During One Direction’s hiatus, Niall Horan quickly went from the most unseen member of the band – seemingly falling off of social media as he spent time backpacking, traveling, and readjusting to life off the road – to the member most heavily in the spotlight. He’s spent time surrounded by all things golf, taking part in charity events, and even releasing his debut solo single with absolutely no promotion just days ago. This Town went to number one in over 50 countries in 24 hours and since that moment, he’s been busy promoting his single, writing and recording, and being his incredibly thankful and humble self as he takes a road that he’s used to traveling with three of his best friends, on his own for the time being.
Niall’s solo project will undoubtedly be a turning point in music, his single was beautiful both in sound and in lyrics and a lot of other artists are already itching to work with him on songs together. Proud is an understatement for what fans feel for him and that emotion only intensified as he joined Graham Norton for his first performance of This Town.
He spoke of his songs which were, at first, just little acoustic numbers he was putting together – unsure if he’d even use them for himself – and how he decided to put together an album after realizing he really liked what he’d done with the music.
When conversation went to going home, which for Niall is Mullingar, he joked that he would do normal things such as just walking home from a pub or being out with the lads during a visit or vacation and the police would see him and drive him home. He doesn’t feel different inside, no matter how many people assume he’s well off or the amount of fame he gets; he’s still the same boy from Ireland. He’s also glad those police rides home are “for a different reason now”.
When time came for his performance, Niall looked nervous but excited as he executed “This Town” absolutely flawlessly. It was a treat for Niall to be back on stage but just as much of one for his fans as they saw him back in his element – Niall was made for the stage. It was different, however, for both Niall and the fans, to see that performance without three other boys joining him on stage.
That’s the first time I’m doing this on my own.
Niall’s dedication to music, his natural talent, and his charisma can’t and shouldn’t be contained though and while different, it was lovely. He still takes the stage with confident, a sense of pride and he’s humble at the same time. This won’t be his last performance of “This Town”, or any of his tunes, as Niall does plan to tour his solo album.
We’re already saving money for tickets!
Niall also spoke of One Direction’s inevitable, but not dated, return.
“We can’t put a date on it but it won’t be in fifty years time,” he explains. “It’s in the foreseeable future. We’ve talked about it but for now we’ll just play by ear and see what happens.”
For now, Niall is embracing his solo project which will give fans incredible music and a tour, so what more could we really and for?