- 2 days ago
High atop New York City in the Rockstar Suite at Hard Rock Hotel New York, Niall Horan joined us this week to talk about the making of his 4th studio album, ‘Dinner Party,’ now available everywhere. The “Little More Time” singer also talks about his experience mentoring artists and how he manages to maintain a private life during our Audacy Check In.
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00:00When you get on a roll in a sentence and the lyric just matches up, there's a couple of lines
00:06in like a song called Better Man that I'm really proud of.
00:11There's this like, the way it rolls off the tongue, now I'm in my head in muddy waters, I'm not
00:16fond of your body in my bed, there's no other but I wonder how many times you never this.
00:22So I just, when I wrote the sentence I was like, yeah.
00:28This is your Odyssey Check-In with Niall Horan, we are here at the Rockstar Suite at the Hard Rock
00:33Hotel New York.
00:35My man, we're going to get to the upcoming shows, the new album, all that, but first I wanted to
00:41say, I feel like you do such a nice job kind of laying low when you're not pushing a project,
00:48bro.
00:49Is that hard to do? Do you have to work at being under the radar?
00:56Kind of, I suppose, yeah. I mean, I could be out, you know, parading around, but no, I feel like
01:02a lot of my early career, there was no off switch really, you know, like everywhere I went it was,
01:08you know, a bit chaotic whether it was on the job or off the job.
01:12So I feel like over the past few years I've been able to find a way of, you know, through
01:18experience, just kind of like, you know, separating the two in a kind of, and just being like able to,
01:24you know, it's been helpful.
01:25I've put some roots down back in London and I've been able to just like, being able to turn it
01:29off when I can.
01:31So making the music, promoting it, you know, touring is like one thing and then being at home, just chilling
01:37out and walking a dog and doing stuff around the house is kind of the other separate life.
01:42It's great.
01:42So you feel like on your day to day, you don't, you don't feel the eyeballs on you really?
01:47I mean, maybe I've just gotten used to them, right?
01:49I don't know.
01:49Yeah.
01:51And there's maybe a little bit less screaming than there was.
01:57But yeah, I think you just kind of get used to it and it's became part of my life, I
02:01suppose.
02:01Yeah.
02:02What's been the most like awkward place you've been recognized?
02:07Was it like a doctor appointment, bathroom?
02:10Give me something good.
02:12Oh, yeah.
02:12I mean, doctor's appointments.
02:14Have you really?
02:14You're like, I'm just trying to be sick.
02:16Can you not take this selfie?
02:19Literally.
02:19Yeah.
02:21The bathrooms and pubs.
02:23Yeah.
02:23At the urinals.
02:26All that, any scenario where you think it, I've seen it.
02:30But I feel like you're too nice of a guy, dude.
02:33You probably take the photo, don't you?
02:35I just go, dude, we're at the urinal.
02:37Let's be real here for a second.
02:39Maybe outside of the bathroom, you know?
02:41Yeah, yeah, yeah.
02:42You know, I do feel like you are a very nice guy and you have an amazingly good reputation
02:48for yourself in the industry.
02:50Do you feel like from your experience, that gets you further?
02:56That gets you more opportunities?
02:58Or do you think it really boils down to just talent at the end of the day?
03:03I don't know.
03:04I can't really answer that question.
03:06I think that one, some of that is for other people to say.
03:08But I do think that the music is probably the most important part.
03:12As we're seeing in the world we live in, the songs will rise to the top if they're good
03:18and if they're not, they're not as simple as that.
03:20I don't know.
03:21I've just always tried to be myself no matter what I'm doing, I suppose.
03:26And then I guess people have latched on to that over the years in different ways,
03:30whether it be the music or the tours or the voice.
03:34I don't know what it is, but people are still coming and I'm forever grateful for that.
03:38You're the whole package, Niall.
03:40Thanks, bud.
03:40Let's talk about the music, bro.
03:42Dinner Party is so good, man.
03:44It's really wonderful.
03:45I know, obviously, you got the title from a song.
03:49Were there any titles, potential titles you were kicking around that were not song inspired?
03:55Kind of not really, no, because the first thing you do is go and have a look at the track
04:00listing.
04:00Yeah, yeah.
04:01And I was like, well, that sounds interesting.
04:02And the whole album is based off that song, basically, because every album needs a jumping
04:09off point and off point and were better than at the start of my relationship.
04:13So where did that come in the recording process?
04:15It was about...
04:16Or the writing process.
04:17Yeah, I would say a couple of months in.
04:20I'd written quite a few ideas up to that point, but I'd say Dinner Party was a couple of months
04:26in and I was like, all right, well, now I'd write the rest of the album around that evening.
04:32So I didn't have to go much further.
04:34I also felt like Dinner Party sounded like an interesting title.
04:37Yeah, yeah, yeah.
04:38You don't really hear album titles called, something like that.
04:41Yeah.
04:42So that's where it came from, really.
04:44Is there a line from the album that you're most proud of where you just wrote it and
04:50you were like, ah, I'm brilliant.
04:53I'm so good.
04:54No, I think I probably, when you get on a roll in a sentence and the lyric just matches
05:02up, there's a couple of lines in a song called Better Man that I'm really proud of.
