HELLO! India Exclusive: Louis Tomlinson on finding joy again and entering an era that's "more about loving" himself

There is something quietly luminous about Louis Tomlinson. The guarded pop star, who once carried the weight of the world behind his grin, has softened into a man who wears his story without flinching. His new album, How Did I Get Here?, feels less like a destination and more like a deep exhale—the sound of someone finally allowing themself to be present inside their life. The album’s title alone holds both disbelief and gratitude; a reflection of how far he has travelled to the quiet courage it takes to trust your own voice as a solo artist.

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“The album’s title is more a statement,” Louis tells HELLO! India. “Just looking around with gratitude and a little bit of wonder", he adds. That wonder hums through How Did I Get Here?, a record with 12 songs that glows with warmth and ease. Where his previous albums were built on grit and survival, this one dances with joy. It is, in many ways, Louis at his most emotionally available. “I had to get a little bit sunnier before I was ready to write this record,” he admits, speaking about how closely his songwriting mirrors his emotional life. What’s striking is how openly he credits his fans for that shift. While the love songs sparkle, Louis is quick to clarify that this era is really about something deeper. “It’s probably more about loving myself,” he says, with disarming honesty. It’s a powerful thing to hear from someone who spent his youth under the most intense spotlight imaginable.

That journey, from being “a bag of nerves” at the start of his solo career to the grounded artist he is today, is visible through every lyric of this record. As he puts it, discovering who you are as an artist is often just another way of discovering who you are as a person. Even now, his fame has quietened dow. But Louis has learned to step back from it. Writing the album in Costa Rica gave him space, not just geographically, but emotionally—to let the music breathe, if you will. 

There is tenderness, too, when Louis talks about his past. He laughs about scrolling into old One Direction videos on Instagram, getting lost in memories of him and “the boys.” Nostalgia, for him, isn’t a trap; it’s a place he visits when he wants to remember how far he’s come.

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That sense of connection was especially vivid when he finally performed in India in 2025 at Lollapalooza; a moment he describes as “triumphant.” After years of trying to make it happen, standing on that stage felt like closing a long-held circle. “That was definitely a really cool thing to do, there was a great atmosphere at the show.

Louis Tomlinson may not have all the answers to the question in his third album title. But for the first time in a long while, he sounds beautifully at peace with that.

Edited by Dayle Pereira-Alemao

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