NIALL HORAN - THE SHOW
Written By: Kenzie Gay
Thirteen years ago, Niall Horan was sixteen years old and starting up with his band One Direction; consisting of himself, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, and Harry Styles. Fast forward to 2023, Louis is travelling the world on his Faith In The Future tour, Liam has a song that’s surpassed 942 million streams, Zayn has released a song honoring Jimi Hendrix’s Angel, and Harry Styles has been honored with the title of the New King of Pop since Michael Jackson. As for Niall, he has just dropped his second solo album titled The Show along with a string of tour dates for the LP.
“All ten songs have their special meanings to me and I hope they can all have meaning in your lives.” The irish musician wrote in an Instagram post on June 8th. “Hopefully you get to the end and want to go straight back to the start and do it all over again.” He finished. This ten song collection of music has many past and present fans eager to see what this new creation will bring for the young artist.
Track #1: Heaven
Heaven was one of the few singles released before the actual album, dropping in mid-February just after Valentine’s Day. The three minute song begins with a choral assembly of Horan’s own vocals followed by a heavy bassline that falls into the rest of the joining sound elements. Aside from the indie-like instrumentals, the lyricsim of Heaven discusses love (as per usual). A line in particular that placed Heaven on the charts says “And even if our love starts to grow out of control and you and me go up in flames, Heaven won’t be the same” (Chorus).
Track #2: If You Leave Me
Yet another song that is kicked off with a groovy bassline is If You Leave Me. This song in particular has a more pop-centered singing style from Horan that consists of ballad-like vocalizations. The piece’s writing focuses on love yet again but this time it teeters on the lines of love and mania. “If you leave me oh, I think that I just might lose it completely, yeah. And if you leave me hope you know that you’re sentencing me to life on my knees” (Chorus) is a line that really outlines the basis of If You Leave Me.
Track #3: Meltdown
Meltdown is one of the other singles that was released in late April, being described as “a song about feeling anxious and being in that kind of freaking out moment but knowing deep down that everything will be alright” by Horan himself in an Instagram post from April 13th. To many of his listeners that struggle with internal panic, the writing hit home with lines such as “Talking to yourself in the bathroom. Losing your mind in the mirror like you have to. Screaming in your car in the driveway. Spinning out, think your life’s going sideways. One broken glass turns to total collapse. Just know this too shall pass” (Verse 1) and “Every star falls don’t you worry at all. When it all melts down I’ll be there” (Bridge). Fans have applauded the musician for being real in his writing, choosing to pick from personal experience rather than an outside perspective.
Track #4: Never Grow Up
A refreshing sound element in Never Grow Up is that of the synth and electric guitar, which have been background instrumentals until this point on The Show. It conveys the song as upbeat and high energy despite its melancholic lyrics that discuss aging and personal growth amongst friends. “Hope we grow old but we never grow up” is the main mantra of this piece and from the looks of it, many loyal listeners have even had the line tattooed.
Track #5: The Show
On any album, the song it’s named after HAS to be extraordinary; it is a must. The Show holds up this rule explicitly, knocking it out of the park lyrically and instrumnetally. Unlike the prior four songs, The Show is slower and more of a hymn with the piano as its central instrument. The song talks of life and its ups and downs with stanzas saying “Life is like a dance floor some of the time. Dancing with the stars every night. And gravity comes and wraps her arms around you again. It’s all fun and games until the party ends” (Verse 2) amongst other things.
Track #6: You Could Start A Cult
A much more folk-esque piece on this LP is You Could Start A Cult. Despite it’s funny titling, it does fit the wordplay Horan uses in the song. He describes how in love he is and that he’d follow his lover to the ends of the earth, including to a cult if it meant they were leading it. The subtle distortion of his acoustic guitar drives the simple artistry home that really has come to be the Niall Horan signature and the bluesy harmonica adds a great touch as well.
Track #7: Save My Life
After You Could Start A Cult, Save My Life picks up listeners with a much more speedy and fun tone via the electric guitar and steady drum beat. It’s a song fit for the summertime and “main character moments” as many have described, being about how love brings light and meaning to people’s lives when they least expect it.
Track #8: On A Night Like Tonight
Horan’s vocals are much whispier in On A Night Like Tonight to build onto the poetic technique of his songwriting. “On a night like tonight are we just two stars passing by? Wanting your summer skin pressed on mine, wanna know what your loving feels like” (Chorus) is just one of the several examples in the piece that this 29 year old popstar is more than just “the blonde guy from One Direction”.
Track #9: Science
Arguably the saddest track on The Show is Science. Carried by the piano and vocal harmonies, the song holds an unexplainable sort of despair as Horan sings “When you feel there’s nothing left. Oh, there’s a heart beating in your chest. And when you're running from the flood oh you’ve got nowhere left to run. It’s just science” (Chorus). Several videos on the social platform, Tiktok, have been uploaded of fans sobbing to the lines and praising Niall for his work as a wordsmith.
Track #10: Must Be Love
The closing song on The Show is one that truly checks all the boxes and ends the new album on the highest of notes with its impressive instrumentals and undeniable beat. Must Be Love possess not only commendable vocal fashion and tone but also the ability to make anyone get up on their feet whether it's raining or shining. The song has a nostalgic tone especially to his Gen Z audience and what more could we ask for?
The Show was dropped on June 9th but two of the ten songs are already Niall Horan’s top streamed pieces. This album has showcased the creditable talent he has in arenas of singing, composing, and musicianship as a whole. People are only getting more excited for his upcoming tour and further projects down the road, thrilled to see him rise just as his old bandmates have.
To listen to The Show, visit this link!
To follow Niall on Instagram for updates and content, visit this link.
For the few remaining tickets for his tour, visit here!