Louis Tomlinson: I wanted solo stardom

Louis Tomlinson found the early days of One Direction "a tough pill to swallow".

The singer has been in the five-piece since they were formed on the British version of The X Factor in 2010. But having entered the competition as a solo artist, the 22-year-old found it a big adjustment to suddenly perform as a band.

"I’m the type of person who likes being the centre of attention. For the whole of The X Factor I didn’t have a solo which, for me, was a tough pill to swallow," he revealed in the band's autobiography, Who We Are.

The group, which also includes Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik, went on to become a worldwide success despite not winning the show. They are about to release their fourth record, Four, and Louis has his confidence back. It was a different story during those initial few months of promoting their first album Up All Night though.

"I was delighted but at the same time, couldn’t really understand why I was in the band," he admitted. "That was really low, that feeling of not having a purpose, of just being along for the ride."

Their popularity brings with it an immense amount of media attention; and not all of it is good. Band mate Liam, 21, found himself having to defend his sexuality and views at the weekend after pictures surfaced suggesting he was in the throes of passion with another man.

"Wow as if people think that weird photo going around is actually me lol think id rather tweet a full frontal than have people look at that (sic)" he wrote on Twitter. But when his comments then received backlash, he had to stand up for himself.

"I'm 100% not homophobic. But I'm also 100% not gay so when somebody says I am I'm gunna say I'm not which does not make me a homophobe (sic)" he wrote.