if i see people complaining about the amount of one direction songs on a FESTIVAL setlist where louis is trying to get some new people to listen to him therefore get them to recognize him first....
X-Factor winner comes out and talks about his sexuality, how he was forced to keep his relationship with the man he fell in love with a secret from the world by his label and management.
"Also, I had the pressure of delivering a number-one album, otherwise I’d be a failure. The team I had – I’ll say it – weren’t the best. I don’t think we understood each other very well. I had a manager who… I won’t name names, but bear in mind, I was new. She was like, ‘You need to tell me now – are you or aren’t you gay? I’ve got the whole industry right now asking about you. I’m here defending you, telling them no. If it turns out you are, I’m going to have a massive egg on my face because of you.’ I couldn’t believe what was happening to me."
Copy of a copy, heartbreaking...
What's so crazy to me is that he was the 2016 winner, so all of this happened in recent years. We often believe the industry is becoming more LGBTQIA+ friendly and that things have changed, but at the end of the day, it's still all about selling records and the label owning your fucking ass. It's frustrating to see so many young artists facing similar struggles!
I'm so happy for him, that he was able to regain control of his life and proudly come out. It's SO BRAVE to do that publicly!
- I just fucking look forward to being in a situation and going into a show like “I fucking am ready, I’m ready”. - But listen, that might never come. - Yeah okay. - You have to make peace with that. Because you’re an artist and you’re a performer. So don’t wait for that moment. Your power lies in steering through what’s going on, that’s the power.
[Louis and Helene before the Away from home festival, August 2021]
Louis is always lovely and encouraging with fans. I'm happy the fan was able to share with Louis how his music has helped her and inspired her to make art.
If you want to watch her animation for Always You that Louis was watching X