Louis Tomlinson's impressive career: From X Factor contestant to judge
He now has two solo albums!
He was always destined for big things, but Louis Tomlinson hasn't stopped since One Direction announced a 'indefinite hiatus' back in 2016. Famously the first member to release solo material, with Simon Cowell so fond of him that he signed him up to be an X Factor judge in 2018, he's certainly come a long way.
To celebrate Louis in all his glory, following his live stream from Mexico, we've decided to take an extensive look at his career so far - from his very first audition to his huge win as an X Factor judge, the release of his second album, 'Faith In The Future', and his documentary film All Of Those Voices, which is available on Paramount+.
Just like his bandmates, the Yorkshire lad has never really left the spotlight since 2010, so that's more than 14 years of career highlights to get through...
Check out Louis Tomlinson's impressive career so far:
Early life
Louis William Tomlinson was born on 24th December 1991 in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. He was bought up by his mum Johannah and is estranged from his real father and took on his then stepfather Mark Tomlinson's surname. He grew up with four half-sisters, Charlotte, Félicité and twins Pheobe and Daisy. He later gained two two more half siblings, twins Doris and Ernest.
2010: Factor audition
Louis was clearly made for stardom as he auditioned for The X Factor not once but twice. He clearly didn't give up on his dreams when he got rejected the first time. His performance of 'Deliah' by The Plain White T's got the nod of approval from Simon Cowell and co.
Louis said in 2017 that he was motivated to audition for the talent show after he was kicked out of the band he was in after a new boy came to the school and decided to replace him as their vocalist.
He was then put through to bootcamp but failed to get through - well, until Simon Cowell decided Louis and four other boys (Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Harry Styles and the late Liam Payne) were too good to let go. One Direction was officially born.
2010-2015: One Direction global stardom
One Direction went on to become the biggest boyband on the planet, releasing five studio albums and winning over 200 awards worldwide.
They toured the world, made their very own film 'One Direction: This Is Us' in 2013 and had 4 Number 1 singles 'What Makes You Beautiful', 'Little Things', 'One Way Or Another' and 'Drag Me Down'.
2015: Zayn announces he's leaving the band
In 2015, Zayn Malik shocked the world when he decided to leave the group, admitting in a statement that wanted to be a "normal 22-year-old".
Louis and Zayn were famously close in the band, but his departure caused a HUGE falling out - with Zayn accused Louis of making "b_**_y" comments about his former bandmate on Twitter. You might remember Louis Tomlinson and Naughty Boy having a spat over Zayn working with the producer in the studio very soon after leaving the band.
Louis still has a strained relationship with Zayn.
He said in 2016, "Truthfully, it never really got better, to be honest."
2015-2016: Louis becomes a dad!
In July 2015, it was reported that Louis was expecting a baby with then 23-year-old stylist, Briana Jungwirth. The pair had a brief romance following his split from Eleanor Calder. During this time, Louis was in a relationship with actress Danielle Campbell from November 2015 to December 2016.
Louis and Briana' son, Freddie Reign, was born on 21 January 2016 and they continue to co-parent together.
2015-2016: One Direction hiatus
Following Zayn's departure, Louis, Harry, Niall and Liam continued as a foursome until 2015. However, when they released their last album, 'Made In The AM', they also announced that they will be going on an 'indefinite hiatus'.
2016: Louis decides to go solo
Louis was the first member of the group to pursue a solo career. In 2016, created his own record label, Triple Strings Ltd, as an imprint of his current label Syco.
In December 2016, he released 'Just Hold On', a collaborative effort with American DJ Steve Aoki. The song stormed the charts and reached number 2 in the UK singles chart.
2017: Louis Tomlinson releases 'Back To You' with Bebe Rexha
In 2017, Louis released 'Back to You' with American singer Bebe Rexha and the track certified platinum in the USA and UK. He then released his second solo single 'Miss You' which peaked at 39 in the charts.
2018: Louis joins The X Factor as a judge
In 2018 Louis was signed up to appear on the fifteenth series of The X Factor as a judge and a mentor of the 'Boys' category. He became the first former contestant of the show to become the winning mentor due to his mentee Dalton Harris winning the show.
2019: More new music!
2019 marked the start of even more music from Louis, who released 'Two of Us', 'Kill My Mind', 'We Made It', 'Don't Let It Break Your Heart' and 'Walls', all songs that would feature on his first album.
He also signed a brand new record deal with Arista Records.
2020: Louis releases first album, leaves Syco and hosts digital concert during lockdown
Louis released his debut solo album 'Walls' on 31st January 2020, but his plans for a full tour were scuppered due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Not one to let his fans down, Louis held a digital concert 'Live From London' on 12th December 2020, which sold over 160 thousand tickets, breaking records as the most live streamed concert for a male solo artist. Not bad, eh?
2021: Louis promises his second album is on the way
In May, Louis announced that he signed a global deal with BMG to release his second album and in July confirmed that he was to celebrate the return of live music by performing at 'The Away From Home Festival' curated and conceived by him, on 30th August.
2022: Louis Tomlinson releases second solo album
Louis released his second album, 'Faith In The Future' on Friday 11th November. He also announced he would be touring Europe and North America in 2023 to support the record!
In August 2023, the album was certified Silver by the BPI.
2023: Louis Tomlinson releases his documentary film
Louis Tomlinson releases All Of Those Voices, it's a documentary about the singer from his One Direction days to the present day. The film was released in cinemas in March 2023 and added to Paramount+ on 5th October 2023.
Now read:
101 One Direction facts you NEED to know
One Direction through the years
Louis Tomlinson reveals the BEST moment of his solo career