Niall Horan's decision to record an uptempo album was informed by two years of touring.
Niall Horan
The 26-year-old singer's new record, 'Heartbreak Weather', is distinctly more energetic than 2017's 'Flicker' - and Niall admits he made a conscious decision to make a more gig-friendly album.
He explained: "I had a great time playing shows but the songs were quite chilled.
"I was looking at faces in the crowd and you can see when people want to be sad - but then they also want to be jumping up and down, wrecking the place. I needed a bit more like jumping up and down and stuff."
Niall actually started writing the album back in 2018, shortly after having surgery for a sinus problem.
Speaking to the BBC about the writing process, he recalled: "I just started messing around, you know?
"I'd be watching something on TV and I'd be singing something or I'd pick up a guitar and have a little tinker around and before I knew, I was writing full songs.
"I was like, 'Jesus, I didn't plan on this but it's happening.'"
Earlier this week, meanwhile, Niall claimed his career is a story of "right place, right time".
The pop star joined One Direction on 'The X Factor' back in 2010, and looking back on the last decade, Niall admitted it's been a whirlwind ride.
He shared: "All the parents had one thing in common with the band and they all said, 'We just went to the audition and never came home,' which is true.
"I moved to a new country at 16 years old. I mean, to go on to do what I did was pretty amazing. But at the time, it was yesterday I was in school and in a small town of about 20,000 people and now, I'm living in London in a band that, in hindsight, went on to do what it did.
"But at the time it was all a bit crazy and if that had gone the opposite way, I would have been back sitting in my hometown, just scratching my head, wondering what I was going to do. It was right place, right time, I suppose in a way."
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