Louis Tomlinson says performing on ‘The X Factor’ just days after his mother died was the most difficult moment of his career.
The One Direction singer took to the stage with Steve Aoki to perform their single ‘Just Hold On’ in December after Louis’ mother Johannah Deakin passed away following a battle with leukaemia and although Johannah wanted Louis to perform, he found the experience tough.
Speaking to HighSnobiety.com, Louis said: "I think in general, doing ‘The X-Factor’ with the Steve Aoki song was the most difficult time, but also weirdly the most rewarding as well. I definitely felt like I couldn’t do it, and then I definitely felt the support from everyone around me, the friends and family but also the fans and people outside of that."
Although One Direction are on hiatus, Louis’ bandmates Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Harry Styles went to the show to support him backstage.
Louis, 25, also revealed that he is still "blown away" by One Direction’s success and he is hugely proud of the band.
He said: "I’m still blown away by what we achieved. But also what the fans helped us achieve in such a short space of time. I can only speak for what we were, and what I see more of now in the industry, but boy bands in particular had a certain stereotype – sync’ed dance routines, all wearing the same clothes, people hiding that they had girlfriends and pretending to be single etc.
From day one we tried to be very honest and not take ourselves too seriously. I think we demonstrated that as a band you don’t have to do everything by the book and hopefully, to a certain degree, that takes away some of the pressure for new artists. That was what was endearing about 1D, especially as we were surrounded by an industry full of ‘perfect’ model people."
Although Louis – who has 17-month-old son Freddie with former fling Briana Jungwirth – and his bandmates are world-famous thanks to One Direction, he insisted that he doesn’t let scrutiny from the public bother him.
He explained: "To a certain degree, the scrutiny is irrelevant. A lot of people might get caught up on what people are talking about on Twitter or not looking perfect in a specific photo. But in reality, the only thing that matters is that the people who do like it actually like it, and that you’re getting good feedback from them. Scrutiny is also going to be part of the job, and it kind of is what it is. You can also use scrutiny to inspire and propel you forward."
Louis Tomlinson: ‘X Factor performance of Just Hold On was most difficult moment of career’
