Niall Horan has released his second solo single, Slow Hands, a song he says he's "been waiting a long time" for fans to hear.

The former One Direction star shared his second solo single on Thursday afternoon, saying on Twitter, "I've been waiting a long time for you to hear this song. Hope ya love it!"

Horan made his solo debut last year with This Town, a laid back love song, and Slow Hands sees him go in a similarly acoustic but more uptempto direction.

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Earlier this week he told Nick Grimshaw on BBC Radio 1 that it was a "nerve-racking time," adding: "I wrote this song a few months ago so I've been waiting for people to hear it."

He said the track had been inspired by music styles from the 1980s.

After recording it in Los Angeles, he said: "I've been listening to a lot of early 80s stuff lately and been inspired by that heavy bass and the funky guitar sound.

"It's another flavour to my album that I'm excited to share."

Horan has been teasing fans with hints about progress on his upcoming solo record throughout the year, but no release date has been officially set.

The Mullingar man has recently revealed that the decision by One Direction members to take a break was down to a gruelling schedule and a desire for each of them to do their own thing.

"We felt like we just wanted to either chill or do our own thing. When we called it, it was kind of a release", he said.

The release of Slow Hands comes days after Horan's former bandmate Harry Styles also unveiled his second solo song, Sweet Creature, from his debut album of the same name.

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