Louis Tomlinson probably could not have imagined the headlines to come when he jokingly dissed One Direction’s debut album while appearing on a podcast.
The singer was on Smallzy’s Surgery when host Kent 'Smallzy' Small pointed out they met 11 years ago. Tomlinson noted another anniversary. “Twelve years today the band got formed, actually,” he said, referring to One Direction.
When Smalllzy said “so I was a year late to the party,” Tomlinson quipped: “First album was s**t anyway.”
One Direction’s 2011 album Up All Night spawned the hit “What Makes You Beautiful” and propelled the group – which had been formed on The X Factor – to global fame.
While on the podcast, Tomlinson said he enjoyed making his forthcoming sophomore album “20 times” more than his 2020 debut Walls.
“There’s still pressure for me to deliver a good record but there was just so many different opinions on the first album and me trying to find my feet coming out of a band the size of One Direction,” he explained. “So I feel like I’ve been able to look at this record with a bit more clarity.”
Appearing on Australian morning show Sunrise, Tomlinson said he’d be “gutted” if there is no One Direction reunion.
“What’s the impossible question to answer is when. I’ve got no idea,” he said, “but I’d be really, really surprised if one day we didn’t. It would be a waste.”