

I don't know if they're definitely going to split up to be honest with you. As I've always done with the guys, I said, 'Make your own decisions. I hope you stay together, but you've got to want to do it for yourselves.' But they're smart guys, and they'll work it out.

Honestly, hearing this type of thing from the man who put One Direction together in the first place is exactly what I needed. Maybe they will, maybe they won't — but King of Cynicism Simon Cowell hasn't given up hope yet, so neither should anyone else.

Image: Giphy