Niall Horan - Nice To Meet Ya

The last time we saw former One Direction singer Niall Horan in our studios was just before the start of his 'Flicker' Tour. That outing started just over two years ago, finishing up in September of 2018. Since then, Niall has been hard at work (although he tried to take some time off) on new music.



"I took a few weeks off after the tour finished," Niall explains to NEW 102.7's Karen Carson. "Got bored after 10 minutes because that's the way I am, and just ended up starting writing songs again and kept going because I felt like I was on a bit of a roll," he laughs. Niall's newest single to hit radio, ("Nice To Meet Ya"), he says "popped up out of nowhere. If you start looking for a first single you never really write it, because when you'e chasing it, it's not that feasible... It was a really fun song to write and just a fun song to even listen to. I'm not bored of it yet even though I've been listening to it for over a year.



Niall is currently working on the follow up to 'Flicker,' and when pressed on what the sound of the album vs the last could be, he says the new album will somewhat of a departure.



"It's definitely got a little bit more tempo to it, a bit more attitude. I think 'Flicker' was quite chilled out across the board, even "Slow Hands" was quite chilled out really." The new album he says will be "a bit rockier, more driving, and a bit more pumpy, and something that people can dance to and sing to. When I was on tour I could see every night by the faces of the people what makes people sad, what makes people happy, what makes people jump around the place -- I felt like I needed a bit more jumping so I put more tempo into it."



"Since I wrote ['Flicker'] it's been nearly three years -- I suppose there's a big difference between 23 and 26," the singer says about his change in style and attitude. "Touring, you learn a lot while touring without even realizing it. It's only when I've stopped and started doing interviews and thinking about it that it makes sense. Being on stage every night, you learn more about your audience, you learn more about yourself, what you do better, what you prefer to do... Like I love singing and writing sad songs but I also love an energy-filled gig."

On Wednesday (Oct. 30), Niall Horan announced the dates for his Nice to Meet Ya North American Spring 2020 tour in support of his upcoming album. The announcement comes less than a week after fellow One Direction star Louis Tomlinson revealed the dates for his first solo world tour.



Horan's 17-date run -- his first time performing solo in arenas -- kicks off in Nashville on April 20 and will hit cities like Washington, D.C., New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. He will stay on the road until his May 20 show in San Jose.

The Irish singer also shared that his "best friend in the whole wide world" Lewis Capaldi and pop singer Fletcher will join him as openers.



"This is so exciting!! I’m going back on the road and this time I’m going with my best friend in the whole wide world @lewiscapaldi and the beautiful @findingfletcher," Horan tweeted. "Can’t wait to get out there again and see you all. Tickets go on sale Friday Nov 8. More dates to come soon. xxx."

Tickets will be available to the general public beginning Nov. 8 at 10 a.m. local time.