Three years ago, Louis Tomlinson finally decided he was going to write the album that he ‘always deserved to make’.
Growing up as one fifth of the biggest boy band on the planet, pursuing a solo career was a daunting prospect for the former One Direction star.
When Zayn Malik sensationally quit the group in 2015, Louis, 34, was ‘mortified’ and left ‘grieving’ as the juggernaut that had brought him fame – and a fortune of £51million – screeched to a halt.
Continuing as a musician alone was a prospect he found ‘really f***ing scary’, he admitted, as he grappled with intense self-doubt.
There followed his debut studio album Walls in 2020 – which was met with muted enthusiasm from critics – and then Faith in the Future came in 2022. Although his second album reached No 1 in the UK, none of the three singles managed to crack the top 30 in the charts.
But his third solo album, he insisted, was going to be different.
Older, more mature, and later settled in a relationship with former Love Island star Zara McDermott, 29, Louis finally found a sense of peace and stability.
Over three years from 2023, he jetted between Costa Rica and Los Angeles with a team of more than eight songwriters and his new girlfriend in tow – and set about making a record that would allow him, at last, ‘to be the artist I always wanted to be’.
In short: an established musician no longer defined by his past in One Direction.
The members of One Direction in 2013, from left, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne and Harry Styles
Louis, 34, attends Payne’s funeral at St Mary’s church in Amersham in November 2024
Harry, left, arrived at the service for his former bandmate alongside TV presenter James Corden
As the eldest member, Louis was often pushed into the background during the band’s heyday. He was viewed by fans as the ‘cheeky’ one, while his bandmates, the late Liam Payne and Niall Horan, were the more ‘gentle’ ones. But the spotlight always shone brightest on their more charismatic bandmate, Harry Styles.
Harry immediately found his feet after the collapse of One Direction, signing a huge record deal with Columbia – who represented One Direction – in 2016. His career went from strength to strength with multiple Grammy and Brit awards.
Looking back at that time, Louis told Billboard last week: ‘Usually, there’s one or two people from a band that really prosper – but not many more than that.
‘I always knew Harry was going to go on to do what he’s done – I’m sure he’s superseded his own expectations in the way that he’s taken over the world, but we knew he’s got everything it takes to be a great artist.
‘And Niall, I had a good feeling about too – he’s Irish, he’s lovely, everyone loves him.’
And this week, it appears there still isn’t enough room at the top for three of them.
In a bitter twist of timing reminiscent of their days in One Direction, the looming presence of Styles has once again overshadowed Louis’ big moment.
Styles, 31, broke his near four-year musical hiatus last Friday by releasing a new single – on the exact same day Tomlinson’s album – called How Did I Get Here? – dropped.
An insider said that Harry ‘has no loyalty to Louis as it stands’ and that the pair are not friends
Harry, who is worth a staggering £175million, announced release of Aperture last Tuesday, a single ahead of a new album due in March.
As expected, he broke the internet: within two hours, his Instagram post had racked up more than five million likes.
Louis, meanwhile, took to X with a personal plea. He told fans: ‘Going to need your help over the next few days to cut through the noise. Time to give this record the moment it deserves!’
Fans rushed to insist that, far from a dig at Harry, the comment was aimed at album leaks that had surfaced days earlier online. But those close to the band say the comment could easily have been a direct dig at Louis’s former bandmate.
‘They are not friends,’ one insider told me. ‘Yes, they will forever be bonded by the band, and all that happened, but that is in the past.
‘Harry has no loyalty to Louis as it stands, and it’s safe to say this whole song release has p***ed Louis off.
‘The last thing he wanted was to compete with Harry on his big day. It feels like history repeating itself.’
Louis later revealed, during an appearance on American host Elvis Duran’s radio show, that he had no idea Harry would be releasing music the same day.
Since 2023 Louis has travelled between Costa Rica and Los Angeles with eight songwriters and his girlfriend Zara McDermott while recording his latest album
During the promotional interview, the host said: ‘Harry Styles, we’re playing that this morning. So you didn’t know that was coming out?’
Wringing his hands and with a forced smile, Louis replied: ‘I didn’t actually.’
He then added, stuttering slightly, ‘I found out a couple of days ago.’
The conversation swiftly moved on. There were no words of praise for his former bandmate – or indeed any indication he had even listened to Harry’s track.
Today, while Louis remains close to Zayn Malik – the pair having been part of a ‘bit of a trio’ with Payne – there seems to be little love lost between them and Harry.
The band have only been in the same room twice since One Direction officially split in January 2016, ten months after Zayn, 33, quit.
The first meeting was in November 2016 – a moment that proved a devastating blow to any hope of reconciliation.
Following the death of Tomlinson’s mother from leukaemia, Simon Cowell issued a ‘three-line whip’, ordering Harry and Liam to attend The X Factor studios to support him during his solo performance.
Both were reportedly ‘fuming’ about the order, but flew in from the US regardless. They refused to go on stage, however, opting instead for a brief private meeting in Louis’s dressing room.
The next was at Liam Payne’s funeral at St Mary’s Church in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, in November 2024, after the singer died aged 31 from falling from a balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Louis, who had been fiercely protective of Liam since meeting him on The X Factor 15 years ago, has dedicated a song, Dark to Light, about him on his new album.
At the funeral, however, Louis steered clear of Harry, sticking close to Zayn while Styles arrived with friends James Corden and producer Ben Winston.
More recently, when the Brits committee asked the former bandmates to reunite at last year’s ceremony at London’s O2 Arena to pay tribute to Liam, the answer was still a firm no.
Relations had deteriorated to the point where, as one source put it, ‘there’s no way they would get back on stage, even Liam’s death wasn’t enough’.
One insider told me: ‘It was so important for Louis to continue making his own music and, yet again, his name is being put alongside Harry’s. It’s disappointing for him.’
Louis himself admitted last week that while he has come to accept what happened to One Direction, there is still some ‘anger’ – ‘just not as much’.
Perhaps Harry’s threat, albeit unintentional, to eclipse his big moment will change that.