#Louis Press

[louisupdates]

INTERVIEW: Lottie Tomlinson: we lost our mum and sister. Louis saved me

At the age of 20, the sister of One Direction singer Louis had already lost her mother, Johannah, and sister Félicité. Now 25, the social media star has written a book about how they coped

Alice Thomson | Tuesday July 23 2024, 5.00pm BST, The Times

Losing Mum was so hard. I was only a teenager but at least I knew that her death was a possibility, even though she didn’t accept it. She was 47 and had cancer. But when my sister died three years later, I was on this hotel balcony in Bali and I was screaming, ‘No, my baby sister, no.’ The pain was indescribable. I kept thinking, ‘Why me? This can’t be happening again. When is this going to end?’ ”

We are sitting on Lottie Tomlinson’s immaculate white sofa in her pristine white house in Chislehurst, southeast London, where she is curled up in tiny shorts with a perfect tan and impeccably applied make-up. But her French manicured nails are digging so hard into the sofa I think they might snap, the heart tattoo on her minuscule wrist is throbbing and her eyelashes are clogged with tears.

Her life sounds blessed. The influencer has 4.8 million Instagram followers waiting for her to dispense advice on how to apply mascara; the fake tan brand, Tanologist, that she launched at 19 has gone global; and she has a devoted fiancé, Lewis Burton, who runs a luxury concierge business and whose former girlfriend was the late Caroline Flack. They have an adorable son called Lucky, who is dripping ice cream on her marble counters. Her new book is also called Lucky Girl; her older brother is Louis Tomlinson of One Direction and she was touring the world with the band as a make-up artist at 16.

But after her mother died when she was 18, Tomlinson was left looking after her younger sister and two sets of twin siblings, aged eight and two, while creating her businesses, and trying to process her grief. Her father had left their home in Doncaster years before after a battle with alcohol. “Dad had a drinking problem. We’d see glimpses of his good side but he let us down,” she says. “I ended up trying to take care of him rather than the other way round.”

When her mother died, life felt bleak, “I lost the one person who loved me unconditionally, and then when my sister Fizz [Félicité] died of an accidental overdose, I thought I could never be happy again,” she says. “I found the lead-up to Mother’s Day devastating without my sister as well. It was a constant reminder that I was now different from my friends. In my dreams, my mum was still there; she was alive. I woke up feeling comforted, only to realise that she’d gone.”

Tomlinson, who is now 25 and a patron of the bereavement charity Sue Ryder, moves easily between telling you how to apply the best tan and how to talk about death. She cares passionately about both subjects and takes them equally seriously, worried that I’ve never tried a bronzer or used foundation before asking how I coped when my mother died during the pandemic. Her soft Yorkshire accent is both reassuring and no-nonsense.

Born near Doncaster, she was only two when Fizz was born and six when the first twins arrived. “I’ve always been the big sister — Fizz and I each got one and then more twins six years later.” While Louis had his own space, the girls all shared one room with bunk beds. “It was chaos, but my mum, Johannah, was a midwife and loved being pregnant and having so many babies,” she explains. “I used to be in awe of the way she could feed the twins at once, one on each hip. She would do the night shifts, while I held the fort at home.”

Within a few years, Tomlinson would be touring America, Asia and Europe, flying first class with Louis, part of the biggest boy band in the world, but until she was 15, the family had only ever gone to France once a year all packed into a seven-seater car, with her mother’s new partner, snacks laid out in the middle. They stayed in a caravan park. On a Sunday, a treat was to go to their mother’s hospital to see the babies.

While Louis just wanted to sing, play the guitar and listen to Oasis, the girls were obsessed with make-up. “From the age of 12, I struggled academically, but I loved cropped clothes and my mum’s highlighters and mascaras.” She learnt how to apply everything from YouTube tutorials, rather than doing algebra. “We didn’t have much money — we sometimes couldn’t afford to top up the electricity meter so used candles — but everything my mum earned she spent on us. We all looked immaculate — I remember her being horrified when I dyed my hair orange. So it was lovely later when we could treat her.”

