He rose to prominence as a member of the boy band One Direction, formed in 2010 on the singing competition The X Factor.

[3] Horan released his third studio album, The Show, in June 2023,[4] after dropping the singles "Heaven" in February and "Meltdown" in April.

[12] As a teenager, he performed at the Mullingar Arts Centre during a fundraiser for the local football team, the Shamrocks.

He also bagged a support slot with former X Factor contestant Lloyd Daniels at the Academy club in Dublin.

Louis Walsh was in his favour, but Cheryl Cole and guest judge Katy Perry felt that he needed some time to grow.

Horan along with Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik formed One Direction.

Styles came up with the band name, which he thought would sound good when announcer Peter Dickson read their name out on the live shows.

[15][16][17][18] Subsequent singles, "Gotta Be You" and "One Thing" received success,[19][20] becoming top ten hits in the UK.

[22] In September 2012, the group released "Live While We're Young", the lead single from their upcoming second album, which peaked at number three in the UK and US.

It reached number one in over 35 countries,[26][27][28][29] and, after reaching number one on the Billboard 200, the group became the first boy band in US chart history to record two number-one albums in the same calendar year alongside becoming the first group since 2008 to record two number-one albums in the same year.

In August 2013, One Direction: This Is Us, a 3-D documentary concert film was released and was a box office success, grossing over $68.5 million.

[39] In February 2015, the band embarked on the On The Road Again Tour, playing shows in Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America.

[49][50] On 8 November 2017, he performed "Seeing Blind" alongside Maren Morris at the 51st Country Music Association Awards.

[55] His second studio album Heartbreak Weather's lead single, "Nice to Meet Ya", was released on 4 October 2019.

[64] In 2022, his TV special that was sponsored by Guinness, Homecoming: The Road to Mullingar with Lewis Capaldi aired on Virgin Media Ireland and was later released to Prime Video.

[67] On 17 March 2023, Horan performed the song at the White House for U.S. President Joe Biden and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar's Saint Patrick's Day celebration.

"[13] Horan grew up listening to rock bands like the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac,[91] and crooners including Rat Pack members Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra.

[96] The problem recurred several times over the next couple of years, including a 2013 incident where he dislocated his knee onstage during a concert in Antwerp, Belgium.

[104][105] Horan is colourblind and has difficulty differentiating between orange and red, green and yellow, and shades of blue and purple.

[107] As a member of One Direction, Horan supported Comic Relief in 2013,[108] and was involved in the Action 1D campaign, launched in 2015 "to end extreme poverty, tackle inequality and slow down climate change with the help of their millions of fans".

[109] In May 2014, Horan hosted the Charity Football Challenge at Leicester City's King Power Stadium to raise money for Irish Autism Action.

[111] Horan was a part of the Soccer Aid 2016 and 2019 star lineup to raise funds for UNICEF to benefit children around the world.

[112][113] Horan has been involved with the Drive, Chip, and Putt initiative that encourages and supports young golfers.

[118] Horan has expressed his support for the Repeal of the Eighth Amendment[119] and the Black Lives Matter movement.