GQ Mexico & Latin America, February 2020
With ‘Nice To Meet Ya’, Niall Horan evolves in pop music, and opens the way to a promising second studio album
We’re witnessing the musical evolution of Niall Horan. Yes, Katy Perry’s favourite ex-member of One Direction and his debut single as a solo artist, ‘Slow Hands’, gave us the number one album Flicker in the final week of October 2017. The album, co-written by him in its entirety, had a pop-folk sound, from which the pop blueprint with which he started his second cut has evolved.
‘Nice To Meet Ya’ is a huge pop tune, that intro with piano and hand claps…
It’s what you have to do, to keep people interested. I was in a really good mood, I took the microphone, and that chorus just slipped out. It felt like a party.
With a good melody, and lyrics that others can sing along with me. I’ve realised that we have this idea of how something should sound or think a lot about the lyrics, but the reality is people want to have fun and dance like crazy.
That’s exactly what you did. And is it about anyone in particular?
I wrote it about a wild night out, although nothing much happened [laughs]. My first album was exactly what I wanted in that moment, things that were passing through my head. This time, I opted for something more fun, to reflect my 26 years.
For you, coming from the One Direction phenomenon, it must be easy to flirt. Or is it the complete opposite?
It’s very difficult, I’m very picky when it comes to meeting people. I can’t just start flirting straight away, I need to chat, to be aware of what’s happening to be able to get to know someone the right way.
Let’s talk about your new album. Where are we at with it?
I’m going to show you my inbox, so you can see it’s full of masters of the songs we’ve chosen to give finishing touches, but it’s ready. It will be out this month or in March.
Which song are you most proud of?
There’s a couple. It was really hard to put this album together, because I ended up in love with so many of the songs, but ‘Put A Little Love On Me’ is a very sad ballad, it’s the most vulnerable I’ve been. People can say it’s the worst song, but for me, it’s the best I’ve written and I love to listen to it now.
How do you think pop music has shaped you as an artist?
I’ve loved it since I was a kid. I grew up with 70s rock and that was my first love, but I’ve always been interested in pop music, and my favourite thing about doing what I do is to make something a little different to traditional pop music, although not so rebellious, like what Billie Eilish is doing, in her way, and this helps to work in the sphere of pop music.
There’s a huge growth both vocally and sonically from Flicker to your new material. How do you see it?
For me, it hasn’t been so wild. I think ‘Nice To Meet Ya’ is a natural step forward from ‘Slow Hands’. It has been almost three years from one to the other, and in this gap, lots of things have happened to me as a person and as an artist, and in my musical tastes, and that’s what’s made me grow organically. It might sound crazy if you’re not inside my head, but I don’t think I’ve made music removed from who I am. Or at least, that’s what I think.
