A Solo Direction for Niall Horan

By AARON KREIN
Arts Editor

Last Thursday, the Internet received a morning surprise from One Direction’s Niall Horan, who released his debut solo single, “This Town.” It will be the lead single to his upcoming debut album under his new contract with Capital Records.

Horan’s release follows Zayn Malik’s solo debut last March with his number-one single, “Pillowtalk.” The single was preceded by the number-one album, “Mind of Mine.”

Malik, who left the group after their fourth album, signed to RCA. Horan is also label mates with Liam Payne, who announced his signing last July. Harry Styles signed a solo deal with the group’s label, Columbia. Louis Tomlinson, who recently welcomed a baby boy into the world, is the only member of One Direction to not (as of yet) receive a solo record deal.

Horan, known for being the adorable Irish one in the band, has always been the one member to frequently play instruments while touring with the group. That’s why his guitar ballad doesn’t come as surprise.

From the production of the song to the timbre of his vocals, it sounds like the physically impossible love child of Phillip Phillips and Passenger. It’s the kind of track Adult Contemporary radio will eat up if released properly. However, Horan won’t have to worry about that while his single currently ranks within the top five on the iTunes Songs Chart.

Lyrically, Horan speaks of a former love that is now seeing another man. Throughout the tune, he talks of all the things that remind him of her in “this old town.” A song about being jealous of someone who is taken isn’t new territory for Horan. Deeps cuts like “I Wish,” “More Than This,” and “Heart Attack” tackled the subject on One Direction’s first two studio albums. The topic is also popular on the airwaves with Shawn Mendes’ recent top ten hit, “Treat You Better.” Whether Capital Records and his management put that into consideration, we’ll never know.

As a fan of the boy band, I was never sure if Horan was ever going to gain a solo deal. Just like Tomlinson, they both have distinctive voices and fewer parts than the other three on their tracks, with the exception of the last album. However, their voices always seemed nice in a group but I wasn’t sure if they were capable of delivering decent music on their own.

Despite this being a pretty safe paint-by-numbers choice for a first single, Horan proved me wrong. I’m very interested what Horan has up his sleeve for his inaugural set as well as Styles and Payne.