WE MADE IT PROMO
We have created a page on our blog dedicated to WMI and all promo. We will try to record every interview and will post individually, keeping a tagging system and linking in in this post so we all know when he’s going to be interviewed and where.
⤿ Listening party
↳ 24/10 - SIRIUSXMHITS 1 - WE MADE IT PREMIERE
↳ 25/10 - SIRIUSXMHITS 1 - PERFORMANCE + HANG OUT
↳ 25/10 - Elvis Duran Show
↳ 25/10 - Build Series
↳ 25/10 - Ryan Seacrest (both interviews)
↳ 25/10 - On Air With Jana
↳ 25/10 - Frankie and Jess show
↳ 25/10 - Entercom
↳ 25/10 - SAME AS ENTERCOM - RADIODOTCOM - Ask Anything
↳ 25/10 - KTU
↳ 28/10 - KIDDNATION
↳ 28/10 - SykeOnAir
↳ 28/10 - Late Late Show with James Corden
↳ 29/10 - Tyler Frye 104.1 KRBE
↳ 29/10 - Deanna Radio
↳ 29/10 - Jonathan on 1075
↳ 30/10 - Zach Sang
↳ 02/11 - Ask Anything
↳ 06/11 - Wired
↳ 06/11 - Billboard's Pop Shop Podcast
↳ TBA - Jojo Wright
↳ TBA - Mike Adam
Interviews
∟ Billboard
∟ MTV
∟Music Norway
∟ German magazine
∟ Times Of India
⤿ For audios, visit our audio tag.
⤿ Quotes from interviews
One Direction member’s debut solo album Walls is out in January
Oct 24th 2019
Louis Tomlinson has released a new single, “We Made It,” with an accompanying video.
The Britpop-tinged song sees Tomlinson reflecting on a struggling relationship, expressing pride in how they’ve made it through the hardships: “Hold your hand in mine/We’re never coming back down/We were just two kids trying to figure it out.”
In the music video, Tomlinson narrates a young couple overcoming an obstacle in their own relationship, set to a backdrop of summer-romance imagery: boardwalks at sunset, arcade games and more.
The One Direction member announced his debut solo album, Walls, earlier this week, making him the final 1D member to release a full-length solo project. (Tomlinson released his debut solo single, “Just Hold On” with Steve Aoki, in 2016.)
Zayn, who departed from the group in 2015, has released two solo albums so far, 2016’s Mind of Mine and 2018’s Icarus Falls. Harry Styles and Niall Horan both released debut solo albums in 2017, with an upcoming sophomore album from Styles on the horizon; he released a new single, “Lights Up,” earlier this month. Liam Payne announced that his full-length debut will be released this December.
Walls will drop January 31st, and to accompany the release, Tomlinson will embark on his first ever solo world tour. The North American leg of the tour will kick off June 9th, 2020, in Minneapolis, and will run through July 23rd with a final stop in Vancouver. Tickets go on sale to the general public on November 1st at 10:00 a.m. local time.
Louis Tomlinson 2020 North American Tour Dates
June 9 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Fillmore Minneapolis
June 10 – Chicago, IL @ The Chicago Theatre
June 12 – Toronto, ON @ Rebel
June 13 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
June 15 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues Boston
June 17 – New York, NY @ The Rooftop at Pier 17
June 19 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem
June 20 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore Philadelphia
June 22 – Atlanta, GA @ Coca-Cola Roxy
June 23 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
July 2 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore
July 6 – Indianapolis, IN @ Murat Theatre at Old National Centre
July 7 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
July 9 – Houston, TX @ Revention Music Center
July 10 – Austin, TX @ ACL Live at the Moody Theater
July 11 – Dallas, TX @ South Side Ballroom
July 13 – Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
July 14 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Sandy Amphitheatre
July 17 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
July 21 – Portland, OR @ Keller Auditorium
July 22 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
July 23 – Vancouver, BC @ Orpheum
“You can make the mistake of relying on the expertise around you when it’s important just to trust your gut - because nobody knows you better than yourself.” - musikknyheter.no
By Alyssa Nilsen
Published: 26.10.19
A lot has happened since Louis Tomlinson showed up at an audition for British talent show The X Factor in 2010. The resulting boyband One Direction didn’t win the competition but went on to become a worldwide phenomenon, earning the boys a loyal fanbase even after the band decided to go on a hiatus to explore solo-careers.
