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-Louis on using nostalgia as a theme in Faith In The Future. (6 April 2024)

Fans crowded at the airport, the hotel, the radio and the stadium; the four stops that the British artist had on his fleeting return to the country last April. On May 24, he returns to perform his fourth solo show after filling the Movistar Arena three times in 2022, and expectations are high. What does the artist have who came to think that he would be nothing without One Direction and today he moves masses? Those who witnessed his last visit decipher it.

By Dove Couple, 16 May 2024

If it weren't for the teenagers of the 60s, -in part- The Beatles would not be the legend they are today. That so-called "uncontrolled fanaticism" resulted in a single word: Beatlemania. The girls were called hysterical, however they were the first people to see the potential of John, Paul, George and Ringo.

FIRST STOP: SANTIAGO AIRPORT

On the night of April 3, the performer stepped on Chile for the third time, the first approach with his fans was at Santiago Airport, who waited anxiously for him after his flash visit was surprisingly confirmed to promote his May 24 show at the La Florida Bicentennial Stadium.

At 32 years old, the Briton already had experience in our territory, he had tried success in 2014, when he came as a member of One Direction with some very young Zayn, Liam, Harry and Niall. The group filled the National Stadium twice.

"Since their last three shows at Movistar Arena in 2022, the girls have been asking when the new tour begins, and the expectation is to see Louis' growth on stage," Rodrigo Ostolaza, Representative in Chile of the BMG label, and in charge of marketing and promotion, told La Cuarta.

Tomlinson greeted kindly those who were waiting for him, but visibly tired, he went straight to the Mandarin Hotel - where there was another group of young people shouting his name - that was his "home" for the about 35 hours he stayed in the country.

SECOND STOP: RADIO LOS40

The next day, he had scheduled a visit to Los40 radio, where he spoke live with the host Martina Orrego and answered the questions asked by the followers who won a contest to meet him. While others crowded on the outskirts of the Iberoamericana building.

"It was something that didn't happen a long time ago, but in a way I expected it, he is an artist who has an important fan, his audience has accompanied him in the development of his career, so I found it very exciting," Orrego confided to us.

The co-director of Los40 and creator of the program Mujeres Que Suenan, said that one of the most entertaining things "was to have the fans on the radio and that they could share more closely with him. It's something that happens so rarely and they were wonderful, they behaved super well."

THIRD STOP: HOTEL MANDARÍN

Back at the hotel, Louis had a press round with various media, including La Cuarta.

"What he provokes is something super unique and special, he is an artist very close to his fans and concerned about his environment, that the person who interviews him or talks to him is comfortable or comfortable," Rafaella Fornazzari, Media Manager of DG Media, in charge of the concert, told us.

The return of the star had the production company until the wee hours of the morning enlisting details. "Louis' visit was a nice challenge, it's been a long time since an international artist in this category came to promote a tour, we had to work together with the entire region where he will be performing with his 'Faith in the Future World Tour'," Rafaella added.

FOURTH STOP: BICENTENARY STADIUM

Indeed, his fleeting passage through South America included Brazil, Chile and Argentina; and in all these countries he visited the venues where he would appear. In which he took advantage of playing football for a while, recalling his past as a Doncaster Rovers footballer. And yes, he took the luxury of scoring a goal.

There he also had a meet and greet with followers, but the fans who were waiting outside the venue did not run with the same luck, they only saw him for a couple of seconds through the van that took him out of the place. Even so, they were happy.

THE SECRET OF SUCCESS

The expectations of the May 24 show are very high. "It comes with a new album and that immediately translates into a different show than those of 2022. In addition, it has the challenge of a larger capacity enclosure," Fornazzari revealed. "He is a very committed artist and involved with his career, he likes to deliver the best," he added.

For his part, Rodrigo Ostolaza hopes: "To see the Bicentennial Stadium full, he brought as a drag what was the One Direction phenomenon and those concerts they did at the National Stadium. It always moved a lot of people, and that lasted over time."

For Ostolaza, what happened in April reminded him of the visit to Chile of the RBD Mexicans, at the peak of his career: "We took them to Mekano and it was also crazy, a little what happened to Louis." Martina Orrego says that the effervescence that was lived can be assimilated to contemporary phenomena such as K-pop.

