Anne-Marie reveals how her friendship with Niall Horan blossomed 😍
They've released two songs together!
Anne-Marie always seems as though she's a lot of fun - so it's no wonder she's got loads of famous friends! Having been good mates with Ed Sheeran for a while, she's also pals with One Direction singer Niall Horan.
They've released two songs together - 'Everywhere' and 'Our Song' - and despite initial rumours that they were dating, the pair have confirmed they're just good friends. Here's everything we know about Anne-Marie and Niall Horan's friendship!
How did they meet?
Speaking backstage to us in 2021, Anne-Marie revealed how her friendship with Niall started out: "Yeah, he is so lovely. The first collaboration we did 'Our Song'. That was like the spark of friendship, when it all became a friendship."
'Everywhere'
After 'Our Song', the pair also worked together on 'Everywhere', a cover of the Fleetwood Mac classic. Anne-Marie told us: "When the Children in Need thing came about, I was like, yeah of course 100% I want to do it. I didn’t even know he was on it as well.
"And then I found out and I was like, this is perfect. So he sang the whole track, then I went in and sang the whole track and then we just decided who was going to sing what," adding that they weren't even in the same country when recording - with Anne-Marie in London and Niall in LA!
Despite her friendship with Niall forming as they worked on 'Our Song' Anne-Marie admitted that he doesn't always reply to her messages! Joking that her album is about Niall not replying she said: "You know what, Niall does that a lot to me... The album is about Niall."
'Our Song'
Niall and Anne-Marie also teased a collaboration in October 2020, sharing a photo of them in a studio together. Fans were then overjoyed when she took to her Instagram in May 2021 to reveal that they did in fact have something special coming our way!
A day after revealing the wonderful news on her Instagram, both Niall and Anne-Marie shared a clip of their new song 'Our Song' to their Instagram pages.
Captioning the teaser video, Anne-Marie revealed that the track would be released on 21st May, writing: 'WE'VE KEPT YOU WAITING LONG ENOUGH!! 'Our Song’ with one of my favourite humans @niallhoran is coming NEXT FRIDAY!!!!!! 💥💥🎉🎉🎉 Ahhhhhhh CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO HEAR IT ✨✨✨ Pre-order now!! link in bio' (sic).
Is Anne-Marie dating Niall Horan?
As far as we know, they're NOT dating - but the pair did joke that he would be teaching her to play golf! She said: "I like golf now! I used to hate it because I thought it was so boring and I thought, do you know what, I’m just going to try it."
Doing an excellent impression of the Irish singer, she said: "He was like, 'It’s all right. I'll give you a shot'. He tweeted me back and I was like, yes please, and then kind of didn’t speak and then he messaged me again saying, come on then let’s do it. So we're actually going to do it."
Will they release more music together?
She hasn't ruled out the possibility of future collaborations with Niall, telling us: "Me and Niall might release another song together, we're definitely going to write more together, so yeah, who knows?"
A game of "Who's Most Likely To?"
The pair joined us for a game of "Who's Most Likely To?" after the release of 'Our Song'! The BFFs put to the test how well they know each other in the fun game, with questions like, 'Who's most likely to get thrown out of a pub?', 'Who's most likely to be the biggest fan girl?' AND, 'Who's most likely to reunite with a famous boyband?'
Their answers left us with a big smile on our faces - and we were even blessed with a fabulous rendition of Queen's hit track 'Don't Stop Me Now'....
Anne-Marie's career timeline so far:
Career beginnings in school performances
Anne-Marie started a career in music and showbiz by starring in two West End productions when she was a young child. At the age of six-years-old, she appeared in Les Misérables, and when she was 12, she starred in Whistle Down the Wind alongside a young Jessie J.
2013: Demo tape
After making a solo demo tape in 2013 called 'Summer Girl', she decided to develop herself as an artist before launching a solo career. She featured on songs by big producing groups such as Magnetic Man and Gorgon City before Rudimental signed her up after one of their backing singers left.
2014: Glastonbury with Rudimental
She went on to feature on four of Rudimental's album tracks on their second album, 'We The Generation', and spent two years touring with them - including two performances at Glastonbury in 2014 and 2015.
2015: First single 'Do It Right'
Anne-Marie released her first single 'Do It Right' in November 2015, and released the single 'Alarm' from her debut album in May 2016. She then appeared on 'Rockabye' by Clean Bandit with Sean Paul, which was released in October 2016 and spent nine weeks at Number 1, winning the title of Christmas Number 1 for 2016.
2017: 'Ciao Adios' and debut album
Anne-Marie released 'Ciao Adios' in March 2017, which broke into the top 10 in the UK and has also been certified Platinum. She worked with producer Marshmello in 2018 on 'FRIENDS', and released her debut album 'Speak Your Mind' in April 2018, which went to Number 3 and was certified Gold in the UK. She also released '2002', co-written by Ed Sheeran, featured on 'Don't Leave Me Alone' with David Guetta and also worked with James Arthur on 'Rewrite the Stars' for The Greatest Showman: Reimagined album.
