Niall Horan beats current One Direction bandmates with first solo single

Niall Horan has become the first existing member of One Direction to release a solo single after going public with new track This Town on Thursday (29Sep16).

The Irish star shared the new song online after telling fans he had been working on fresh material in the studio.

"Wanted to share this song I just wrote with u guys," he tweeted. "thank you for always being there."

This Town is Niall's first official single after signing a solo deal with Capitol Records in the U.S. He has also reached a deal with Virgin EMI in the U.K.

The new track was produced by Greg Kurstin, the brains behind Adele’s comeback hit Hello. The multi-Grammy-winning hitmaker has also worked with Lily Allen and Ellie Goulding, and produced Chandelier for Sia.

Horan isn't the only current member of the boy band with serious solo aspirations - Harry Styles and Liam Payne are both recording new material, while Harry has also launched an acting career after picking up a role in director Christopher Nolan's new war movie Dunkirk.

But Niall isn't the first One Direction star to go solo - Zayn Malik has tasted success without the boy band after quitting the group last year (15).

The boy band is currently on hiatus after the singers agreed to take a break and concentrate on solo endeavors at the end of 2015.

Meanwhile, U.S. pop sensation Shawn Mendes has confirmed reports he's planning a major collaboration with Niall.

During an appearance on America's The Late Late Show on Wednesday (28Sep16), he told host James Corden, "He's awesome. I've been talking to him for a long time, but it's annoying because I'll be in London like, 'Niall I'm here.' He'll be like 'Just landed in L.A.' When I get a second I want to write with him a bunch."