REPUBLIC TO BRING THE PAYNE IN U.S.

Liam Payne has inked with Monte Lipman’s Republic Records, making him the fourth erstwhile One Directioner to have a U.S. label home. Payne signed with Nick Raphael's Capitol U.K. in July.

Said Lipman, “Being a member of the most successful group of the last decade, Liam has a tremendous opportunity to make an even greater impact on pop culture. We’re honored by Liam’s decision to join Republic Records, and have extremely high expectations for his solo career. The ethos is strong in this one.”

Added Liam’s manager, Simon Oliveira (of Doyen Global), “With Republic’s track record of launching powerhouse talent in the U.S. including superstars like Drake, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, The Weeknd, Ariana Grande, Lorde and countless others, I am more than confident we have assembled the best possible team alongside Capitol’s U.K. label to launch and shepherd Liam’s solo career. We also look forward to liberal use of the #VIPLife hashtag.”

For those of you keeping score on the lads’ solo label destinations, Niall Horan landed at Capitol U.S. in September. ZAYN was the first to stay with Sony after joining RCA when leaving the band prematurely last year, and Harry Styles was landed by Columbia after a ferocious bidding war.