2019: Working on AM2 behind the scenes
Anne-Marie spent most of 2019 working on her second album, which fans dubbed 'AM2', taking some time out to write and record the upcoming follow-up. She was also nominated for four BRIT Awards at the 2019 ceremony - British Female Solo Artist, British Album of the Year for 'Speak Your Mind' as well as British Single of the Year and British Video of the Year for '2002'. She also released 'Lonely' with Lauv.
2020: New album and 'Birthday'
In 2020, Anne-Marie flooded her social media pages with a pink image, revealing that her second album was on the way. She also dyed her hair a matching shade of pink, and released single 'Birthday' in February, which was all themed with the same shade. Anne-Marie also released single 'To Be Young' featuring Doja Cat in July 2020.
2020: Mind ambassador
Anne-Marie became an ambassador for mental health charity Mind in March 2020, and in July opened up about her own mental health struggles in a chat with Mind volunteer Aashni, bravely speaking out about how she'd been diagnosed with anxiety at a young age.
2020: YouTube documentary - How To Be Anne-Marie
Anne-Marie starred in her very own YouTube documentary, How To Be Anne-Marie. It took a look at the Coronavirus lockdown and what 2020 should have been, as well as catching up with friends and celebs, including the Little Mix girls. She also took a trip down memory lane visiting her old school and seeing old friends, visiting her teenage bedroom and meeting up with her sister Sam and best friend Claire.
2021: The Voice
In January 2021, Anne-Marie joined The Voice UK as a mentor alongside Sir Tom Jones, Olly Murs and will.i.am. She was announced to be joining the show in October 2020 after former judge Meghan Trainor announced her pregnancy. Anne-Marie said of joining the show, "I am SO excited to join Sir Tom, will.i.am and Olly as the new coach on The Voice UK. I can't wait to work with incredible undiscovered talent! Wahoooooo!"
She recorded her last show as a judge in 2023 — being replaced in 2024 by LeAnn Rimes, Danny Jones and Tom Fletcher (Olly Murrs announced he'd be leaving too).
2021: Second album 'Therapy' is released
Anne-Marie released second album 'Therapy' on 23rd July! She said: "Music is a source of healing for everyone and music is therapy itself, right?! I hadn't realised until we were hit by the pandemic just how much I NEEDED music. I need to perform. I need to write. My lyrics are my open diary to you all and writing this album has helped me focus and understand my feelings. I needed this album."
2021: 'Dysfunctional Tour' announcement
As well as announcing her second album 'Therapy', Anne-Marie also revealed she would be going on tour in 2022 with the 'Dysfunctional Tour', visiting venues in Dublin, Glasgow, Cardiff, Leeds and London.
2021: You Deserve Better
Anne-Marie released a self-help book entitled You Deserve Better in September 2021! A statement describes what the book will be about: 'Anne-Marie's been told these things her whole life too and they didn't make her feel any better. But now, she's discovered the simple tools that mean she treats herself with the love and respect she needs and this, in turn, means she's able to go out into the world and be as strong, confident and true to herself as she can be. And she wants YOU to be able to do the same.'
2021: Celebrity Gogglebox
Anne-Marie made several appearances along her The Voice costar Tom Jones in Celebrity Gogglebox. This made for some great telly, with the chemistry between the two being on point. There were some real gems on the show, with Tom revealing he still uses a flip phone and him and Anne-Marie struggling to get the cork out of a bottle of bubbly. Tom sadly couldn't make an episode, so he was replaced by the one and only Ed Sheeran.
2021: Anne-Marie X New Look
On 20th September 2021, New Look announced that they were dropping a brand new collection designed with Anne-Marie. The collection was made available on 4th October and it's fair to say we certainly weren't disappointed. She's been showing off the stylish garms at every possible opportunity - and who can blame her with such stylish clothes, that literally have her name on them?
2021: Anne-Marie joins Strictly's Christmas special line-up
In November 2021, it was announced that Anne-Marie would be joining the official line-up for Strictly Come Dancing's Christmas special! Paired with professional dancer Graziano Di Prima, Anne-Marie joins other celebs such as First Dates star Fred Sirieix, Repair Shop presenter Jay Blades, former Great British Bake Off presenter Mel Giedroyc and journalist Moira Stuart OBE.
2021: Anne-Marie wins Strictly Come Dancing Christmas 2021
Anne-Marie took home the Strictly Christmas gong in December 2021! Paired with Graziano Di Prima, the singer competed against First Dates star Fred Sirieix, Repair Shop presenter Jay Blades, former Great British Bake Off presenter Mel Giedroyc and journalist Moira Stuart OBE. They performed a Cha Cha to Feliz Navidad by Gwen Stefani and won the show!