Saturday nights were spent watching The X Factor. “My mother and brother kept applying; in 2010, he got in and the whole family went for the audition. We believed in him, but we never thought it would go that far.” One day the family were going to the live shows, the next the boy band was formed with Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Liam Payne. “He was 18. For my mum it was a big shock. It was all so sudden. The press and fans were in our front garden every day.”

The older twins had already made their first TV appearances — they sound like Doncaster’s Von Trapps. “My mother was gently pushy,” Tomlinson says, smiling at the thought. “When I didn’t get good enough GCSEs to stay at school, she sent me off to join Louis on tour as work experience. I was so scared. I remember her ringing up Lou [Teasdale], their hair and make-up artist, and saying, ‘Lottie has not got through to sixth form; she’s going to come and assist you.’ I was in the car going, ‘No, please don’t.’ But it ended up being the best thing that happened to me. I went for a week and stayed two years. Lou and I are still so close.”

Suddenly, the two eldest Tomlinson children were circling the world, eating room service and ducking the paparazzi hanging out of helicopters taking snaps. “At first Louis didn’t really want his little sister gate crashing his new rock-star life, but now it feels like the best time of our lives — we experienced that craziness together,” she says.

The teenage Tomlinson found it harder to cope with being photographed wherever she went. “I had some puppy fat which made me very self-aware, and the filler culture was coming in and I felt I had to look perfect.” She had her lips done first at 17. “Then I became addicted: cheek filler, jaw filler, more make-up, blonder hair, slimmer and more tanned. My mum thought I looked perfect, but I was always searching.”

Five years later, when she became pregnant with Lucky and her lips started to swell and crack, she realised she didn’t need the enhancements any more. “I had everything removed, the false eyelashes too. It was liberating.” She kept her boob job, however. “That was just enhancement,” she says laughing. “The rest radically changed the way I looked. My breasts also got huge when I was pregnant and it was a bit painful. But I still breastfed. I loved carrying my child. I felt fantastic even when I was sick and exhausted.”

She leans forward, wraps her bronzed arms around her stomach and whispers, “I am pregnant again. We don’t know yet if it’s a boy or girl. It’s only 13 weeks, so this is the first time I’ve said it publicly. I think I want a big family. I loved having Lucky but after a year I wanted to give him siblings.”

Tomlinson’s influencer career began once she established herself on tour. Soon everything she did, even dying her roots rainbow-coloured, went viral and fashion companies from Asos to Dior wanted in on it. “I was just going for it. I couldn’t believe the money I was making and spending — money I didn’t know existed as a child.”

Then suddenly her mum came home from holiday with flu. “She didn’t want to get out of bed. The doctors quite quickly told her she had leukaemia and she went straight to London for treatment. It all happened so fast. I remember being in London at work and getting a call from her partner — she couldn’t say the words herself, it was too hard for her.” The family were told it was treatable. “We kept so much hope.”

Her mother asked the family to keep her illness secret. “It was hard because you feel so isolated, but I understood. Louis was in the public eye and she didn’t want him questioned. She was determined to fight it and didn’t want everyone pitying her. My friends noticed I was acting differently for a few months. But I wanted to respect her wishes. It was her one request.”

She also dropped everything to go back to Doncaster to help her grandparents with the twins. “The younger ones were two and I wanted to keep everything as normal as possible. I can’t imagine what my mum was feeling leaving her kids to go to hospital.

“I would take them down and treasure seeing her — we tried to keep it light, no serious conversation. The only way Mum could cope was to keep it normal. Then, when the doctors said the transfusions hadn’t worked, she came home to die.”

Tomlinson tries to sound matter-of-fact. “We went to see her in hospital in Sheffield and the next morning we woke up and were told she had died. We felt numb. We didn’t know what to do with ourselves. Now I am involved with the Sue Ryder charity, I am surprised we were offered no support or counselling at all, from the GP, the teachers, the professionals. They all kept away.” Her nan and grandad picked up the pieces.

It’s not surprising she can’t remember the funeral. “I just remember getting really drunk to numb the pain. I couldn’t come to terms with it. I can’t even remember how we organised it. My instinct was to take over as the eldest girl and step into my mum’s shoes so that is what I did.” Meanwhile, her older brother, who was launching his solo career, ensured there was enough money. “He’s incredibly generous. We looked after each other.”

