- Welcome back to GLAMOUR Unfiltered,
hosted by me, Josh Smith
and today we're joined by Louis Tomlinson.
How are you?
- I'm alright, thanks, how are you?
- Good!
- Good.
- So new album, new
songs, tour on the way.
You are very vulnerable, in
your song writing and the music
you put out there.
- I'm just honest, I'd say, yeah.
- What do you think has
been the hardest thing
for you to be honest about with yourself?
- I'm lucky with where I grew up.
In Doncaster, we don't
like... we wear our heart
on our sleeves really,
you know what I mean?
So it comes naturally to me, really.
To kind of just be open about the way
that I feel and stuff like that.
- We still live in a society
where it's still seen
as a bit of a taboo or
there's a stigma around men
talking about vulnerability
and that kind of thing.
What's that journey been like for you
with that whole stereotype?
Have you ever felt that
level of stereotype?
- I'm mean, I'm aware of it,
but (coughs) how I operate personally
I've always kind of owned it really.
You know, I think me mum did
a good job of bringing me up
and taught me good values
and stuff like that.
When we wrote Two Of Us,
that was obviously a
very personal song for me
and probably the most
vulnerable I've been,
especially on a song.
You know, I've had a couple
of moments where fans
have come up to me and
told me what that song
means to them and maybe
they've just had a loss
in their life and that's incredible.
You know what I mean?
I've never really had that
in the band to that level,
my lyrics really meaning
something to people.
- How difficult has that
been to go through those
private things whilst having this whole
massive microscope on you?
- It was definitely difficult at first.
You know, when I first
got put in the band.
and having to deal with not having as much
privacy but I suppose as time goes on
you grow to understand
it and get used to it,
and to be honest, there
has been some pretty hard
times in me life and although
I wouldn't have chosen
to have them played out in the public,
some of the reactions,
and some of the stuff I got
from fans was incredible too.
- What would you wanna say to the you
that was going through
those deep personal moments
at those times in your life,
what advice would you
want to give that person
if you could sit them down now?
- Trust yourself and trust
your gut because those things
are important and nobody
understands you better than you.
It does help that I'm
able to talk about me
feelings and stuff like that.
And I can have those moments
where, obviously I need to.
But yeah, as I said, it comes
naturally to me so I'm lucky.
- And I think also as well from,
you've have always had this
amazing support network
around you, throughout your whole life.
And I think also when you're in a band
and you have four other
members with you as well,
there's also that
immediate support network.
Cause I was thinking today
it must have been so weird
for you to go from having
that immediate support network
there all the time to then, it
not being there all the time.
How difficult was that transition for you?
- There is still enough
familiar faces to not
kind of feel like alienated and on my own.
But it definitely took
some getting used to.
You know, One Direction was
such a well working thing.
So it definitely took
some getting used to.
But I think, as you
spend time on your own,
you find new people that you really
get on with and develop
those relationships.
- Yeah.
How did you build your identity away
from that part of your life?
- It took me a second
to kind of understand
that I was on my own now
and my identity for so long
was part of a collective
and obviously you still
have an individual identity within that.
So I think it took me a
second to kind of understand
that I can be a bit of a chav again.
You know what I mean, basically.
- (laughs) Yeah.
- And yeah, just be me
really and not have to worry
too much about anything else.
- Did you ever feel like,
cause you were just saying
that you know, you could
be a bit more of a chav.
Did you ever feel like
you were having to put
anything on in that sense?
- You see, I think
sometimes people insinuate
that you know, it might
be the record label
or management that make
you like this but it's not.
You're respectful of the
fan base and their age
and we had a young fan base
and also they've got
mums who can get angry
if you piss them off,
you know what I mean?
So, I think it's just
being respectful there.
- And I think so much is made in the media
about your relationship to the band
and brotherhood and all that kind of stuff
that we were just talking about as well.
How have you leaned into that immediate
brotherhood you had at times?
When has it been the
most supportive for you?
- I think that honestly you know,
there's obviously times
where you have better
relationships with other
members than you do others,
but that connection, that'll be forever.
Definitely, because you
know we experienced so much
in a relatively short space of time.
And you know, it was crazy what we all
saw together and experienced.
So I think that is something
that we'll have forever really.
Definitely.
Sometimes you might not see eye to eye,
but that's the way
friendships go in real life.
Do you know what I mean?
- Yeah, and they also evolve.
- Exactly, exactly.
Yeah and people get more
mature and all that, yeah.
- And you resonate on different
levels and different things,
and I think that's a positive thing
to be able to take away from there.
- Definitely, definitely.
- How would you say your
relationship with like brotherhood,
and that concept of brotherhood
has changed through your career?
- As I've got older, really.
My responsibility has
changed with my sisters,
and me little brother.
But yeah, I think it gets,
I seem to understand
it more as I get older.
I'm currently trying
to have a conversation
with me twin sisters to go to sixth form.
They don't wanna go.
(laughing)
So yeah, but I think again you know,
I've just, through experience
and through doing it longer,
and kind of being older
a little bit more mature,
I suppose, yeah.
- Yeah (laughs).
Mature, I suppose.
- Yeah, yeah.
- Cause we're all--
Well I try to be, I mean, but
as a brother, I have to be.
You know what I mean?
So, yeah.
- Yeah we're all trying to adult
in some respect (laughs).
- Hm, hm, exactly.
- Do you still have a
thing when you're like,
oh my God, am I actually
adulting well today?
- Like whenever I'm with me son Freddy,
and whenever I'm having like,
those kinds of conversations
about school, with the
girls, my sisters, and that,
I feel like then I've
got me adult head on.
I have to, to have credibility
in those conversations.
You know what I mean?
But I definitely still
act like a lad at times.
(laughs) Yeah, yeah.
- Is there anything you would change
or if there's anything
that you would change,
how would you change it?
- Every mistake I
suppose is, it's all part
of your journey and
you do definitely learn
something every time,
so in terms of my career
and how I've come across
publicly and all of that,
no, I wouldn't change
anything, to be honest.
I'm lucky I've got like,
I'm quite resilient,
I'm quite persistent.
It was actually the third
year that I'd auditioned
for X Factor that I got put in the band.
You know what I mean?
So I'd say resilience and persistence
is important but obviously
you have to have a certain
amount of self belief for that,
so just to be confident really.
- If you can give someone any advice,
because for me you seem
like a very confident person
which I think is so great.
But in like in a really
refreshing, nice way too.
If people are going through
any sort of confidence issues
or they've been through some of the things
that you've been through in your life,
what kind of advice would
you want to give them?
- Find the people in your
life that you know you love
and trust and talk it through with people.
Cause you know, I might come
across as confident and that,
but obviously you have moments
where you build things up
in your head and you think
they're... and the longer
you live with that thought,
you think it's big, it
ends up being bigger
than the reality of the situation.
So, I think just as much
communication as possible
and yeah, same with your family as well.
- It's so great to see
how confident you are.
- Well, thanks,
I'll take that.
- I love it, yeah.
- Yeah, you make me feel good lad.
Yeah, cheers.
- Oh.