2022: Anne-Marie performs at The BRIT Awards 2022
In February 2022, Anne-Marie took to the stage at the world-renowned BRIT Awards to perform 'Don't Play' with rapper KSI. It's safe to say that fans were obsessed with Anne-Marie's stunning Valentine's themed sparkly red dress - and despite suffering from a small fall at the beginning, gave a truly incredible performance! Not to worry, Anne-Marie quickly laughed off the tumble on Twitter.
'Psycho' with Aitch
Anne-Marie started dropping teasers for her new song 'Psycho' in August 2022, and followed this up with the news that it was actually a collab with rapper Aitch before dropping the track on 9th September. It is thought to be the first release from her upcoming third album.
2023: Anne-Marie released her song 'Sad'
Anne-Marie released her first song of the year on 3rd February, called 'Sad'. The music video for the song was filmed at Adventure Island in Southend-on-Sea in Essex.
2023: Anne-Marie collaborates with David Guetta
Anne-Marie teamed up with DJ David Guetta and rapper Coi Leray on a song called 'Baby Don't Hurt Me'. The song samples Haddaway's 90s hit 'What Is Love?' and was released on 7th April 2023. The hit won Anne-Marie her first Grammy Award nomination at the 2024 ceremony, but she sadly lost out to Kylie Minogue for 'Padam Padam'.
2023: Anne-Marie released a paperback version of her book
On 8th June 2023, Anne-Marie released the paperback version of her Sunday Times Bestseller book, You Deserve Better.
2023: Anne-Marie releases third album 'Unhealthy'
After months of teasing, Anne-Marie released her third album 'Unhealthy' in July 2023! The tracklist includes her song 'Sad' and 'Psycho' featuring Aitch, in addition to a collaboration with singer Khalid, 'You & I'.
2023: 'The Unhealthy Club Summer Tour' 2024
In November 2023 Anne-Marie announced 'The Unhealthy Club Summer Tour' for 2024. The singer will be performing at several outdoor venues in June and July 2024, including in cities such as Nottingham, Leeds and Cardiff. Find out everything you need to know about her Summer 2024 tour dates.
2024: Anne-Marie announced for Glastonbury 2024
In March 2024, Anne-Marie was announced for the Glastonbury 2024 line-up. The singer was announced to perform on the Other Stage, which would also be hosting Disclosure, Camila Cabello, and Avril Lavigne.
2024: Announced as a special guest for Shania Twain's BST Hyde Park performance
Anne-Marie's special relationship with Shania Twain continues to flourish, as she was announced in May 2024 to be a special guest for Shania's headline show at BST Hyde Park on 7th July 2024! Taking to Instagram, Anne-Marie wrote: 'AND WE'RE BACK 🤠 I'm joining @shaniatwain for her @bsthydepark show in July!!! Get your cowboy hats ready 💖 Tickets on sale NOW!!!'
2024: Glastonbury Festival performance
Anne-Marie took to The Other Stage at Glastonbury Festival 2024, giving an absolutely incredible performance which was made up of some of her biggest hits like 'Alarm', 'Unhealthy', 'Kiss My (Uh‐Oh)' as well as a sneak peek of her upcoming track 'Cry Baby'. After her performance, she took to Instagram to gush over her experience: 'Heaven. For 1 whole hour I was in heaven. Performing at my favourite place in the world glastofest I can't believe how many of you came to see me. And I thought no-one was gonna come!! 😅😅 My heart is entirely full and I really hope you enjoyed the show.' (sic)
2024: BST Hyde Park performance with Shania Twain
After creating their incredible friendship after teaming up for the song 'Unhealthy', Anne-Marie supported Shania Twain for her BST Hyde Park performance, along with The Corrs, Natalie Imbruglia, Nell Mescal and plenty of others! After the show, she took to Instagram to post a series of performance pics, alongside the caption: 'BST HYDE PARK!!! Had to bring out the leopard print for this one 🐆🐆🐆🐆.' (sic)
August 2024: Collaboration with David Guetta and Clean Bandit drops
Anne-Marie dropped her new song in collaboration with David Guetta and Clean Bandit on 9th August. She first teased the song 'Cry Baby' by performing it live while on her 'Unhealthy Club (Summer Run) Tour'.
Clean Bandit shared the music video on their YouTube account, which shows the band, along with Anne-Marie on the 'Cry Baby Express' train, driven by Clean Bandit members Jack and Luke Patterson, while Grace Chatto serves tea, and plays the cello on the top of the train!
David said he was 'super happy' they were able to make the record together, saying on Instagram: ' "The way it happened is, we have Anne-Marie as a common friend and you know that she sent me this song, and I was like what is this? This is fire, so the music wins over anything and your music has always been so beautiful.'
WATCH: Anne-Marie answers YOUR questions at Hits Live Birmingham 2021
You can hear Anne-Marie's biggest hits on KISS.
Now read:
Anne-Marie recalls why she created #TherapyIn15 and how it's helped
Anne-Marie: Everything you need to know about the 'Don't Play' singer
Anne-Marie unveils front cover of self-help book You Deserve Better