Tomlinson returned to London months later, after her grandmother said she needed to become a role model for her siblings. Her younger sister Fizz worried her most. “She was very academic — she got straight A’s without trying — but she always said she felt different. She was bottling her grief for so long; it was too much and made her turn to other things. I think Mum’s death destroyed her. Only my mum seemed to understand her. If she had been offered some help at the start, things might have been different.”

Meanwhile, Tomlinson’s self-tanning brand was soon being sold in Los Angeles, New York and Australia, while her own fanbase grew; she hardly ever needed to pay for drinks, meals or holidays. However, she finds the term influencer obnoxious. “I don’t want to act like I tell people what to do. I am more of a content creator,” she explains. “I get paid by brands to create content for their clothes or beauty products and promote that to my followers. I also wanted my own business. I was quite aware that, at the end of the day, I was just working with an app. That’s why I started Tanologist with my business partner. I was always using tanning treatments that would end up turning my sheets orange and my face would break out in spots — this is more natural.”

Louis was also forging his career as a solo artist, eventually creating the song Two of Us about his mother’s death. “We were always so proud of Louis and what he was doing. We were not going to match up to being a global superstar, but we didn’t want to — ‘successful’ looks different for everyone,” she says.

But her sister Fizz was slipping and struggling. “She was old enough to do what she wanted at 19; she was partying and taking stuff to numb everything. She did go into rehab but to me it didn’t feel like an addiction problem, but a way to blank out her grief.” When Tomlinson was invited to Bali, she asked Fizz whether she wanted her to stay behind. “She said she was OK, and then it happened while I was away,” she says. (Fizz accidentally overdosed on cocaine, an anxiety drug and painkillers, her inquest found.) “Louis called me…” She stops talking.

The shock of a second death must have been devastating. She doesn’t speak for a minute while she twists her huge diamond engagement ring. “We weren’t mentally prepared,” she eventually says. “I can’t even remember if the two funerals were in the same church. I think grief has affected my memory a lot and that’s quite common. Grief is such a powerful emotion; it takes up a lot of your brain.”

Five years later, she now knows how to remain positive. “I had an amazing mum for 18 years. I have the most amazing family, my little boy and my career, and that is because of her. The same with Fizz — I had an amazing sister. It’s heartbreaking they aren’t with us any more, but they are together and they are looking out for me,” she says, sounding as though she is repeating a mantra.

Having a baby made her feel closer to them both. “He was a boy — it’s funny, he actually looks a lot like Louis did — and I thought, this is what my mother must have felt. But then I had so many questions I couldn’t ask, even more because she was a midwife.”

Her biggest problem was her terror that something terrible would happen to her son. “I became fixated [on the idea that] something bad would happen to him, so I couldn’t sleep. You go to the worst-case scenario, because that’s happened to you twice, to two of the closest people in your life. I couldn’t turn the lights off at night; I needed to see him all the time. Luckily, it calmed down quite quickly.”

We are still flitting between her story and advice on make-up, exercise and clothes.

“I like sharing advice. If a child lost their mother, I would say there is no magic answer. But the point of this book is to show that you can have tragic things happen and still keep going.”

What would the 25-year-old now say to her younger self, struggling at her second funeral at the age of 20? “I would say, ‘You are going to be OK; you will live a nice life.’ I didn’t think I could. I thought this will be a really sad, lonely life without my mum and sister. I wouldn’t have believed then that I could be happy again. But it would have been nice to hear.”

Lucky Girl by Lottie Tomlinson (Bonnier, £22). To order a copy go to timesbookshop.co.uk. Free UK standard P&P on orders over £25. Special discount available for Times+ members

[sunshineandlyrics]

⚽️📺 Not all heroes wear capes.

Louis' tv showing England v Slovakia at Glastonbury, 30 June 2024 (Euro 2024) x x x x

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Well that’s….. unexpected🧍🏽‍♀️

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“[…] Louis Tomlinson strutting around the Common stage like an absolute rock god […]”

- In Common Victorious Festival 2024 Review

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The Japan premiere of the movie “ALL OF THOSE VOICES” at TOHO Cinemas Roppongi Hills with Louis Tomlinson and director Charlie Lightning on the red carpet. via _intoxicatedbyharry, cto

🇯🇵 Roppongi Hills, Tokyo / 🗓️ 13.03.2023

[louisupdates]

Louis Tomlinson is featured in Disrupted Magazine [Sep 2024 Issue 21] for his performance at FESTNINGEN FESTIVAL [30.8.2024, Trondheim, Norway].

