It’s been two weeks since the debut of Louis Tomlinson and Steve Aoki’s ‘Just Hold On’ and the tune is still the talk of the internet. Louis made his solo debut alongside Steve on The X Factor stage, the same one that saw his dreams come true, in a touching tribute to his mom Johannah who passed away after a courageous battle with leukemia. Not only was the performance incredible on talent alone, the emotion and the love on that stage is something no one in attendance, or anyone who watched from home, will ever forget.
Another unforgettable thing that’s happened since the song debuted was the gratitude, kindness, and appreciation from Louis to his fans for all they’ve done to help get ‘Just Hold On’ up the charts, on the radio, and into the hearts of millions. Fans have taken to printing off cover art for the song and decorating their towns with it, putting it on their clothes as they run errands and visit friends, and they’ve also started projects online that have not only raised awareness of the song but charity organizations as well. It’s been a tribute to who Louis is and who Johannah was and always will be – two people who put the entire world in front of themselves without asking for anything in return.
The big push for fans this last week was to get the song to number 1 on the Official Charts for Christmas and for Louis’ birthday – which is tomorrow. It was a valiant effort regardless of the song’s chart location this week, and fans should be proud of the work that they did. Getting a number 1 doesn’t always happen even with promo from a label, tons of radio plays, and lots of professional backing of the tune – but ‘Just Hold On’ was number two not even a full week after the world first heard it.
Steve has also gone above and beyond for the tune and each time he’s spread the word he’s referred to Louis as someone strong, as someone he’s proud of, and as a brother. This is the most difficult time in Louis’ life, and the people around him are doing everything in their power to make it a little bit easier.
That’s incredible.
The song, for the official Christmas Chart came in at number 3 and we can only imagine that Louis and Steve are delighted, we know that we are.
The loss of Johannah put a lot into perspective for a lot of people, it made some of us stop talking about being better and start living it, it made people strive to donate and give and do more, and it also really reminded us all that if love and kindness are at the soul of who you are – winning or coming in on top isn’t important, it’s the road it takes to get you to where you are that matters. If yours is paved with good intentions, it’ll be a beautiful journey, and the journey for ‘Just Hold On’ is an incredible one, no matter what number sits next to the title on a chart.
Louis himself got something from ‘Just Hold On’ that he wasn’t expecting as well, a new level of confidence, as he tweeted another thank you to fans just yesterday that made us all want to hug him.
The support for Just Hold On has been unbelievable.I was nervous about doing something on my own but you lot have given me somuch confidence
— Louis Tomlinson (@Louis_Tomlinson) December 22, 2016
The future holds an endless amount of opportunity for Louis, but right now, we hope he’s with the people he loves spending the holidays surrounded by light and compassion and knowing how much of that is in this world because of Johannah, and hopefully seeing the song that was put together for her doing so well on the charts helps him realize how much we all loved her, too.
Congratulations Louis and Steve; we’re big fans of yours.