“Go Little Rockstar!” – Louis Tomlinson Kicks Off His World Tour

He made it, underestimated, and he touched our hearts in the process. Louis Tomlinson has finally kicked off his world tour, after many postponements and, as Louis recently put it, “Covid sh*t,” and what a start it was! Our eyes are still puffy, we’re mildly dehydrated, and we’re still pining for ‘Perfect Now,’ but we’re so ready to debrief! So sit back with a cup of tea as we celebrate the man who never fails to make this feel like home. Here are our fave moments from opening night in Dallas!

1. “I need you and you need me!”

Did this one sentence have us crying for 7 hours? Maybe… Throughout the entire night, Louis never failed to remind everyone just how much he loves his fans. We knew that already, and Louis shows that love to us constantly, but this speech just hit different. It was truly authentic, and from the bottom of his heart, and in those few words, he made our hearts glow.

Here at The Honey POP, we are rooted in the belief that fans are the powerhouse of the music industry, but at times in the industry, as fans ourselves, we don’t always see that being echoed. But not when it comes to Louis Tomlinson. He knows just how special and powerful his fans are, and in these moments, we find validation, warmth, and appreciation like no other. We know he loves us, but to hear him say he needs us, just like we need him, was a moment we will never, ever get over. Cue tattoo artists around the globe, getting ready to ink those words on Louies worldwide. We’re game.

“You know, everywhere I go, I’m so blessed. Everyone I work with, I talk about you lot. Anyone who works with me knows, all I ever fuc*ing talk about is how amazing you are. And honestly, this is not just some typical sh*t that people say on stage coz, whatever. I mean honestly I feel… I need you and you need me, and I fuc*ing like that.”

Louis Tomlinson

2. The Setlist

What a setlist! 18 songs and he sang each with his entire chest! Also, can we just take a moment to appreciate that ‘7’ was the seventh song in the set? This man and his numbers…

Truly incredible! A perfect mix of Walls tracks, singles, One Direction faves, and impeccably selected covers. Okay, let’s just get it out of the way early doors… Yes, justice for ‘Perfect Now’ and ‘Change.’ Did we want to hear Louis Tomlinson tell a room full of people that he’ll be the friend they need? Yes, we need that in our souls. But maybe he’s just saving that for the gigs we’re going to (That’s what we’ll continue telling ourselves, so don’t burst our bubble). Either way, that incredible new tune, and hopefully more, are not too far away, with new music from Louis coming soon! Let’s just keep our “Faith In The Future.”👀

One of the scariest moments of the night was when Louis exclaimed, “we’ve only got four songs left!” before singing ‘Little Black Dress.’ We could hear the cogs turning in Louie brains around the world as the collective panic of song cuts began. Thankfully it was a false alarm and just “36+6=38” energy, as Lou went on to perform five more tracks. Will this setlist be concrete throughout the tour, or will we see it evolve? We can’t wait to find out!

3. His Voice!

Always one for improving his craft with the support of vocal coach Helene, Louis soared vocally throughout the entire night. After 18 songs and his heart admittedly pounding out of his chest, Louis ended the night as vocally strong as he started it, and that is no mean feat! Louis’ dedication to putting in the vocal effort paid off by the bucket load… We mean, those note changes? Pardon us, sir? We ascended and then slid down the ‘Walls’ (sorry, we had to).

4. The Size Of The Audience!

How many people did Louis Tomlinson play to on the opening night of his world tour? “Well, the venue held about 4,000, so about that?” WRONG. Try double the capacity of Wembley Stadium! Unbeknownst to Louis, who thought he was singing and chatting to a fairly quaint amount of his fans, thoughtful people across the audience were live-streaming the concert on social media, helping to ensure fellow fans who couldn’t attend got to experience this incredible night. We’re giving a special shout here to Plantscribble on Instagram, you’re the G.O.A.T. When we say fellow fans, we’re not talking a few… Oh no, we’re talking over 80k fans on Instagram, 80k on TikTok, 40k on multiple Twitter streams, hundreds of physical group watch parties, and 4,000 people at the venue. Early estimates put the total at 240,000 Louies watching him perform in a venue for 4,000 people. As he sat on the edge of the stage and joked with a fan about “flagging him off” (flipping him the bird), little did he know he was looking down the lens at hundreds of thousands of us, and that was pretty bloody special.  

Stop, there’s more. With an estimated 240,000 fans watching Louis’ debut tour gig online – we did some math…. that’s 28 times as many people as the audience at the Away From Home Festival. We hope that fact just gave you as much serotonin as it did for us here at THP HQ!

4. The Fit

Louis fashion designer era? Ok, maybe that’s overkill, but we were living for Louis’ 28 inspired tour opening outfit. He looked so good! Yes, we may have gone postal and started screaming “Is he wearing skinny jeans?” at our phones, in the dead of night as he appeared on the red-lit stage, but that’s neither here nor there. Paired with a custom black zip pullover with red embroidery, it let Louies know we were right with the vibes for our own outfits too. He got that black and red memo! We see you too, Dallas Louies, you looked incredible. A bouquet of embroidered red roses lay over his heart, above the words “28 Official Program,” as also seen on his green ensemble from the Away From Home Festival. The fit gave comfy casual effort, and he looked incredible. We’re waiting for this fit in Burberry check, please… Watch this space.

Louis then changed and greeted some fans as he headed out to the tour buses, but the fit effort stayed! His after-show look also included a similar “28” design – Please let this custom aesthetic travel through the tour with him, because we’re living for it.

5. ‘Only The Brave’

We have to talk about the performance of fan-favorite song, ‘Only The Brave.’ This will go down as one of the most moving moments of the entire night, hands down. It takes a truly special human to create such a warm and safe space for fans that they feel truly able to express themselves, and the fan reaction during ‘Only The Brave’ proved just how true that is in this community. During this first encore song, fans in their hundreds held up their respective pride flags in a sea of beautiful color, finding comfort, love, and acceptance to be themselves in the community brought together by Louis. So many LGBTQIA+ fans find joy in and feel seen by this song, and as we’ve previously said: The honesty of an incredible songwriter is that people can take what they need from the music and lyrics. Last night so many Louies were able to do just that, live, with Louis. What a truly emotional and powerful moment for those Louies – the hairs stood up on our arms.

What a truly special night, for us, for Louis, for his team and his loved ones, and for Sun Room, his opening act, who killed it, by the way! We’re absolutely feral over the fact we’ll be experiencing this ourselves soon too! Already got your tickets? We’ll see you there besties! Not scored yours yet? It’s still worth keeping your eyes out for official resales!

Drop us a comment down below, or hit us up on Twitter at @thehoneypop or on Facebook and Instagram, and let us know your fave moments from Louis Tomlinson’s World Tour so far! Gonna be at a show? Let us know! Maybe we’ll be there too, and maybe we’ll have stickers!

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