Louis Tomlinson (Doncaster, United Kingdom, 33 years old) is well aware of the inconveniences of his jobbut he also knows what it’s like to touch the sky as a 19-year-old young man. For just over five years he was part of One Direction, one of the Boy bands the most successful in history (they sold 70 million records during their active period), but he soon had to learn to fly alone. A challenge that has taken almost a decade to get used to, shaped by Doubts, losses and self-knowledge. Now he is experiencing a moment that he realizes is one of the happiest of his life. On January 23rd he will release his third studio album, How did I get here? a statement of intent about what he wants his musical career to look like.
To promote this new stage, the British singer undertook a small tour of European countries, including Spain, where he reunited with his followers at an intimate event where they could hear the first five songs of the album. During the short visit to Madrid, which lasted barely two days, Tomlinson met with The country to talk about his personal growth, his time in One Direction and the burden of fame.
Finding a place in the industry isn’t easy, especially when you’ve struggled with grief for years. His mother Johannah died in 2016 To 43 years old due to leukemia; his little sister Felicité died in 2019 at the age of 18 because of an accidental overdose; and be companion of One Direction Liam Payne died in 2024 at the age of 31 after falling from the balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires. Now leave this phase of darkness and loss behind to begin a more positive one. “I realized that feelings like that are contagious and the more I enjoy it, the more it reaches my fans. This whole album is a breath of fresh air, but it also has depth and emotion.” Healing was fundamental to him, even more so when he is also the composer of his music: “When you feel bad, you write emotional songs; and when you feel good, you write happy songs. I had to wait for things to change.” He continues: “I’m not someone who gets depressed easily or has a bad mood.”
He says he felt impostor syndrome from the start of his career. “I’m always striving to improve. I never received any musical training, I didn’t play any instruments… and one day I auditioned X factor and here I am now. Psychologically, it’s difficult to accept where you are.” Hence the title of their third album, with a question: “How Did I Get Here?” “It’s more of an admiration for the situation.” I don’t care about the answer to that. I could overanalyze how I got here, but here I am.”
Although One Direction was the experience that gave him everything, he also feels that it wasn’t a walk in the park: “It was very intense. But that’s what happens when you do something like that at a young age, when you have a natural resistance. I can’t imagine going through that process now, and if I started now it would be pretty intimidating. There are a lot of things, like fame, that I could do without; but I couldn’t do my concerts if I wasn’t famous… So that’s bullshit.”
After four albums, Zayn Malik announced his departure from the group in 2015, a farewell that would mark the beginning of the end for One Direction. “It was a struggle. I had a hard time getting over the idea and it surprised me. I had never thought about the possibility of going alone. Now I realize how naive I was for thinking we would stay in one direction forever. That made the idea of going alone even more intimidating because I was still coming to terms with the fact that it no longer existed.” The band gave him the visibility a project like his required, but at a high price. “The worst part was being surrounded by success. It’s like there’s so much light in this job that you completely miss a very important part of life. It’s about surrounding yourself with the right people, but also with normality,” he explains.
As the composer of his songs, he cannot prevent his personal life from becoming the inspiration he needs for this musical process. “I’ve almost admitted defeat. I’ve been in the public eye since I was 19, and in those circumstances you don’t have much privacy. I’ve always tended to exploit my honesty and vulnerability. My fans think they know me very well, and to a certain extent they do, but my albums are more of an opportunity for them to see what’s going on in my head rather than being limited to their perception of what I am,” he argues.
On surviving the untimely deaths of his mother, sister and One Direction bandmate Liam Payne, he says: “You have to live with these things. There is no preparation for what my family and I have been through.” He added: “I was lucky because that’s how I was brought up. “I’m someone who doesn’t find it difficult to talk about my feelings and that certainly helps when you’re going through something like that.”
Now he just wants to focus on the release of his next album and the international tour that will take place in 2026 (he will travel through Barcelona on April 12th and Madrid on April 13th). “This is the album I’ve always deserved and I’m the artist I’ve always deserved to be. There were times in One Direction that were difficult and that I struggled with. But now that I have the opportunity to express myself individually, I’m grateful that they put me in this situation.” He is clear about what success means to him: “I believe that I am worthy of these big stages. I know that I am, but there will be concerts where I will question that.”
Acknowledge that you made mistakes, but also that you learned from them. Every stone along the way has taught him lessons that he has already put into practice and that help him be the artist that he is. “I read a quote that said that sometimes you don’t have time to figure out why the answer is no, but if your gut tells you no, you can figure it out later and analyze that information. But if you have a gut feeling about something, it’s probably right. I would tell myself to trust my gut feeling a little more.”
The interview ends and he leaves the room of the luxury hotel where he is staying, accompanied by his large team. To the chagrin of his supporters, he is not seen on the streets of Madrid.
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