Louis Tomlinson Going from Strength to Strength

Louis Tomlinson: Going from strength to strength.

When One Direction ended Louis Tomlinson was more than devastated. In his own words he wasn't sure where he would fit or what it was, he wanted to do. It took a heart to heart with his mum to decide that he was going to make music, but his journey as a singer hasn’t been easy by any means. 

Coming out of a band the size of One Direction gave each of the boys an incredible springboard to a successful solo career and this was evident in that Harry Styles went on to incredible success, Liam Payne had the biggest streamed song of 2017, and Niall Horan had amazing success with his first solo album. On the other hand, Louis had amazing successes with his collabs, but no album was forthcoming. 

It took four years from the band ending until January 31st 2020 before Louis would release his own solo album. The album leaned towards more indie rock than pop, and did okay, however, Louis has struggled to get any radio airtime. This became evident while promoting his sophomore album Faith in the Future. We, all know that radio stations enjoyed the songs, but when they heard it was Louis behind them, they couldn’t play the songs, according to an article with quotes from Lisa from BMG. 

This was explored in depth as the fandom realised that no matter what Louis wouldn’t be given airtime and Mark Boardman shared the Radio One playlists with us when Bigger than Me was released. These playlists showed that Louis wasn’t on their radar at all, so fans took it into their own hands and worked their asses off to help promote Louis album, managing to help him achieve the UK number one album, but he still wasn’t given much in the way of airplay.

We all watched on helplessly as his music was largely ignored by the general public because they weren’t aware of it. If you mention Harry or Niall to the casual music fan, most will be able to name at least one song that they have released, but the same cannot be said for Louis. 

Another area of Louis' marketing which gave a lot to be desired was his presence in the media. Most articles mentioning Louis before July 2023 had a negative or unenthusiastic spin on them, but as his FITF World Tour continued across the United States, the reviews and articles began to become more positive and he’s beginning to get more recognition for the incredible songwriter, vocalist and person he is. 

Fans watched Louis express in All of Those Voices, how Louis struggled with confidence as a soloist. He stated in All of Those Voices that he lost his faith in himself at some point along the way, and although fans have many theories about why he lost his spark, he appears to be growing brighter and more confident with this incredible talent showing. He’s shining like the sun now and we all know what he has the potential to be. 

Over the past year it has been a delight to see Louis grow in confidence. Fans all watched as he kicked off his tour last February (2022) and we saw him struggle with nerves, but he embraced it and went on to have an incredibly successful tour culminating in the end of tour in Milan where he performed to 34,000 fans.

Louis has also succeeded in putting his own festival on and each year it grows bigger and better. He also played to some sold out music venues on this tour and played a few festivals in 2022 as a headliner. His confidence is growing with every show and his new music, while rockier is incredible and showcases his immense vocal talent. 

With this change in how he’s presented in the media, we’re witnessing new fans being born and it’s a wonderful thing to watch because Louis is humble and kind to all fans. The relationship between Louis and his fans has been commented on, at length, and music reporters who’ve attended the concerts have stated that the concerts are an incredibly welcoming place, filled with positivity and an electric atmosphere. They also comment on the close bond between Louis and his Louies, which is something that not every artist can appreciate. 

We as a fanbase are incredibly proud, protective and do our best to help promoting Louis’ music to a wider audience and with accounts such as HLD, FITF Promo, and AOTV On Tour leading the charge on Twitter, there are also fan accounts on TikTok that utilise Louis’ music and help to reach more of the GP, but there is always more we can do, from sharing his songs, talking to other fandoms and sharing our love of Louis. 

Over the last few years fans have supported Louis non-stop and were helpful in ensuring he got a number one album for Faith in the Future. Fans went over and above, and I know, personally, I purchased a number of copies and donated to others who were buying multiple copies of the album to help it hit that number one spot. I also witnessed on many occasions through the week preceding the number one how fans organised projects to ensure that fans could get a copy. 

We've also recently seen him reach new heights, witnessed a happier, more carefree Louis on stage, and saw him certified as silver with Faith in the Future. His live cover of 505 by the Artic Monkeys showcases his incredible voice and has brought in some new fans to the fold and discovered our talented fave and we, as a fandom, can only welcome them with open arms. I know that we all can’t wait to see Louis succeed because he absolutely deserves the recognition, the praise and most of all, more love from his fans. 

It’s extremely refreshing to see the change in the media narratives and this change has become more pronounced over the last few weeks especially, which is very interesting given what’s happening in the media and with certain media personalities at this present time. 

Towards the end of last year we saw him sell out the 02 and play to amazing fans who adore him, his music and who he is. We all adore our Louis and are all extremely excited for the year ahead to see Louis expand his fanbase by playing festival after festival. 

Overall, I can say as a huge fan of Louis, his lyrics, music and personality that I’m very much enjoying seeing the positive reporting and I hope it continues because the negative news has gone on long enough. Louis deserves better and it’s high time he got the recognition he deserves as a person, a musician and as the person who according to Niall, I believe, was the glue of One Direction. 

All of One Direction wouldn’t be who they were without Louis, his talent and his drive. Fans know all of this, but it’s time the general public did too, so let's share our love for him. Let’s keep sharing his music and let's celebrate these positive articles because we don’t know how long we have them for. Finally, let’s all look forward to the future of Louis with faith in the future, hope for this positivity to continue and a little pixie dust because a little magic never hurts and the sky’s the limit for our fave.