And the performer, who at some point thought he could not continue without One Direction, today has two successful albums - "Walls" and "Faith in the Future" - countless triumphs and a loyal community that he loves, protects and defends.

Unlike other singers, he does not charge for meet and greet, the events are always competitive, his lyrics go deep but he does not release so many commercial songs - as in his boyband time - that they can easily enter the radios, that's why the challenge of moving the masses is greater; on the other hand, fashion or social networks are not his strength, his thing is the live shows and the charts, where he goes up with his pop rock sound.

So, what is his secret? Beyond talent and charisma, he is a recognized worker, he finished a tour and immediately started another; and above all, he is close, simple and connected with people. Records sharing distly with your followers abound on the Internet.

"The successful boybands after a break have had their members as soloists. The 1Ds were the new generation of the good and beautiful that pop delivered, now Louis is the soloist who remains in contact with his fans," Fornazzari concluded.

Louis Tomlinson will perform at the La Florida Bicentennial Stadium on May 24. The latest tickets are still available through Ticketmaster.cl

[Translated from Spanish]

Louis Tomlinson surrenders to the Chilean public: “They have given me so many incredible memories”

The artist presented a handful of pop rock songs on the cold capital night of May 24 that was filled with youth and music. The British debut at the Bicentenario La Florida Stadium was an example of the unique connection he has achieved with his local fans; coming from the other side of the world, he already feels at home: the public was an extension of his songs, they gave the performer a show within his own show, and not everyone can tell that.

Paloma Pareja | Saturday, May 25, 2024 at 3:23 p.m.

How to begin to describe the relationship between Louis Tomlinson and Chile? Well, from the beginning. Many may not know it, but after One Direction broke up in 2015 and each member went their own way, he was waiting for everything to go back to the way it was before, but that never happened. So he began to think alone, he was in fact the last of his colleagues to do so, but all that time in pause he had a nice reward, and then came Chile.

In 2022, and on his first world tour with this new career that started from scratch, he had an album under his arms called “Walls” and the confidence that he was doing the right thing, thus filling the Movistar Arena three times. Who can join this exclusive list? Luis Miguel, Romeo Santos, Ricardo Arjona, Simply Red.

Not only that, his national audience rewarded him with one of the most moving surprises of his years in the industry, a fan project that was repeated the night of this May 24 at the Bicentenario La Florida Stadium, his debut at the venue with the “Faith in the Future World Tour.”

KILL MY MIND

After 9:00 p.m. he stepped on stage, the cold of the capitol hit deep, he rubbed his hands constantly to warm up and was grateful that they were there despite the low temperature, but the energy of the people was more imposing than any polar wave.

The time came for “Kill My Mind”, the second song of the night, the entire audience moved their lights from top to bottom, they knew what was coming, they had already experienced it before and they enjoyed it. But what he did not suspect is that it would not end there.

The Chileans managed to move him on two more occasions. In the song “Chicago”, the audience raised signs with a phrase from the chorus: “if you're lonely in Chicago, you can call me, baby”, changing the city of Chicago for Santiago, and finally, Louis himself surrendered to such show of affection and ended it by singing: “If you feel alone in Santiago, you can call me, baby”; in English, of course.

And then it was the turn of “Copy of a Copy of a Copy”, where the stadium was divided into three sections to show blue lights from their cell phones. Louis was stunned, once again he had been left speechless. Can anyone surpass the national audience? In this pass, difficult.

AT ITS BEST

For about two hours, the star took a tour of his musical evolution, including two One Direction covers and also “505” by Arctic Monkeys. There was a catwalk but it did not occupy it as much as expected, also pyrotechnics and the classic confetti that has become a must at shows.

The song “Mijito Rico” could not be left out, a must-see on these special occasions, but he did not pay much attention to it and continued with his programming, he took the time to thank on several occasions for everything that was happening, which was nothing more than a shared experience, because the fans made an extension of his songs, they gave him a show within his own show and not everyone can tell that.

Finally, he left the stage with a smile on his face, with the conviction that he had made it once again. A month ago he confessed to La Cuarta that before he did not like to give himself those moments of enjoyment of success, but that he started doing it.

-Louis on how he’s feeling about returning to Chile. (6 April 2024)

-Louis on where football lands in his current passions. (4 April 2024)

-Louis on if he ever has those ‘Wow, I made it!’ moments. (4 April 2024)