Louis Tomlinson: A Study in Vocals
(Part 1/?)
28th September 2021
Right off the bat, I’m going to let you know that this is a really long post which has not been kept under the cut. The tags ‘ #s28op ‘ and ‘ #m.masterpost ‘ have been used so feel free to filter them out. This is an aggregate of posts from over the years that have talked extensively about Louis’ vocal abilities. I’m sure there are more analyses out there which have slipped past me (more on that in the end notes); as of now this post is stable enough on its own. This is also a Louis appreciation post :) Enjoy!
VOCAL ANALYSES
A vocal profile
A video from 2014 that talks about his vocal range
On head and chest voices
“Don’t tell me his voice sounds like shit until you can do what he does on a stage to thousands of fans night after night.”
A unique sound without which every 1D song would be monotonous
Vocal coach reacts to Louis’ voice (and appreciates it *pretends to be shocked*)
Louis’ vocals on Four - a song by song critique
YouTuber reacts to a Little Things live performance
Singing really low notes live
Not a vocal analysis but a very important pop punk post
Changing octaves in BTY
“He doesn’t even seem bothered to hit really high notes without switching into his head voice.” (thread created pre-Walls era)
The highest note he has sung in each song off of Walls (and some 1D bangers too)
How his voice has improved over the years (post written pre-November livestream)
Copy of a Copy of a Copy - parallels with Fight Club and a musical analysis
Helene Horlyck, vocal coach and life guide, on the AFH Festival
Why Louis Tomlinson’s voice is one of the greatest things to happen to anyone ever
This post just because this is what all the anons sound like these days:
“louis: doesn’t have a bland, generic, boring voice like the majority of artists these days
some of y’all: uhhh this means his voice is BAD” via (x)
And to those anons I say this.
VIDEOS AND AUDIO CLIPS
Holy shit (I’ll always be bitter about the fact that he didn’t have more solos)
Speaking of solos, here’s some compilations:
All of his solos in UAN
TMH
MM
Four
MITAM
You will not regret listening to this (Stereo Hearts cover)
The cause of my demise, if we’re being honest. This is his solo in Truly Madly Deeply.
Look at him smiling and giggling and HITTING THEM NOTES (Moments)
Covering Valerie. Iconic.
Last First Kiss at iHeartRadio
Harmonizing with Liam before singing Infinity in the Live Lounge
Use Somebody solo from their cover at the iTunes Festival
Over Again, live on tour
A slight note change in Night Changes that he carries off flawlessly
His solo in Night Changes, live in concert (OTRA 2015) (link to vine)
I mean… the No Control chorus (by himself)
Another No Control clip
Nailing his solo in No Control, live in Brussels (OTRA 2015)
I’ll never get tired of linking No Control videos (OTRA Indianapolis)
Alive, live in Adelaide (2015) (link to vine)
DFWYB Zouis duet, OTRA Osaka (link to vine)
Singing Zayn’s part in DFWYB, OTRA Jakarta
Fireproof solo, OTRA Winnipeg
Louis in Better Than Words, OTRA Osaka (link to vine)
Drag Me Down, then and now
Listen to this note change in COACOAC during the festival
Practicing scales with Helene, from the Away From Home documentary
He carried that band on his back (some highlights)
“This whole ‘Louis is the weakest one vocally’ is just a myth with little substance because his voice is absolutely pivotal to their overall sound.”
See what I mean. (SOML acapella)
Watch this performance of WMYB
Little Black Dress, with and without Louis
Rock Me, with and without Louis
THAT voice break in Better Than Words (live in concert, OTRA 2015)
The last chorus of Olivia
“Our guy Louis Tomlinson shines on Made In The A.M.”
This post, basically
This one too
And this, because it’s true
“He’s the link that holds One Direction together.”
It was always Louis
“Tomlinson’s reedy tenor is in especially fine form on ‘No Control’, punching out the chorus like the vocal equivalent of a pelvic thrust.” (x)
“Your voice makes One Direction sound so amazing” (here’s the original vine)
Always a fan favorite
This is just me appreciating fans appreciating him
Did I say he’s a fan favorite
A fan recorded the safety video from a July 2014 1D concert :)
On why Louis was quiet at bootcamp
“I feel much more confident. I’m very, very happy now.”
This technically should be in the video clips section but just listen to those screams.
“And he doesn’t even have a hard time singing it.”
“Raw, raw talent.”
“That’s on being a successful live performer.”
I agree, Ricky
“It was a moment of honesty and solidarity, and it was incredible.” - some thoughts on 1D covering FourFiveSeconds in the Live Lounge
Speaking of, here’s his solo from the cover
Reactions to BTY
Everyone loves Louis.
Let’s cry together shall we?
XFactor edition of Louis appreciation
Another royal version of this series
Your fav is definitely going to let you down. Not Louis tho xx
There you go. If you find any post that you think will fit this series (because I definitely plan on making more of these), send them my way! Either via my ask box, a DM, or directly to the Louis Projects tumblr ( @louisprojects ). Thank you so much @berlinini for beta-ing this and @28louistomlinson for making this last minute video compilation of Louis and Helene from the documentary that makes me want to bawl every time.