#CongratsLiam: What's going on with One Direction and their solo careers?

Not only have we been gifted by solo music from Niall Horan and Zayn Malik in the past year, we edge ever closer to Liam Payne becoming the third One Direction boy to hit the charts on his own.

Liam has now signed two records deals, one in the UK and one in the US. Fans celebrated his latest announcement with the hashtag #CongratsLiam trending on Twitter.

A lot of people believed it was confirmation that his girlfriend Cheryl had confirmed a rumoured pregnancy. She hasn't.

It has been nearly a year since One Direction dropped their fifth album Made In The A.M. and while it has been a quiet 12 months, things are starting to get a little noisier.

Here's what's happening with each member of 1D and their solo careers - or frustrating lack of.

Clear a space on your iTunes, we could have a Liam Payne album before the end of the year.

Not only has Liam signed a record deal with Colombia Records in the UK, he has also announced he has signed to Republic Records in the US.

Liam has already been working with some very big name artists behind the scenes. He is believed to have worked with Jennifer Lopez on her next album and a leaked track with rappers Wiz Khalifa and Juicy J hinted at a hip hop direction.

Oh, and then there's his girlfriend Cheryl Cole - who will has passed on a few nuggets of information about pop stardom over breakfast, we're sure.

Liam is expected to release his debut album in late 2016 or early 2017. With rumoured dates like these, we reckon there's a good chance Liam could be among the guest performers on the X Factor live shows.

Niall has warmed our cold, dead hearts with his debut solo single This Town, which scored the Irish lad his first ever Top Ten solo single in late 2016.

He is yet to announce his debut album, but This Town brings together Niall's influences perfectly. He names The Eagles, Bon Jovi and The Script among his favourite artists, so we're expecting some epic moments when he finally blesses us with a full album.

He's a big fan of swing music but he should probably leave that to Michael Buble and stick to his love of rock music.

Rumours suggest Niall is working with writer and producer Greg Kurstin, who is responsible for huge songs by Adele, Years & Years, Sia, Taylor Swift and many more A-list artists.

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Zayn is already a certified solo star. The first out of the gates, Zayn took the brave move of quitting 1D at the peak of the boyband's success. There were tears at first, but they were long dry by the time he released chart topping single Pillowtalk and debut album Mind Of Mine.

The 23-year-old star is now making big-name friends in the music industry, having teamed up with Snakehips on their new hit Cruel and M.I.A on her tune Freedun.

He is the first ever UK male artist to enter the albums at No.1 in the UK and US with his debut album. Not a bad start to a solo career.

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Long before One Direction went on hiatus and Zayn dropped his debut album, there were rumours Harry Styles was planning to quit the band and release a solo album. Well, we're still waiting and, as excited as we are about his role in new wartime movie Dunkirk, it's the album we're waiting for.

Harry is believed to have signed a three-album deal with Columbia Records (part of Sony) and while we're yet to hear so much as a note from that golden voice, we have already heard his work for other artists. He has penned songs for Ariana Grande, Alex & Sierra, Gavin DeGraw and Michael Buble while working on music for his own album.

There's no date for when we can expect to hear Harry's solo music because life is just awful like that sometimes.

Louis has been very busy since One Direction split, not least because he became a dad in January 2016 to his super-cute son Freddie Reign.

Louis doesn't currently have a solo deal which is clearly an oversight but he is working in the music industry. He created his own record label, Triple String Ltd in 2015 and is currently mentoring a new girlgroup which he hopes can give Fifth Harmony and Little Mix a run for their money.

He has also been writing with Liam, meaning his music could be heard when his bandmate drops his solo music.

But in the meantime, it's all quiet when it comes to Louis. Except when the baby's crying, obvs.