Love looks good on Niall Horan
Photography by Zachery Michael
The Irish pop star and former One Direction member is returning with his fourth solo album Dinner Party, diving into the rollercoaster of emotions that come with loss and love.
Niall Horan is in love, and he wants you to know about it. The 32-year-old’s new single Dinner Party recounts the moment he first locked eyes with his now-girlfriend across his friend’s dinner table. Set against the soft strum of an acoustic guitar and gentle thud of drums, Horan’s rasp carries a message of pure adoration.
The single is the warm-up to his fourth solo album of the same name. Dinner Party, releasing June 5th, journeys through the various stages of love in all of its forms. The single focuses on the inception, but takes a wonderfully tumultuous journey over the album’s course, as Niall delves into the “ups, downs and the small moments within a relationship.” The pop star will be taking the album on the road across the UK and Europe from September to November 2026 with Dinner Party Live on Tour. After locking himself away in various havens across the globe, a box of Modelo beers as fuel, he’s written arguably one of his most vulnerable, heartfelt records to date.
With this year marking his 10th anniversary as a solo artist, it’s hard to imagine a time when Niall wasn’t putting out tracks that hit the mark. But after leaving boyband One Direction in his early 20s, Niall didn’t plan on riding off the coattails of the band’s overwhelming success. “If it had gone wrong at the start, God knows I wouldn’t be here,” the singer chuckles, reflecting on the beginning of his solo career. Luckily, that wasn’t Niall’s fate. His debut solo album Flicker saw Horan ascend to the top of the charts, with the 13-track project debuting at the No.1 spot on the Billboard 200 in the US, and taking the same spot in his home of Ireland. It’s the album that gave us heartfelt confessional This Town and the electrifying Slow Hands – tracks that would define his solo sound.
Now, with his fourth album marked for the same success, and with a newfound confidence following his 2024 tour The Show: Live On Tour, which saw almost “1.5 million” fans in attendance, Horan is sitting comfortably alongside the contemporary vanguard of pop artists. Some of them have even joined him on his journey. 2025 BRITs Rising Star winner Myles Smith leant his pop-folk sound to their joint track Drive Safe, and Grammy-nominee Sombr welcomed Niall for a surprise performance at his sold-out O2 Academy Brixton show to a raucous crowd.
A few days before the release of Dinner Party, we met Niall Horan at the recording studio to chat about the loss and love at the heart of his upcoming album, the best gig venues London has to offer, and finding his work-life balance.
It was St. Patrick’s Day yesterday. Did you celebrate?
I was off yesterday. I played golf, and then I came home and had a barbecue. The sun was out and I thought, ‘Alright, we’re going to stop and get food.’ I made a few burgers, a bit of steak; it was nice.
Do you consider yourself a good host?
Yeah, I would say I’m a good host. I’m a bit annoying, though, because I’m one of those people who have to be cleaning as they go. People never actually enjoy what I do because I’m always the one who’s [cleaning].
We’re in a studio setting. What did a day in the studio look like during the creation of the album?
When I was in the studio for this album, we would rent a house and go away. I’ve found that the best way to get the best out of us all is to go away to the remote countryside and rent a house. We did it a few times: we did one in Surrey, Nashville, and Austin. We get away, stay for four or five days and completely concentrate on what we’re doing. This time in the studio, it was all about finding the sound. I knew what I was going to write about. It was more about the feeling and the vibe. So we had a band set up in the studio, and I got on the mic and we played guitar, drums, and bass. We just jammed and saw what came out of me naturally. That was a lot of fun, and I worked with two people who are very close to me, Julian Bunetta and John Ryan. We’ve worked together for the last 14 years. It’s like mates going to make tunes together. It’s actually pretty cool.
Do you find that solitude helps you to create?
Just locking ourselves away and being away from the madness of a city [helps]. Although having said that, we stayed in Dean Street Townhouse for a week. That was interesting because we were looking for a few up-tempo songs towards the end of the album. Staying in the middle of Soho and having nothing to write about [was interesting], and we were like ‘What are we going to do?’ And then we’d just go down the street, have a couple of pints, come back, and write a few tunes. Being in the madness is sometimes good for the music, especially at the start of an album when you need to concentrate. Locking yourself away is a pretty good idea.
Do you see the tracks on the album as the Dean Street track or the Nashville track?
Honestly, yeah! I see Dean Street as up-tempo and on the cheekier, sexier side. I wrote Dinner Party in a house in the middle of Surrey with rolling hills around. Then, when I think about the little ballads, I think of myself at home on my own. They actually do reflect [the places I wrote from].
Tell me about the stories and people at the heart of this album.
Well, my relationship is obviously a big part of it. It’s about the ups and downs, and the small moments within the relationship. Then there’s the fear of losing that person; just loss in general is a theme. I think it’s also about looking back at my past, being nostalgic about it, but not longing to be back there and being excited for the future. Overall, I think it feels happy and uplifting. I tend to write lyrics that are personal and a little bit moody and dress them up in a fun way. Obviously, you have the little ballads that make you get deeper, I suppose, just by the way you finger-pick the guitar. But for the most part, it feels uplifting.
