NIALL HORAN The Show | Snapshot of his 30 years

Yes, it is Horan’s most mature composition to date and he is aware of that:

The last time I wrote an album I did less thinking. You don’t in your early 20s, you don’t think too much at all […] I think with pandemics and relationships and things like that, you subconsciously grow as a person. And then production wise and what I’m saying [lyrically], it just sounds like something that a 30-year-old would release. Not a youthful version of what I did before.

The Show includes 10 songs that represent a lot of songwriting effort and a lot of introspection. It’s 10 on purpose, because Niall didn’t want people to say, “I’m on 15, when does it end?“, he wanted people to say, “It’s finished! I’m going to listen to it again“.

The lead single from the album is ‘Heaven‘. The cut from ‘The Show’ that Niall had the hardest time writing, but which put him at the top of the charts in eight countries.

Niall Horan

Niall Horan, who turns 30 in 2023, after the greatest of successes with his One Direction bandmates, and after 2 good solo albums, ‘Flicker’ and ‘Heartbreak Weather’, achieves in this third album the most remarkable mix of songs of his career:

1. Heaven: Horan said of this track, “One thing I’ve learned over the years is that society loves to pressure us to reach certain milestones at a certain age. Whether it’s getting married or anything else that really should be based on our own instincts. As I got older, I tried to let go of those expectations and just follow my heart.“
2. If You Leave Me: If his girlfriend leaves him, his world would fall apart. When Niall showed the song to his partner Amelia Woolley she was shocked 😲
3. Meltdown: The first up-tempo track on The Show, it’s about anxiety and panic, though it does so in a way that invites us to move: “when it all melts down, I’ll be there“.
4. Never Grow Up: A beautiful song with a beautifully expressed message: “May our love last!“
5. The Show: The first phrase he wrote for the album was: “life is like a board game some of the time“. Thus begins another magnificent song that invites us to embrace life, however difficult it may be.
6. You Could Start A Cult: When you tell someone “you could start a war or two, kingdoms fightin’ over you“; you’ve said it all.
7. Save My Life: A very cool, danceable midtempo track in which Horan wants to save our lives with a fantastic saxophone. I love saxophones in songs 🎷!
8. On A Night Like Tonight: Midsummer night’s dream song. Awesome!
9. Science: Ballad for anyone who’s suffering.
10. Must Be Love: Catchy chorus, with a choir that grows and grows, making you join in and not want the album to end.