Niall Horan responds to Harry Styles' BRITs acceptance speech
Harry thanked his One Direction bandmates
Last updated 17th Feb 2023
The fantastic Niall Horan joined Fleur East, James Barr and Matt on Hits Radio Breakfast to talk about his brand new song 'Heaven' and THAT BRITs acceptance speech, where Harry Styles thanked his former One Direction bandmates, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik and of course Niall.
Joining us from Los Angeles via Zoom, the singer who has also revealed this week that his new album will be called 'The Show', opened up about the inspiration behind his new music, the kiss between Harry and Lewis Capaldi, and the now infamous speech.
Niall Horan responds to Harry Styles' BRITs speech
We just had to ask Niall how it felt to hear Harry, who picked up all four BRIT Awards he was nominated for, thank the band that started his music career.
"Yeah, it was really cool, really cool to get a mention," Niall told Fleur. "We’ve been on that stage together winning an award before and now it’s Harold’s turn on his own, so appreciate the thanks."
Fleur responded to Niall calling him Harold saying: "Harold's turn!", with James continuing: "I love that you call him Harold. You're like Meghan and Harry over here."
Niall then opened up about the BRITs kiss between Harry and Lewis Capaldi, joking: "It’s been a tough few days, but I’m sure there’s a song in it, so I’m going to stay quiet and then come out with a big ballad!"
What is the inspiration behind 'Heaven' by Niall Horan?
The conversation then turned to the singer's new song 'Heaven' which we're playing on Hits Radio. Niall opened up about the inspiration behind the song saying: "I just started singing that chorus in the studio one night, like one o’clock in the morning... What does that match up to in my life?
"We're kinda told to kinda hit like all these milestones like through past generations and society or whatever. You have to have this career by that age, you have to get married at that age, you have to do this at this age.
"I’ve always been a bit of a person that kind of just lives in the moment, type people. Does things in my own time and I feel like we should all kind of be like that, a little bit."
'Heaven' is out now and you can hear it on Hits Radio.
How to listen to Hits Radio Breakfast
You can listen to the Hits Radio Breakfast show with Fleur East, James Barr and Matt every weekday morning from 6am.
When was Niall Horan on Hits Radio Breakfast?
Niall was on Hits Radio Breakfast on 17th February, the interview is replayed on Saturday 18th February as part of Saturday Morning with Fleur East.
Take a look through Niall Horan's amazing career:
Early life
Niall James Horan was born in Mullingar, Ireland on 13th September 1993. His parents, Bobby Horan and Maura Gallagher, divorced when he was five. He also has a brother Greg.
2010: X Factor audition
In 2010, Niall, who was 16 at the time, auditioned for The X Factor where he sang Neyo's 'So Sick' for the judges. He was then put through to bootcamp but failed to get through — well, until Nicole Scherzinger decided Niall and four other boys (Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and the late Liam Payne) were too good to let go. One Direction was officially born.
2010-2015: One Direction global stardom
Following their inception on The X Factor, One Direction went on to become the biggest boyband on the planet, releasing five studio albums and winning over 200 awards worldwide.
The group also achieved four UK Number 1 songs, including tracks 'What Makes You Beautiful', 'Little Things', 'One Way Or Another' and 'Drag Me Down'.
2016: One Direction hiatus
In 2015, Zayn Malik shocked the world when he decided to leave the group. However, the four boys continued without him until 2015, when they released their last album, 'Made In The AM', before deciding to go on an 'indefinite hiatus' in early 2016.
Niall then decided to go backpacking around the world with his two cousins. He told Graham Norton: "I wanted to do it properly so we did it on a budget. All of my friends got to do it when I was travelling the world in a different way, so I thought it's only fair that I get to do it, too."
Niall returned to the spotlight later in 2016 and played in Soccer Aid where he was reunited with bandmate Louis Tomlinson (although in different teams). Inspired by his love of golf, Niall also founded Modest! Golf, a golf management company that also puts on a yearly tournament and is often seen at golf events around the world.
2017: Niall goes solo
After One Direction, Niall signed a record deal with Capitol Records and in 2017 released his first solo single 'This Town' — which has since been certified 2x Platinum. He later released his first album, 'Flicker', which debuted at Number 1 in Ireland and the US.
His new sound was inspired by The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac, with Niall saying: "Whenever I would pick up a guitar, I would always naturally play chords like that, and finger pick a lot and play that folky kind of style."
2018: Niall performs with Taylor Swift at Wembley
Niall has made A LOT of celebrity friends over the years, including the one and only Taylor Swift — who invited him on stage to sing with her in 2018 during her 'Reputation' stadium tour. He has even called her 'just one of the greatest songwriters of her generation.' So cute.
Also that year, Niall revealed that he has 'mild obsessive compulsive disorder' and suffers from anxiety. He opened up in an interview with German magazine ZEIT LEO, saying: "I feel like I have to do things in a certain way. For example, if I have a burger with chips on my plate, I always have to eat the chips first and only pick up the burger at the very end."