It’s about the ups and downs, and the small moments within the relationship. Then there’s the fear of losing that person. It’s also about looking back at my past, being nostalgic about it, but not longing to be back there and being excited for the future. Overall, I think it feels happy and uplifting
Do you find it easier to write and sing about these difficult feelings as opposed to talking about them?
Yeah, I think I find it easy to write about what’s going on in my life. I know about it so It’s very easy to sit down and go, “Well, I know what I’m going to write about today, because it’s happened to me.’ There’s nothing worse than being like, ‘I don’t know what to write about today,’ but I’ve been very lucky that I have one of those brains that’s able to pick out even the smallest moments and make them into a four-minute song. It could be the tiniest little thing to happen, and I’ll be able to hone in on it and think about what it means conceptually.
And these songs make up album number four as a solo artist.
Bonkers.
Crazy. Why was now the right time for album number four?
I was excited off the back of my last tour. I think I was ready to go straight away, really. With 2024’s tour, there was a lot of excitement. I played to 1.5 million people across the globe, or something like that. You gain some confidence from that, and people want more from you. I already had an idea of what it was going to sound like and what I was going to write about; I just needed to get going. Usually, I take a lot longer to make an album. I’m sure the fans are happy, as I haven’t released music in three years. It happens fast in my view, but probably not from the fans’ point of view. I just felt like I was ready.
I saw you’re performing at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend. Are you excited to be back out there performing for the fans?
I love being in the studio and rehearsal room with the band and all that, but actually getting back out there and playing gigs and doing shows is what I’ve done for 15 years. I just love doing it. I feel more comfortable in front of 20,000 people than I do in front of four. It’s mad. I don’t know what it is. If someone asked me to pick up a guitar at the pub and sing, I’d hate it. I love the idea of putting 20,000 people who have paid money to come and watch me in a room. I’m like, ‘Alright, watch this then.’
I feel more comfortable in front of 20,000 people than I do in front of four. It’s mad. If someone asked me to pick up a guitar at the pub and sing, I’d hate it. I love the idea of putting 20,000 people who have paid money to come and watch me in a room.
I’m like, ‘Alright, watch this then’.
You recently performed with Sombr at O2 Academy Brixton, too. How did that come about?
He just messaged me as he knows my manager. It’s crazy. He said, ‘I grew up on Slow Hands, can we sing it?’ and I was like, ‘Oh fuck’. That means that he was 12 when it was released. I can’t think about that too much. I’m only thirty fucking two. Also, he’s so tall. Oh my God. I am 5’8″ or something. I was wearing these shoes that’ve got a good inch on them, and I still wasn’t even close to his height. It’s cool that he’s so talented, and he feels the same way about me. I also wanted to go and watch his gig, so I’m glad that he asked me to come and sing too. I think he’s brilliant. I love that venue. It’s funny how different venues in London feel so different. If you did that same gig at Hammersmith, it would feel completely different. It feels more raucous down in Brixton. There’s a bit of grit to it; it’s class.
Where else are you watching gigs in London?
To be fair, the last couple of gigs that I have been to have been in Brixton. I went to see Royel Otis at Brixton. Sombr was at Brixton. O2 Forum Kentish Town is also good – those old theatres are good.
You’ve also collaborated with Myles Smith. Both Myles and Sombr are at the forefront of contemporary pop. Having been at the helm of the pop genre throughout your career, how do you feel about this new generation of pop artists and how the genre is evolving?
It’s a different world we live in. The great thing about it is, popularity is one thing, but you can’t have popularity without the music or good songs. No matter how famous someone is online, it’s always about good songs. These guys are ridiculous songwriters. Sombr writes and produces everything himself. He’s got his own very individual thing going on at the moment. Myles is completely in his own lane, and to see what he’s been doing over the last couple of years [is incredible]. He’s had folk songs become massive hits. The talent out there is so strong. You look at someone like Gracie Abrams, and it proves that stories and good songs always win.
Since you’ve gone on this journey as a solo artist, what has been the pivotal moment for you in your career?
I think I’m proud to have stuck to my guns in a world of evolving music. It would have been very easy for me to follow everyone else. I’m proud that I’ve stuck to what I think I do best. The first album did really well with Slow Hands and This Town, and all of that success allowed me to have other pivotal moments. If it had gone wrong at the start, God knows I wouldn’t be here. As I mentioned a few minutes ago, 2024 was huge for me. The confidence you gain from playing in front of that many people, and knowing that people want to come and watch you, is amazing. It allowed me to go into the studio a bit more free, I think.
Post-album, what are you looking forward to?
I’ll probably head out on the road. That takes up the next year. I just want to grow musically year on year, and hope people want to come to the shows. I’ve been really enjoying the work-life balance too. My whole life was all about work. Now, being able to go to work, do the gigs, write the albums and then come home and live life is great. I like having the two lives going on at the same time. The longer I keep doing that, the better.
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