Happy Birthday Louis Tomlinson: 29 times he blew us away with his vocals

Louis Tomlinson turns 29 today. To celebrate this momentous occasion we thought we’d look back at 29 times he blew us away with his vocals during a performance.

Louis has performed a lot over the years both as member of One Direction and now as a solo artist. His voice is extremely unique. 1D bandmate Liam Payne has said that Louis’s parts in songs are the hardest to replicate when singing a 1D song solo, as Louis has such a wide range and versatile tone to his voice.

As a vocalist, Louis’s voice is like a fine wine it gets better with age. It’s full of body, warmth and emotion that when you listen to it everyone gets a different sense of enjoyment from it.

To celebrate Louis birthday we thought we’d take a look back at 29 times Louis absolutely blew us away vocally. We’d also like to thank everyone who responded to our tweet, we’ve had a rather lovely couple of hours “researching” the ones we were going to mention. We’d also like to stress that these are in no particular order. So grab yourself a cup of Yorkshire Tea or something equally nice, and get comfy, ready to watch 29 videos that showcase how talented Louis is as a vocal artist.

Copy Of A Copy Of A Copy

The first taste of what could be to come from LT2, and we like many of you on Twitter are still not over this performance from Louis’s very recent live stream. This is very rightly a favourite of many fans as it was suggested so many times.

Drag Me Down

Again from the Livestream but Louis’s just nails this song from start to finish. We might actually like it more than we do the original which he wrote and sang with his One Direction bandmates Harry Styles, Liam Payne and Niall Horan.

Mr Brightside

Louis Tomlinson and The Killers….. Mr Brightside is a brilliant song but Louis’s voice really lends itself to this song.

Beautiful War

Again a cover Louis has been performing as a solo artist and we just love how he knows his voice and what songs are out there that suits it and this is certainly one of them.

Look After You

We couldn’t not include this one. Louis pre X Factor and before he was a house hold name. This shows just how he’s grown as a vocalist. This is 16 year old Louis covering the Fray’s Look After You.

No Control

No Control was always a crowd favourite on One Directions tour. It was also one that members of the band always seemed to really enjoy performing and where Louis took the lead vocally.

Just Hold On

Louis first song as a solo artist, Just Hold On was a collab with Steve Aoki. The first-ever performance we will always admire and marvel at the strength it took Louis to perform it when he did, through such a personally heartbreaking time for him and his family. Recently though Louis has begun performing a revamped and rockier version and we really like this version as it really fits with the direction Louis seems to be going musically.

Rock Me

A 1D classic that never gets the recognition it deserves nor does how Louis’s voice carries this song. This one was suggested by @carlale09084082.

Home

Iconic. Legendary. If we had to sum up Louis Tomlinson’s tenure in 1D with two songs from their discography it would be this and No Control. There is nothing bad to be said about this song. This is not a live performance but his vocals still make us feel!

Defenseless

This is fast becoming one of our favorite songs when Louis performs it live, as there is just something so raw and honest his vocals when he sings it.

Kill My Mind

Louis’s statement of intent of who he saw himself as, as a solo artist and it’s just the most amazing song live. It’s as if Louis knew when he was writing it that he would kill the vocals on it every time he performs it.

Little Black Dress

A firm favorite on Louis’s set lists this song now it’s just him singing it, hits so differently and we prefer this version to the original 1D version.

Four Five Seconds

A live lounge cover done by Louis and his 1D band mates. His vocals in this are on point and you believe every word he is singing.

Two Of Us

A song where Louis vocals never fail to make the listener feel and which bathe the listener in a swirl of emotion.

Through The Dark

This one was recommended by @louandharry11 on Twitter for the “high note” Louis does in this version Through The Dark is a lesser-known 1D song from the band’s third album Midnight Memories that’s extremely powerful and was recently reworked into a new arrangement by Louis and his band for his Livestream.

Always You

This one was a suggestion by @LoveIsLove_06 for the way Louis sings “Chasing the high”, during his performance of the track during his Livestream.

Love You Goodbye

As @louisstiptoes very rightly said on Twitter with this suggestion, Louis solo in Love You Goodbye is top tier.

Spaces

@cloudsandsea26 thinks this video of Louis’s solo in Spaces from 1D’s fourth album ‘Four’. is “gold” and we agree.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @loyallouies

Back To You

Back to You was a collab Louis did with Bebe Rexha, it was suggested by @skitzOfrienic as Louis vocals during this performance are flawless.

Don’t Let It Break Your Heart

Don’t Let It Break Your Heart is probably one of the most empowering songs that Louis has released as a solo artist. This particular performance was of Louis performing the track at the X Factor and was suggested by @Elouie_.

Perfect Now

Suggested by @karinneypenny, this one is Perfect Now from the live stream and we are going to be a bit cliché and cheesy and say it’s a perfect vocal.

Walls

The title track and last single Louis released Walls is a real focal point on the album and one of Louis’s personal favourites. This performance at BBC’s The One Show was suggested by @LouieForLife who said: “it’s so powerful”.

End of the Day

From 1D’s fifth and final album before their continuously extending hiatus, Made in the AM. This performance of End of the Day was from a gig they did for Apple Music and was suggested by @horan_infinity_,

Teenage Dirtbag

A cover of Wheatus‘s Teenage Dirtbag which was covered by 1D and was embraced by the fans as the vocals by all members of the band were so on point. This one was @TheCurlyLemur suggestion who very kindly pointed out 1:40 is the bit you must listen too.

Bridge over Troubled Water

Louis recorded a part in a charity single for Grenfell Towers as part of a collective known as Artists for Grenfell.

Valerie

Louis is a long time fan of Amy Winehouse, he covered Valerie with 1D back in 2012 and we literally love this clip.

Only The Brave

Our personal fave, so has to be included. That’s it…. we don’t think anyone will disagree with us here!

7

Catfish and the Bottleman cover which sounds as if it was written just for him and his voice.

The entire Live from London Livestream

The entire Livestream was vocally the best we have ever heard him. We didn’t think he would ever top his Scala gig back in February but he did.

Let us know how you are celebrating Louis’s birthday on Twitter!

About Author