Louis Tomlinson: Why Taking Care Of Your Fanbase Matters.

Article by Nathalie Knudsen. Photograph by Arne Staverløkk

Louis Tomlinson’s performance at Festningen was nothing short of a testament to the deep devotion of his fans and the profound connection he and they share. Fans traveled from all over the world just to witness his set at the Norwegian festival and began queuing outside the festival grounds at dawn, even prompting security to implement an entirely new queuing system just to accommodate the growing crowd of patient fans. This dedication is a reflection of the unique relationship Tomlinson shares with his fanbase — one that has remains strong since his One Direction days. For them, this was no ordinary festival appearance, but an opportunity to witness the artistry of someone they’ve supported for years.

Tomlinson took the stage relatively early in the day, at 5:30 PM after Ramón’s fiery performance, but the crowd was already large and continuously increasing. He kept his performance grounded in his signature, laid-back style, walking casually on stage for his entrance and keeping interactions with the crowd intimate and personal, even with thousands watching. While some artists may seize a festival setting to put on an elaborate, attention-grabbing show, Louis delivered something far more intimate and sincere. Performing tracks from his solo discography, telling stories of personal relationships and his deep connection with his fans, Louis showcased his rock-infused pop sound, which may surprise those only familiar with his One Direction work. Even when he played some of the band’s classics, they felt re-energized within his solo show, offering a fresh take on familiar favorites. Throughout the set, fans watched attentively, absorbing every lyric and appreciating the genuine, unpretentious nature of his performance. Louis has never been one for showy theatrics, preferring instead to let his authenticity speak for itself. As his performance drew to a close, Louis followed his tradition of jumping into the crowd, blurring the line between artist and audience. It was a fitting gesture for an artist so closely tied to his fanbase, reinforcing the genuine connection they share.

In a way that is only accurate for great live performers, Tomlinson’s songs truly come alive on stage. His music, while heartfelt and introspective, carries an energy that’s best experienced live, and his set left the audience ecstatic and energized. This is an artist who has grown into his own, and he’s delivering shows that are real and authentic, and he is continuously and carefully deepening the special bond he shares with his fanbase. Despite his global success, he continues to prioritize keeping ticket and merch prices as affordable and accessible as possible, doing free signings and making efforts to meet fans after shows. He has always emphasize that his relationship with his fans is a “team effort”, a sentiment found to be true as fans of all ages and from all over the world came to support him at a seemingly random festival in the middle of Norway.  

[louisupdates]

With the first quarter of the 21st century coming to an end, Billboard has been looking back on the 25 Greatest Pop Stars of the Past 25 Years. Below, we take a deeper look into the solo career of Louis Tomlinson — one of the members of our No. 22 pop stars, One Direction — and how his songwriting, originally honed in 1D, has helped him develop into one of the group’s strongest breakout artists.

When One Direction officially went on hiatus in 2015, Zayn Malik dropped Mind of Mine in 2016, Harry Styles’ eponymous LP dropped in 2017, Niall Horan followed with Flicker later that year and Liam Payne’s First Time EP arrived in 2018. Louis Tomlinson, however, took his time with releasing a full project – and entered an era of healing and self-discovery that saw him realizing his potential as one of 1D’s most self-actualized artists, even if not necessarily the starriest.

Even before going solo, Tomlinson showed he was meant for breakthrough success while in One Direction. Longtime Directioners know that Tomlinson wrote more songs in One Direction than any other member, penning long standing hits including “Perfect,” “History” and “Fool’s Gold” and proving his fortitude as a songwriter who understands lyrical cleverness and crafting the indescribably catchy refrains necessary to produce arena-ready hits. Beyond his musical abilities, Tomlinson’s sense of humor and friendship with fellow 1D members also ensured fans had a soft spot for him.