05:09There's just like, the way it rolls off the tongue, now I'm in my head, muddy waters, I'm
05:14not fond of your body in my bed, there's no other, but I wonder how many times you never
05:19this, blah, blah, blah, so I just, when I wrote the sentence, I was like, yeah.
05:26I could still do this.
05:27I'm good at this.
05:28It just, it fell out, sorry, it fell out of my mouth and it was great.
05:33I love that.
05:34What do you think the song on the album, which one's going to be the hardest to perform live?
05:40Tastes So Good is a tough sing.
05:42Okay.
05:43It's right up there.
05:44It was one of those ones where I was between two keys when I was recording it and I was
05:48like, but it loses a lot of energy, even if you just bring it down a tiny bit.
05:53So I've had to commit to the bit and it's, it's a tough sing.
05:56It's for three minutes.
06:00So I've had to do that.
06:01That's a tough one to sing.
06:03Speaking of, you know, live show, you got, you're, you're being paired with Thomas Redd.
06:08I mean, so just drop the country album.
06:12What are we, what are we doing?
06:13Are we going to do that?
06:14I mean, you're dilly dally.
06:16Like, yeah, I do.
06:16I have like danced around that.
06:18I make like country-esque sounding things.
06:22You're right there.
06:23Yeah.
06:23I'm there.
06:24I just have never done the whole, I've never committed to that bit.
06:27What's, what's been like, you know, I don't know the whole, the other projects, I suppose.
06:33I need to, I can't, I do need to do it at some point.
06:35But I also, do you know what it was?
06:37I, I was, I've always kind of released like kind of somewhat like folky kind of country
06:43sounding type things.
06:45And then I felt like a lot of pop stars did the country thing and I didn't want to join
06:51the bandwagon.
06:51Bro.
06:52So I'm waiting for them to stop doing it and then I'll do it.
06:54I appreciate you doing that, man.
06:56Because I didn't want to sound like a bandwagon jumper, you know.
06:58Yes, man.
06:59Good for you.
07:00So what's the relationship like with you and Thomas?
07:02What could people expect and all that?
07:04Yeah, no, I mean, I've known Thomas for years.
07:07We have some, a couple of mutual friends.
07:10His manager is married to my producer and it's a whole thing.
07:13So I've known him for years.
07:15Hung out a lot, played a lot of golf and stuff like that.
07:18But we've never, I jumped on one of his songs last year called Old Tricks, which is one
07:23of my favorite songs, my favorite song of his.
07:25I just bullied him into letting me sing verse on it.
07:29Yeah, yeah.
07:29So we finally said that, right, let's try and do some shows together.
07:33Great.
07:33And I just like the idea of the pop country crossover, but in an authentic way.
07:37So I think both of our fans will be happy and we're playing two stadiums.
07:42Cool.
07:43And it's good when you're friends with somebody.
07:45Like, I feel like the crowd will feel that.
07:47Oh, yeah, yeah.
07:47And a lot of our fans would know that, you know.
07:50So that's helpful instead of like trying to force something down people's throats.
07:56A couple of things before we wrap.
07:59I, you know, I feel like you're an expert on this topic.
08:02So I wanted to get your opinion on it.
08:05The, all the talent search shows, right?
08:10Initially, they were turning out superstars, you know, left and right.
08:14Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, you, all these people, right?
08:17But they've had a hard time with that as of late.
08:21Do you feel like there's any reason for that?
08:24I don't know.
08:25I mean, the world kind of looks to, in ways of like old school, like going to try and find
08:33artists and bars and places and looking at people posting music on wherever they're posting it.
08:38And then, I guess, with like TikTok, it's in people's hands.
08:42People are posting videos and there are covers of things and there are original songs.
08:47And I guess that's where people are looking for their new music these days.
08:52But like some of the singers that we have on The Voice and some of the, you know, success stories
08:59that we've had for people just getting that launch.
09:02Like imagine if you had an opportunity to, right?
09:05I've got a talent and I can go on a television show and play to the nation.
09:10And that's what I always say to people that come on the show.
09:13Like you perform, if you get to the final, you probably perform 10 songs.
09:18And people, they're on YouTube forever.
09:20And like you have 10 music videos that you can walk into any record label or whatever and just go,
09:27this is me singing on one of the biggest shows in the country.
09:29So there's definitely a place for it.
09:31And I've had a lot of fun doing it and working with these like some of the most ridiculous singers
09:37you've ever heard in your life are on that show.
09:39So, bro, I was about to say, is it hard to not get invested in these artists, the relationships you've
09:47built?
09:47Because I know I would be like, I'm starting a record label today and I'm signing you all.
09:51So like, I mean, do you get invested?
09:54Like, do you keep in touch with these people?
09:56How do you, you know, stay professional, I guess?
09:58Yeah, yeah, I guess you like, for like my previous winner aide and he is now like, has a great
10:06manager.
10:07We're like, try and help them like get into the right places.
10:09You know, like I can't write for him.
10:11I can't, you know, well, he's a much better singer than me, but I can't do all that kind of
10:16stuff for him.
10:18But like putting him in touch with these different people and all that kind of thing is what you can
10:24do from my end.
10:25Yeah.
10:26All right.
10:27Well, man, we love the new album.
10:29We love these shows coming up.
10:31We love you.
10:31Thank you for taking out the time, bro.
10:33Congratulations on everything.
10:34You're a legend.
10:35Thanks very much, bud.
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