Louis speaks to Ode. Published 5th May, 2019.
Louis’ interview with Ode. Published 5th May, 2019, but clearly before the Louis and Richard video was filmed, and before he decided on the album title that now seems to be set, according to the Hits Live interview. Fan questions continue to be used in interviews, with diminishing returns if not in the hands of the right interview. This particular interviewer all but calls herself out several times (these are ridiculous, aren’t they? I coudn’t get away with it in a serious interview) but still the device seems to persist. I wish they would either find more inventive ones, or drop this altogether. There is a complete absence of music questions, sadly, but Louis manages (despite sometimes showing his frustration) to answer politely and with charm, and we get a few little gems out of it. Once again, he effusively praises his fans, bless his heart. The contrast between his expression for the Freddie question (first pic) and him talking about his fans (last pic) is….telling.
Ode: I did ask your fans…
Ode: ….for some questions
Ode: Last time we did this they were the wackiest, weirdest questions….
Ode: ….but they were fun, so….and they’re not things that I would have come up with….
Ode: So I would like to ask them. What do you call your fans, by the way? I think they’re confused….
Louis: Everyone asks me this, everyone asks this….
Ode: ….are they Louies, or are they Legends, or like….I don’t actually know
Louis: Look, they can….if they want to have a little tag and a name for themselves they can, but I’ve never had….sometimes they are a bit cringe to me, them names. I don’t know, I don’t know. I mean, I’m sure they’ve got a name for themselves, but I don’t particularly have a name.
Ode: What would you like them to be called, though? Legends is quite cool.
Louis: (not convinced) Yeah…sounds a little (air quotes gesture) “gimmicky” when you put a name on it, d’you know what I mean….yeah, I dunno…
Ode: You’re too cool for that…
Ode: Ok, here we go with the random fan questions….
Ode: I had over four thousand , by the way, and I don’t know how you deal with replies to your tweets….
Ode: …because this is insane. Um, “When was the last time you went to a zoo?”
Louis: Wow, that’s a proper random question. Well, I’d not been to a zoo until I’d been in the band, actually - I’d never been to a zoo before, there’s a little bit of trivia for you….eh, I think maybe about two years ago, two, three years ago, and it were London Zoo. It’s good there, innit?
Ode: You should be taking Freddie to the zoo. He’s the perfect age for that, right?
Louis: Yes, yeah,,,yeah, yeah…..you’re right, yeah (this pic is Louis expression right after his response)
Ode: I love the zoo. Ok, “What’s your go-to dance move?”
Louis: Well, pffff….I haven’t really danced too much unless I’ve had a few drinks, and then it’s just the typical rave (demonstrates)….y’know what I mean. Keeping it simple, yeah. (Ode demonstrates gun fingers) Yeah, yeah, gun fingers, yeah (imitates gun fingers)
Ode: Nice. So, we’re not going to see any dancing on tour, then?
Louis: Absolutely not. No, no way.
Louis: No way. Maybe losing myself in the music a bit, but there’ll be no dancing, no chance, no chance….
Ode: Oh, c’mon. You were doing that back in the 1D days…
Louis: I…don’t think so. Not on my watch.
Ode: You could do, like, a cover - surely you’d do, like, a 1D cover…
Louis: Yeah, but there were no dance routines in One Direction. I demanded there wasn’t.
Ode: Ok, maybe I’m thinking of the videos there were….Ok…(refering to her notes) - maybe I’ll save this one for last, because I like that one - ah….”Can you or will you please bring back suspenders?”
Louis: Oh (shaking head) that’s tragic. Um, no (looking straight to camera) NO. Um, y’know, when you grow up in the industry, you make some real - when you grow up in general, you make some real fashion errors. You know, I grew up in the industry and made some real appalling decisions, as we all did at the start of our career. One of mine was wearing those (gestures along his torso where suspenders would go)…what do you call them again?…the…the braces…
Ode: They’re braces, here we call them braces…
Louis: Braces, yeah. Pffff (shaking head) bad time for me. That’s why I expect one of me mates, or one of the lads to say “Look, lad, as a mate, take them off”, y’know what I mean, but nobody, nobody….that’s why this job’s tough, know what I mean?
Ode: Yeah, yeah, definitely…those decisions….this morning, you did well. Grey jumper, jeans….
Louis: Yeah? Yeah, thank you….
Louis: ….thank you. You sound surprised (laughs)
Ode: No! I mean, it’s good. You’ve clearly evolved, your fashion’s evolved….