Since then, Tomlinson has released three stand-alone singles, ‘Just Hold On ’ with Steve Aoki, ‘Back To You ’ with Bebe Rexha and Digital Farm Animals, and the heartfelt ‘Miss You ’. Two years have passed since then, and now Tomlinson is back with a new style of music, new singles, and his debut solo album 'Walls’ on the way. This week, the single ‘We Made It ’ was released, a song written back in 2017 with personal lyrics and a relaxed Britpop feel to it. This is the third single from his forthcoming album, and for Tomlinson, releasing his solo music is a brand new experience.
“It’s completely different,” he says eagerly as he puts away his coat, fresh back in from a bit of fresh air and a lunch break between interviews. “It’s funny ‘cos I’ve got all this experience from the band, but it’s not the same at all!”
This time around, everything he does from writing to recording, making music videos and touring is different. It’s his own words, set to his own music, and done through his choices. But there was a time he wasn’t sure whether this was something he wanted to do. He wasn’t ready to go out and do stuff on his own, he wasn’t ready for the band to go on a hiatus, and the decision for it all to end threw him off balance. So when he decided to pursue a solo career, after all, he went for the music that was the most popular at the time — dance/pop crossovers. “It felt like the easiest way in,” he admits, explaining that the reason he chose to do features for the first few songs was that it gave him a bit of time to tread some water and figure out where he stood in the industry. “I needed that time to work out who I was and what I wanted,” he says, “but I was also making music that I thought I had to make, as opposed to the music I wanted to make.”
Breaking away from the safety of a band and going solo can be as emotionally confusing and tumultuous as breaking out from a long time relationship and being single again. You’re used to your band-persona and who you are as a part of a bigger puzzle, but once away from all that, you have to get to know yourself again and figure out who you are on your own.
Though he was often involved in writing sessions in the band as well, Tomlinson feels writing and creating music got a little bit more precise once it was just him. When writing for a band, you write music with four or five people in mind, it all has to relate to — and fit — them as well. Now, he can narrow it all down to only himself. Your own taste, your own preferences, and your own narrative. Having dropped the dance pop-feel of his initial singles for an indie-infused pop-rock style, Tomlinson's new music reflects his taste in music growing up. Being from the north of England, all the big northern bands had a profound influence on his life. “Like, the closest city to me is Sheffield, which Arctic Monkeys are from,” he says, “so that sound is massive there.”
His previous single, ‘Kill My Mind ’ was intended to be a bit of a statement of intent musically, setting it and him apart from what had been released before. Still, the decision to change his style wasn’t an easy one. He had a lot of industry people, songwriters and producers who didn’t really know him, trying to drag him into a slightly urban sound that he couldn’t relate to, but which is big in America. At one point he realised he’d had enough of those sessions and made the choice to take the reins himself. “I can either try and follow radio and follow the trends there, or I can just do what I love,” he says of the decision, “in the end I just had a word with myself and worked out what success meant to me. Now I just do what I love.”
Still, it took bravery to stand up for himself to the people who tried to steer him into their preferred direction. “You can make the mistake of relying on the expertise around you when, actually, I believe it’s really important just to trust your gut - because nobody knows you better than yourself.”
