Niall Horan Talks New Album And Selena Gomez Relationship Rumours: ‘They Don’t Know Whether They Want Us To Date Or Go On A Song Together’

Since their last televised performance on Dec. 31, 2015, the guys from One Direction have split off into different directions, including Niall Horan.

The 26-year-old’s debut album Flicker has over 4 billion streams, going platinum in 18 countries – and next year, he’s set to release his sophomore solo album which he wrote after a major breakup.

While catching up with ET Canada’s Roz Weston in Toronto, Horan neither confirms nor denies the new collection of tracks are about rumoured ex-girlfriend Hailee Steinfeld, but he also keeps it kind of coy about rumours he’s dating and/or collaborating with Selena Gomez.

“People are fickle. Aren’t they? They don’t know whether they want us to date or go on a song together,” he says. “I mean that would be great. She’s obviously a talented girl. And she’s a really good friend of mine.”

When it comes to collaborations, one that fans are not-so-patiently waiting for is with his close friend, Shawn Mendes. But the musician shares that it’s not as simple as it may seem to get together.

“A lot of collaborations don’t happen for this exact reason, right? I come to Toronto. I come once a year, and Shawn’s not here,” Horan hilariously explains. “He’s in China or something! So, he could not be any further. That’s exactly why half the reason, why things don’t happen.”

Although One Direction may have gone on hiatus nearly five years ago, Horan reflects on the massive success of the band and how it propelled him into his solo career.

“That was what was great about the music that we did was we all had different tastes in music. Me and Harry [Styles] probably closer than the rest of them,” he shares.

“You try and find your own sound. I knew exactly what mine was. I’ve known it all me life. When I was 10-years-old I knew what my album was going to sound like,” adds Horan.

With fans eagerly waiting for the arrival of his second solo album, the Irish singer-songwriter reveals that they won’t have to wait too much longer for the new tunes.

“I just have to like get down to what songs are actually on this album. I like too many of them. I’m about two songs off of full completion,” Horan says.

“When I was writing this album I tried to get all the feelings that you have after a break up,” he shares. “If that’s my centre point. Then I can just write different songs around that. That’s the kind of idea I was doing. Like some nights you feel like you wanna go out with your friends and wreck the place. And then like other days you’re really sad.”

Check out our full interview with the musician below.