New Music and Pipe Dream Collaborations

Even for those who don’t like surprises, there are some surprises that really are universally beloved. Personally, my favorite of those never-fail surprises is when you’re at a concert, and a musician who is a good friend of the main act, or perhaps has collaborated with them in the past, comes out on stage to perform alongside them.

I’ve only experienced this surprise firsthand on two occasions. Once at All Things Go in 2024, when Lucy Dacus, whose 2025 album was one of the greatest of the year, appeared alongside MUNA in the middle of their set, and one time when I saw Grouplove at Madison Square Garden, and they brought out saxophonist Jake Clemons, the nephew of Clarence Clemons and the saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band since Clarence’s death in 2011.

While they’ve said in the past that there will not be a One Direction reunion, not without Liam Payne who tragically passed away back in 2024, one can dream that Louis Tomlinson or Harry Styles will make a surprise appearance at one of each other’s shows this year. At least some of the stars have aligned, with both of them releasing new music early in 2026, and embarking on subsequent tours later in the year to promote said new music.

The Two One Direction Stars Going On Tour At Roughly The Same Time This Year

After a four-year hiatus for each of them, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson are back in 2026 with new music. Tomlinson’s 2022 album, Faith in the Future, peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 chart, while claiming the number one spot on the UK Official Albums chart. His newest album, How Did I Get Here?, which was released on Friday, is poised to soar just as high on the charts, if not higher.

On the flip side, in the time since One Direction broke up, Harry Styles has become one of the biggest cultural icons of the 21st century. All three of his solo albums thus far, Harry Styles, Fine Line, and Harry’s House, have been certified multi-platinum in the US and the UK, a massive feat in the age of streaming. Suffice it to say, if Taylor Swift is today’s biggest pop star, Harry Styles is easily number two.

Styles’ newest album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally., will be released on March 6th, and just like Tomlinson, he’ll be embarking on a massive tour in promotion this summer. Starting in May, Styles will put on a series of shows in a number of cities across the globe, including Amsterdam, London, Mexico City, and New York City. His tour will culminate in Sydney, Australia in December.

Tomlinson’s tour is much more conventional, albeit still a world tour. Beginning in March, Tomlinson will travel alongside The Beaches, and The Aces, two up-and-coming female pop rock groups who’ll serve as his opening acts, across Europe, the US, and Canada through this summer, when he’ll wrap up in Miami.

With new music from Tomlinson and Styles both in the first three months, and subsequent world tours to last the remaining nine months, ten years after One Direction announced their indefinite hiatus, Directioners are in for quite the treat in 2026. And though an incredible number of stars would have to align for Tomlinson or Styles to appear at one another’s shows, a fan can surely dream.