Niall went on to share how OCD has impacted his performance: "Even when I go on stage, I only have one fixed sequence. I always have to sing in the same order, move and so on." He explained that he practises a breathing technique before he goes on stage to cope with anxiety called 'box breathing'.
2019: Niall performs with his pal Lewis Capaldi
Niall and Lewis Capaldi's friendship is everything we need and more. Ever since Lewis burst onto the music scene in 2019, Niall has been full of support for the Scottish singer. In March 2018, Niall slid into Lewis' DMs after hearing some of his music and a beautiful friendship was born. They've even performed together on a few occasions.
2020: Niall releases his second album Heartbreak Weather
After a year out, Niall released lead singles 'Nice To Meet Ya', 'Put A Little Love On Me' and 'No Judgement', from his second album 'Heartbreak Weather' — released in March 2020. However, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, Niall had to postpone his 'Nice To Meet Ya tour'.
2021: Niall and Anne-marie release Our Song
What a dream team! In May 2021, Niall and singer Anne-Marie teamed up on anthem 'Our Song'. The track has since been certified Platinum.
Also in 2021, Niall was a guest host on US chat show Jimmy Kimmel: Live where he performed a hilarious monologue and chatted to guest Lizzo and Jonas Brothers.
2022: Niall releases Homecoming: The Road To Mullingar with Lewis Capaldi
In October 2022, Niall and BFF Lewis Capaldi provided us with the ultimate collab — no, not music, but in fact a documentary, following the pair as they head on a road trip together. They started out at Belfast City Airport before they engulfed themselves in the landscape of Ireland.
The series is available to watch on Amazon Prime, and it's fair to say it's full of laughs.
2023: Niall releases his third album 'The Show' and singles 'Heaven' and 'Meltdown'
Niall Horan released his comeback song 'Heaven' on 17th February 2023. He also released his third solo album 'The Show' — which dropped on 9th June 2023 — and second single from the album, 'Meltdown'. He said it was about: "That panicky moment of feeling a little bit anxious and not sure if you're going to get out of it." The album consists of 10 tracks, and was certified Platinum by the BPI in May 2024, translating to over 600,000 albums sales in the UK alone - phwoar!
Niall previously announced his plans to release new music in 2022. Sharing a video of himself announcing the news, he said: "I'm back! I've got new music coming in the new year, that I'm really, really proud of. I appreciate you being so patient with me, while I've done it". He also added: "I have a whole new album too, and something that I've wanted to do forever is festivals... and I've never really had the opportunity to do it, so I think we will be announcing some festivals in the next couple of days and weeks and months, for next year, which I'm really excited about".
2024: Niall heads on 'The Show Live On Tour'
Niall went on a massive world tour, entitled 'The Show Live On Tour' in 2024 — which included several UK dates. He started in Belfast on Wednesday 21st February 2024. Due to popular demand, extra dates were added.
2025: Niall Horan joined Shawn Mendes on stage and collaborates with Thomas Rhett
In August 2025, Niall joined Shawn Mendes while he was on his 'On The Road Again' tour in London. After welcoming Niall on stage, the pair sang Niall's debut solo song 'This Town' much to their fans' delight.
Also in 2025, Niall Horan and country music star Thomas Rhett released a song called 'Old Tricks'. The song, which was released on Friday 17th October is a country song, originally recorded with Thomas Rhett and Blake Shelton for Thomas' album 'About a Woman'.
2025 also saw the release of a new version of Niall's 2020 second solo album 'Heartbreak Weather'. The album featured live versions of his songs and some new tracks.
2026: Niall releases his first solo music in three years — plus collab with Myles Smith
In March 2026, Niall released his first solo music in three years. The song called 'Dinner Party' is about the first time he met his girlfriend. Chatting to Hits Radio, he told them: "I met my girlfriend at a dinner party, so that was kind of where it (the song) all started and it felt like a fun title. And I was like, right, well, that's where I start writing the album from this song. Big moment in my life. Let's write a song about it."
It followed Niall's collaboration with Myles Smith called 'Drive Safe'. The song was released in February, and the pair chatted to Hits Radio about how it came about. Myles explained he'd had an idea for the song for a couple of years and contacted Niall to see if he'd like to help him finish it.
Niall admitted he had been a fan of Myles and it was an honour to be asked if he would join him on the song, explaining: "It's tough when someone asks you to do this because, it's very close to his heart, something like very serious to him. And for me to then come and write the rest of it with him was obviously a tall ask."
2026: Niall announces 'Dinner Party Live on Tour'
On 24th March, Niall announced he would be going on tour in September and October 2026. The singer will be performing in Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham, Sheffield and London.
Catch Fleur East every weekday morning on Hits Radio from 6am. Wake The Fun up with Fleur joined by the biggest names in music, movies and entertainment.
Now read:
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