Going solo is challenging in more ways than just creatively and musically. In a band, you don’t know about all the gears that go into the massive machine you are a part of. Being on your own, it’s all a lot more intricate. “When you’re in a band like One Direction,” Tomlinson says, “we didn’t want for anything. We had everything that we needed.” He knew nothing about things like budget conversations and admits that coming face to face with such issues as a solo artist was a brand new concept for him. The learning curve has been steep, but Tomlinson feels like he’s always been learning as he goes along. “I used to think that I had… I used to get involved creatively in One Direction as well, but now when I look at it in hindsight, it’s nowhere near how much I have to be involved in every single detail.”
But challenges also makes success all the more rewarding, though even amazing experiences are different as a solo artist. A few days before our chat, Tomlinson had played a ten-song headline set in Madrid, Spain, his first-ever. “Other than musicians I played with onstage, it’s hard to explain to anyone what just happened,” he smiles, “as opposed to when you’re in a band and you’re all feeling the same thing. But it definitely makes it more rewarding when I look back on the show and I think about my influence on it. I feel like I’ve been leading up to that gig for as long as I’ve been solo.”
Another thing he’s currently working towards is the release of his debut solo album. He hopes to have it ut early next year and feel like it will be a relief to have it out and be able to tour with it. The album is mostly finished, all the writing is done and only a few more vocals need to be recorded, but after that, what remains is working out the order of the tracks and other details.
Out of the singles put out so far, not many will make it to the album. “The Steve Aoki song [‘Just Hold On ’] is an interesting one ‘cos the melody kinda leans to quite anthemic sounds, so we’re reproducing that to give it a bit more guitar and band-feel,” Tomlinson says, “so that will be on the album in a different version, but other than that, the last three are the only ones that will make it.” And for those eagerly awaiting the debut album, there are more treats on the way. “I’m hoping to release the next single six weeks after ‘We Made It,'” he smiles, “I’ll pretty much try and release music now in the run-up to the album in the new year.”
Leaning back in a comfy chair in the Sony Music offices in central London, Tomlinson is relaxed and cheerful, dressed in comfy all black clothes and chatting intermittently to his label crew. With a direct gaze and a cheeky smile, it’s hard to imagine him ever doubting himself or his own abilities. But when he speaks, there’s a certain vulnerability he’s not afraid of showing. Though experiencing massive success with numerous triumphs, he’s also gone through great losses, heartbreak and grief. And despite his young age and only just starting out as a solo artist, Tomlinson’s songs have unexpected depth and some seriously personal lyrics. The song ‘Two Of Us ’ was written about his late mother Johannah Deakin, who died of Leukemia in December 2016.
“I have a bit of a luxury that where I grew we wear our hearts on our sleeve,” he says, “it’s part of our make up, so it has always come naturally to me. But of course, that is a really tender subject, but since I have the luxury of being confident enough to be able to talk about these things, I think it’s also important to put that message out. Especially as a guy as well.”
“There was this girl at a meet & greet who had just lost her dad and she shared some really lovely words with me and that experience gives me goosebumps.” Experiences like that, he says, didn’t really happen in One Direction. They wrote some lovely love songs, but there was a real purpose to ‘Two Of Us ', and how people interpret the message and what it means to them is enormously special to Tomlinson.
“I want to be honest as a lyricist,” he says, “and sometimes talk about things that we maybe don’t always talk about. I think it’s important to get those messages out.”
As his solo career blooms, the singer tells MTV News about the 'middle ground' between the music he loves and what fans want
Oct 24th 2019
Louis Tomlinson is not Charlie Puth. That much should be clear to anyone who's ever heard their respective musical outputs — Puth's a silken crooner, while Tomlinson's earthy tenor elevated and energized the all-out rock numbers in One Direction's catalog. But that distinction wasn't necessarily clear to the American producers and songwriters he worked with after his band went on hiatus in 2016. After a while, Tomlinson said he grew tired of them nudging him toward a more R&B/pop-influenced sound as he began his own solo journey.
