- 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.