Pop
Louis Tomlinson admits One Direction hit What Makes You Beautiful always felt 'a little corny'
Louis Tomlinson has confessed that he found it cringe singing One Direction's biggest song.
Louis Tomlinson has admitted that One Direction’s breakthrough hit What Makes You Beautiful has never been the coolest song for him to perform, calling the track “a little corny.”
Speaking to Scott Mills on BBC Radio 2, the 34-year-old star reflected on how their 2011 debut single — which became a global smash — didn’t always match how he felt as an 18‑year‑old suddenly thrust into boy band fame.
He explained: “I actually… I think two reasons on that. It’s definitely our most pop and most bubble‑gum pop moment, and secondly, performing that always felt so eggy. At the time I was 18, and it wasn’t the coolest thing to be in a boyband — and then we got really big, so it was cool.
“You know, singing, ‘baby, you light up my world like nobody else’, honestly, it wouldn’t be out of place in a Disney film, so it felt a little corny.”
Louis also pointed to Story Of My Life - from their 2013 studio album Midnight Memories - as the moment One Direction began to break out of the traditional boyband mould and earn wider musical credibility.
He said: “My favourite One Direction song as it is on record is probably Story Of My Life. I think that was a real moment — that’s not the kind of record you expect from a band like One Direction, and I think that was kind of a turning point for us.
“I remember feeling really proud that it wasn’t the kind of song you could ever dance to. There was definitely a mould of boy bands before then, and I think that was a song that really helped us break out of that.”
One Direction were formed by Simon Cowell on The X Factor in 2010.
Louis was joined by Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik (until his departure in 2015), and the late Liam Payne in the record-breaking group.
