Oh, poor blessed boy Louis Tomlinson.
The former One Directioner – well, I guess they’re all former One Directioners now – had a profile come out in The Guardian over the weekend, and it’s a brutal assessment of both his value in the boy band and his chances of succeeding as a solo artist.
Journalist Tom Lamont describes it as such:
“Harry Styles – charming, a grinner – was best placed to succeed on his own. Big-lunged Zayn Malik was already out of the band by that time and had used his head start to good effect, preparing a solo album that went to No 1. Liam Payne and Niall Horan – always second-tier members – were given middling chances. And ranked last in any serious analysis, the most fitfully appreciated member of One Direction, was Louis Tomlinson.”
Later, Tomlinson describes himself as “forgettable, to a certain degree”, despite being at the centre of a very real conspiracy theory that his baby Freddie is fake and he’s actually been with Harry this whole time.
But here – this is how he talks about his former bandmates.
“The others have always been… Like Niall, for example. He’s the most lovely guy in the world. Happy-go-lucky Irish, no sense of arrogance. And he’s fearless. There are times I’ve thought: ‘I’d have a bit of that.’ Zayn, back in the day. He could relate to me on a nerves level. In the first year we were both the least confident. But Zayn has a fantastic voice and for him it was always about owning that. Liam always had a good stage presence, same as Harry, they’ve both got that ownership. Harry comes across very cool. Liam’s all about getting the crowd going, doing a bit of dancing…”
“And then there’s you,” says Lamont.
“And then there’s me.”
The entire interview is a searingly candid piece that shows a young man not quite sure of how he ended up here. He talks about how he was finally coming into his own on stage when the band split up (not his decision), about how his mum dying of cancer in 2016 felt like his luck at landing a spot in 1D was running out, and his guilt at having never worked as hard as some but getting filthy rich anyway.
“I know, I know it sounds ungrateful. But I think about a man, on a nine-to-five, working his arse off for six months so he can go to his family and say: ‘Guys, I’m taking you to Disneyland.’ That moment… I’ll never have that in my family life. And I’ve worked hard. But I’ve never worked hard, not like that.”
Since the profile came out, his fans are falling over themselves to give the man a much-needed virtual hug.
Top 3 things Louis Tomlinson shouldn’t think:
1 That he’s the least popular bandmate
2 That he *has* to do something
3 That he isn’t special— Stats Britain (@StatsBritain) June 25, 2017
Louis Tomlinson deserves more recognition ?? pic.twitter.com/Iu8dJtPo7h
— • (@opfavestyles) June 25, 2017
#LouisWeLoveYou
Louis Tomlinson love you.
Louis, you’re the most incredible person in the world, you’re our smiling boy. pic.twitter.com/tLZCjz3Dwh— Andrea Tomlinson (@AndyTomlinson91) June 25, 2017
It makes me so sad that he thinks that…we all love him so much but its he is so underrated?? cant wait for his album ??
— LANDI (@horanseuphoria) June 25, 2017
But tbh, it looks like Tomlinson is mostly focused on his new single ‘Back To You’, coming soon.
Got a good feeling about this one ??
— Louis Tomlinson (@Louis_Tomlinson) June 24, 2017
Read the full profile HERE.
Photo: Stephen Lovekin / Getty.