But he still gave it a try. He teamed up with Bebe Rexha and Steve Aoki for a pair of electronic-pop hits rooted in more contemporary trends. Then Tomlinson went quiet for a bit, popping back up earlier this year to share an epiphany. "I'm not here to compete with the likes of Drake and Ariana Grande," he wrote in a note shared on social media. "I'm here to make music I love and make my fans proud to say they're a fan."
This is the same artist who grew up loving Amy Winehouse and Arctic Monkeys on the radio, so it fits that his newest music sounds like a collection of polished guitars, big drums, and massive choruses that simply swallow you whole. "Guitar music is massive in the North of England," Tomlinson recently told MTV News, "so I think I'm always just trying to kind of find a middle ground between where I've come from and what I know the fans really want to hear."
On new single "We Made It," which dropped Thursday (October 24), Tomlinson even makes a point to make the difference explicit: "Singing something poppy on the same four chords / Used to worry 'bout it, now I don't no more." In other words, this is who Louis Tomlinson is — after a few years of soul searching and weathering personal tragedy — and this is him giving it to you on his own terms. "I was kind of making music for other people and kind of relying too much on other people's opinions," he said. "So I was kind of trying to reflect that in that verse."
"We Made It" is the third taste of Tomlinson's upcoming debut studio album, Walls, due out January 31, 2020. He led off this year with "Two of Us," a heartrending ode to his late mother, and followed it up in September with the Britpop-channeling "Kill My Mind." In that video, Tomlinson fronts a band onstage at a club, bathed in crimson light — a proper rock-star (re)arrival. The song's distorted guitars and surging pop-rock sound found Tomlinson closer to childhood radio favorites in Oasis than on anything since "No Control," a beloved One Direction cut he co-wrote and sings lead on. "I tell you what: I'm forever getting pressure online to perform 'No Control' when I come around to doing my tour," he said, "so I probably will put it in the setlist."
He should. His "Kill My Mind" band setup wasn't just a construct for the video; Tomlinson's got a group of musicians backing him up to make every TV performance and venue gig as live an experience as possible, something he said is important to him. As he revealed this week, he's got a 43-date world tour ahead of him in 2020, the first time he's ever hit the road as a solo artist.
It makes sense that he'd want to be backed up by a live band: This is a guy who spent the earliest part of our phone call praising "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor." ("Every time I hear it, it makes me feel good. I fucking love that song.") He also shouted out Sam Fender, Gerry Cinnamon, DMA's, and Catfish and the Bottlemen, despite their testy history with Tomlinson's previous band. "Absolutely love them, which is quite ironic because they did once chat some shit about One Direction," he said. "So I went off them for about 18 months, and then they came out with a new album, which was sick."
Tomlinson's not a rock god in the "We Made It" clip. In his words, it's a "more cinematic" video than "Kill My Mind" and acts as a continuation of the loose story introduced in the latter. He's not the protagonist, a fact he seems to revel in, and acts more as as a Greek chorus haunting the fringes of a doomed love story. Tomlinson filmed it with director Charlie Lightening at an English seaside arcade and boardwalk. By the end, there's another tease: yet more to the star-crossed twin leads' love tale, to be told in Tomlinson's next video.
Though he's not the focal point of the visual, "We Made It" finds Tomlinson singing some of his most personal lyrics yet. Here, he digs into his perceptions of his own past a bit removed from the initial whirlwind. It's hard to hear the line "don't know why they put all of this on us while we're so young" as anything but a direct nod to his six years spent in the biggest boy band of the 2010s, a time he's since been open about. "When we were trying to write for One Direction, we were trying to write things that relate more to four or five guys in the band, so naturally [the songs are] a little more general and little bit less specific," he said. It's easy to feel, say, the lovelorn haze in "Fireproof" because of how widescreen the lyrics go.
But writing a Louis Tomlinson solo song? Where every note and word will be attached to only one voice, one face, and one name? "I'm much more of a perfectionist," he admits. On these early singles, ahead of the forthcoming full story on Walls, we've finally gotten to hear what that sounds like.
