Today Your source for all things celebrity and entertainment. Even Simon Cowell is uncertain about the fate of One Direction . The popular boy band began what was dubbed an extended hiatus earlier this month. A source had told E! News last August the group members would "work on individual projects for a while" but " are not splitting up " and "plan to work together in the future." In a cover story interview with Billboard , published Wednesday, Cowell, who founded the group on The X Factor and signed them to his Syco record label, offered a somber update.