solo louis #blessed

So in short, Louis is flawed. He is a person defined by complexities and contradictions. And while inherently we know that every pop star and/or human is complicated and messy, we’re rarely reminded of it in a first-person capacity. We hardly ever hear an artist we love admit how lost they’ve felt or how difficult their realities were or how they’re still not sure where they belong. But when we do, it’s refreshing because it’s real. To abandon pretense is the most grown-up thing of all. And this isn’t to say that Harry, Niall, Zayn, and Liam aren’t adults, or that they haven’t endured their share of pain or upset, or that they don’t know what it’s like to be insecure. But what sets Louis apart has been his willingness to make those things as legitimate as the traits we’ve seen define his public self in the past. It would’ve been easy for him to put turmoil and sadness and fear in the background, painting them as things he used to feel (but not anymore). Instead, he embraced them and gave anybody reading permission to embrace them too. Because growing up isn’t leaving vulnerability behind or downplaying difficult emotions when they don’t fit your new narrative. Instead, it’s coming to the realization that you are stronger for admitting who you were, who you are, and that you’re not quite sure who you will be in the future. It is the acknowledgment that we’re all just a bunch of beautiful disasters. Which Louis Tomlinson has figured out.

Project Back To You Thunderclap

The others have always been… Like Niall, for example. He’s the most lovely guy in the world. Happy-go-lucky Irish, no sense of arrogance. And he’s fearless. There are times I’ve thought: ‘I’d have a bit of that.’ Zayn, back in the day. He could relate to me on a nerves level. In the first year we were both the least confident. But Zayn has a fantastic voice and for him it was always about owning that. Liam always had a good stage presence, same as Harry, they’ve both got that ownership. Harry comes across very cool. Liam’s all about getting the crowd going, doing a bit of dancing… And then there’s me.

“In the last year of One Direction I was probably the most confident I ever was. And then it was: ‘OK, hiatus!’” Tomlinson argued against it, he says, when the band first sat down to discuss separation. “It wasn’t necessarily a nice conversation. I could see where it was going.”

Niall is the most lovely guy, Zayn has the voice, Harry is very cool, Liam gets the crowd going… And then there’s me.