However, when he did go solo, the road was slippery at first. He teamed up with Steve Aoki for his first solo release “Just Hold On” in December 2016, and just three days before its release, Tomlinson’s mother died of leukemia. He still took the stage to perform the song on The X Factor, the first public testament to the star’s strength and dedication to his musical craft.

Tomlinson’s resilience amid adversity continued as he navigated the music industry. The star signed with Epic Records in 2017 and released a few singles – including “Miss You” and the Bebe Rexha and Digital Farm Animals-assisted “Back to You.” While the infectious hooks to both tracks could have easily solidified Tomlinson as a pop mainstay, the two singles didn’t perform as well as expected on the charts: “Just Hold On” peaked at No. 52 on the Billboard Hot 100 and “Back to You” hit No. 40, while “Miss You” missed the chart altogether. Ultimately, a full-length album never materialized with Epic Records.

Tomlinson shortly got back on his feet, as he always does, and signed with Arista Records in 2019 – where he honed his talent as a songwriter, this time feeling comfortable enough to tackle more vulnerable topics in his music. His first release under the label was “Two of Us,” a heart-wrenching tribute to his late mother. “I know you’ll be looking down/ Swear I’m gonna make you proud/ I’ll be living one life for the two of us,” he sings in the chorus, giving a glimpse into what would soon become a musical career full of honesty and vulnerability.

Unfortunately, shortly after its release, another hardship struck Tomlinson’s life when his 18-year-old sister Fizzy died of an accidental overdose. Both the release of “Two of Us” and the tragedy that followed showed just how close Tomlinson’s community of fans is, as they showered him with online love and support in the months that followed.

After taking some much-deserved time to heal, he announced in August of that year that his debut solo album was on its way – and shortly after, he released a follow-up single, the rock-leaning, drumline-driven “Kill My Mind.” Tomlinson admitted that he finally found his stride. “I’m actually really proud and relieved to finally find my place, find my lane musically,” he told Hits Radio Breakfast at the time, indicating a moment of relief amid his turbulent few years.

Tomlinson’s debut solo album, Walls, arrived in January 2020 and while it hit the Billboard 200‘s top 10, it was met with mixed reviews from critics, who suggested that the heart he wanted to portray wasn’t quite there. His growth outside of commercial success proved otherwise, as he had been spending the past few years building a solid identity not only as an artist, but also as a person. While some of the other One Direction alums are still finding their footing with their solo sounds to this day, Tomlinson grew strongly into an instrumentation-focused pop-rock artist whose lyrics go beyond the cookie cutter sentiments you might expect from a former boy band member.

And soon, all the hard work – both personally and musically – finally paid off. Faith in the Future, his 2022 sophomore solo album, debuted at No. 1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart. In the United States, Faith In The Future debuted at No. 2 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart, and at No. 5 on the all-genre Billboard 200, his highest-charting set yet on both tallies. The album’s success, as well his sold-out live shows on its accompanying tour, not only showed the still-standing Directioner devotion to Tomlinson, but also made it clear that he picked up a slew of new fans along the way.

Tomlinson’s self-awareness was evident on the album’s lead single, “Bigger Than Me.” “When somebody told me I would change/ I was afraid, I don’t know why/ ‘Cause so does the world outside, I’ve realized/ It’s bigger than me,” he sings – indicating that the key for solo success all along was being himself, and letting go of the pressure that fame brings.

While Tomlinson has still yet to score the major chart hits stateside that his 1D bandmates essentially achieved right away – and has been more focused on his 28 clothing line the past couple years – he’s proven that he doesn’t need traditional pop crossover success to have a bright future ahead of him. With another couple albums and tours that continue to establish his identity and expand his artistry, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him making the jump to arenas in the not-distant future. Louis’ solo career may not have gotten off to the perfect start, but it just might end up being perfect for him in the long-term anyway.

[louisupdates]

Louis Tomlinson, FITFWT23: LAVAL [29.5.2023] 📸 euges.film

[sunshineandlyrics]

2 September 2024

Full Just Jared article x

[louisupdates]

Former One Direction and now solo star Louis Tomlinson was watched by both devoted fans and those new to his music. While he has performed many times at big festivals overseas, this late afternoon appearance was surprisingly his first one in the UK and, judging from crowd response, a big success.

