One Direction Update: Rob Stringer Discuss Harry Styles New Solo Album

The CEO of Columbia Records, Rob Stringer has revealed updates on Harry Styles upcoming solo album. He stated that Harry is on the brink of releasing his first solo album. It was reported late last year that the former One Direction star had left Simon Cowell's SYCO label and had signed a new deal with Columbia Records.

Although the news did not go down well at the time with his former boss, it appears that the musician made the right decision as his new boss recently spoke out about progress on the record. He stated that Harry Styles has been working hard on new material for months and has been writing, recording and producing the tracks along with a host of industry bigwigs, with the hope to create a signature sound that will be popular with fans.

Stringer believes Harry Styles is hitting all the right notes as he told Billboard that, "We are close and we are very excited. We have a record we are incredibly excited about and it is not far away from being ready. We obviously want everything to be beautifully done because we think he is here to stay. Harry has stepped up with the vision of someone who is authentic."

In addition, Hollywoodlife reports that Stringer is proud of the success achieved by Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik in their solo adventures, and he believes that Harry Styles will be right there with them very soon. He added that they are making smart choices and he is not surprised that there is a different path and they are doing well. Stringers said they became so big everywhere with One Direction from day one that their popularity is wider than other previous boy bands.

Although the release date for Harry Styles' new album is yet to be confirmed, insiders suggests that it could be released as early as the end of this month. Harry Styles might want to get it out before he is forced to compete in the charts with his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne and Niall Horan. It was reported earlier this week that Liam Payne is also at the brink of completing his record and that he is eager to get it out and get the promo done, before pregnant girlfriend, Cheryl gives birth to their first baby.