Louis: I have evolved, I have, I have
Ode: Alright. I didn’t think I’d be doing this because this is what YouTubers do, but “Louis, what is your skin care routine, please?”
Louis: Pfffff…..I mean, unless I’m at work, I’m pretty….yeah…lazy like that really. I don’t really have a skin care routine. Just wash me face. That’s about it, really. Keep it simple. None of those fancy face creams or owt like that, not for me.
Ode: Not like a Korean mask or anything like that?
Louis: No, no, not for me, not for me. I’d get terrorised by me mates if I pulled one of them out.
Ode: (laughing) That’s fine. Um, important question here, which you’re apparently quite passionate about….
Ode: ….”What is your favourite type of cereal?”
Louis: I am passionate about cereal, actually. I have….I have….not so good these days, but I have, back in the day I used to have a pretty phenomenal cereal cupboard. We’re talking thirty, forty boxes in there….um, it’s a big question (pained expression, looking skywards, thinking)….
…it seems odd to go against Coco Pops , so I’ll say Coco Pops, yeah, yeah
Ode: The dream, the dream
Louis: I mean, yeah, standard. Mm (ok gesture)
Ode: Coco Pops is the only thing I have in my cupboards…
Louis: Mm, smart, smart, mm
Ode: Good choice, good choice….(looking down at her notes) these are ridiculous, aren’t they? But that’s why I…
Louis: That’s why they’re good, yeah…
Ode: Well, I couldn’t get away away with it in a serious interview. If I came up with these
Louis: (laughs) Yeah, yeah….that’s true, that’s true, that’s true
Ode: I would seriously, ah, reconsider my job. Um, “Are you planning on getting any new tattoos soon? Maybe one related to your solo era?”
Louis: Um, yeah. I’ve been saying that I’m gonna get some more tattoos for a while, but I just don’t seem to get ‘round to it. Um, I’ve had this pretty bad one (rolls up sleeve to show the tattoo) that Robbie Williams did on the X Factor (shakes head), which - look at that - it was meant to be an X. It looks like a religious cross. It isn’t a religious cross, and look how bad that is.
Ode: Yeah, you can definitely get that, like, improved…maybe
Louis: Well, believe it or not, but I am gonna try and have this improved by an eighty-five year old guy. I’m doing, like, a bucket list video with this amazing guy called Richard, from Leeds, and one of the things he is gonna do is try and tattoo me, at the age of eighty-five, so is it gonna be better or worse than Robbie Williams? I don’t know. We’ll have to wait and see.
Ode: That’s so much trust
Louis: Yeah…OH NO! It’s not really trust. I mean, unless it’s brilliant, which it might not be, I probably might have it covered up, y’know what I mean, but we’ll see.
Ode: Ok. What would you get, do you think…..
Ode: ….if you could get something to mark your solo career?
Louis: Oh, um…..uummmm….maybe once I’ve had the album out, I’ll probably have the album title….
Ode: You’re not going to give me any clues as to what that is, are you?
Louis: I don’t really know what it is yet
Ode: Oh, you haven’t made a decision , ok
Ode: Um, lets do one more (looks at her notes, laughs) “Louis, why are you so adorable, it hurts?”
Louis: (tilts his head back) Oh…
Ode: And I actually had that a lot…
Louis: I don’t know how to answer that, I don’t know how to answer that….
Ode: ….I had that a lot, I had that a lot, so there’s clearly a huge demand…
Louis:: Mm…(shakes his head)….
Ode: ….for you to answer that question…
Louis: I don’t really know how to answer that question. I’m blessed from being from Doncaster - that’s probably why, yeah
Ode: (laughs) I mean, last time I asked you why you…the sun…I can’t even remember now…
Louis: And what was my reply? Probably something as….
Ode: It was something very similar
Ode: You haven’t got used to answering my questions yet?
Louis: Um, I think it’s difficult for anyone to answer, really. What’s the question? (laughs)
Ode: Has it sunk in, though, this level of fame, like, that comes with having been in One Direction, then doing X Factor, and seeing your fans, like, how incredibly passionate they are. Does that ever sink in?
Louis: Not really, not really. I mean, we did something special around this single campaign with Global Hot Spots, and put Hot Spots around the world for fans to go and find, and every single time I…I…I call upon them
they’re there, and it’s incredible, but it surprises me every time as well, and the level of dedication from them is, ah, it’s amazing.