- Victorious Festival: Our review of hit three-day Portsmouth festival / Daily Echo [24.8.2024]

[louisupdates]

More from Saskia Postema, who reviewed LIVE for Euphoriazine [26.4.2024]

[louisupdates]

Prince William's Royal Night Out

Published Jun 21, 2024 at 4:49 AM EDT | Updated Jun 21, 2024 at 9:44 AM EDT

Prince William visited Germany on Thursday to attend a high-profile soccer match on the evening before his 42nd birthday.

The prince was photographed alongside European royalty at the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament group stage match between England and Denmark. He attended in his capacity as president of the Football Association in Britain, a role he was given by Queen Elizabeth II in 2006.

[…]

William not only met European royalty at the game but also pop royalty, in the form of former One Direction band member Louis Tomlinson.

Footage of the prince and the singer chatting behind the scenes at the stadium has gone viral online. It is not the first time the two have met. The pair were photographed together at the Royal Variety charity performance in 2014 and 2017.

In 2018 when William and Kate named their youngest son Louis, Tomlinson posted a lighthearted social media message dedicated to the prince, including the line: "Young Louis welcome to the world. I'll take you under my wing lad."

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Louis Tomlinson and Prince William at the Euros 2024 England vs. Denmark game in Frankfurt today [20.6.2024]

[louisupdates]

I don’t know if I should say this, but… quite a few times, I don’t know why, I really— and we haven’t made it happen yet— but I really have the urge to write with, or for, or both— with / for Liam Payne. Honestly, I just— because we spent a lot of time working together, and we often… most of the songs I wrote in the band, I wrote with Liam. we built a really good partnership like that. I would be interested to see what that looks like for his stuff. I just always have this thing in the back of my mind. I mean, maybe he wouldn’t have me, I don’t know. But I just always have this thing, I think it would be kind of nice. I would like to hear… if I could imagine what song I’d like to write with him, I’d like to write something kind of emotive and honest, something in that realm. I can hear it in my head, but yeah.

- Louis Tomlinson interviewing with POPline, São Paulo 2.4.2024

[louisupdates]

Louis Tomlinson Is Officially Embracing His Gray Hairs at 32 — and of Course Fans Are Swooning!

The singer leaned into his silver fox status while at Glastonbury Festival in England

By Hedy Phillips Published on July 1, 2024 05:32PM EDT

Louis Tomlinson with his sister Lottie Tomlinson at Glastonbury Festival. PHOTO: LOTTIE TOMLINSON/INSTAGRAM

Louis Tomlinson is officially a silver fox.

The singer, 32, embraced his grays while at the Glastonbury Festival in Somerset England during the last weekend in June. Tomlinson's normally shaggy brunette hair had wisps of gray strands peeking through, mostly on the sides.

Tomlinson was at the festival with a group of friends and his sister, Lottie Tomlinson, and the "Silver Tongues" singer and his crew made waves for bringing a TV onto festival grounds to watch the England football club's UEFA match because there was nowhere else to watch it during the festival. Thanks to his bold decision, Tomlinson (and his grays) made it all over social media, onto the news (including the BBC!) and into headlines.

Tomlinson's fans have been quick to swoon over his status as a silver fox, praising him all over every social media platform.

One person captured a video of Tomlinson from one of the newscasts, adding little emojis to the gray hairs and wrote, "I will protect you louis’ gray hair, while another added, "Louis’ gray hair being one of the most talked about twitter discourse, with locals writing paragraphs to defend him was not on my bingo card. Atleast everyone is appreciating this silver-fox dilf."

Tomlinson, who rose to fame as part of One Direction alongside Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne and Niall Horan, has slowly been embracing his gray hair over the past couple years as he's gotten older (and the quick-witted and sassy artist would probably have words for us for calling it out).

A few gray hairs have poked through all over his head from time to time, and fans have captured the evidence in plenty of photos that they've shared on social media (with fervor). While he hasn't yet gone fully gray, he's gone in and out of brown and gray phases — even with his facial hair.

One thing is for certain, his fans, are here for the grays. One fan put it very simply (also quoting one of Tomlinson's own tattoos): "let's just say I am a silver fox fan and will always be a silver fox fan. Love the gray hair. It is What it is!"