The Show (Niall Horan album)

On 15 February 2023, Horan announced the album title and release date.[1][2]

Whilst promoting the lead single, Horan told Rolling Stone: "What makes this record incredibly special to me is it's a reflection of where I am in my life today, as a person, a musician, and of course, as a songwriter," he explained in the video. "Can't say I'm not a little nervous, but hopefully you'll still like this version of me when you listen to the new record."[3] Horan appeared Late Night with Seth Meyers and spoke about how his last album cycle for Heartbreak Weather was heavily impacted by a series of lockdowns in 2020, meaning that he was never able to tour the project. "I'd released an album the day we were told we were going into lockdown, um – some would say that was great timing! The tour got cancelled [...] So then I was sitting around waiting for something to happen, waiting for the creative juices to flow [...] Once it came it kind of opened a door for what is now a finished product, record."[4]

In an interview with NME, Horan shared: "The last time I wrote an album I did less thinking. You don’t in your early 20s, you don’t think too much at all [...] I think with pandemics and relationships and things like that, you subconsciously grow as a person. And then production wise and what I’m saying [lyrically], it just sounds like something that a 30-year-old would release. Not a youthful version of what I did before."[5]

"Heaven", was released on 17 February 2023 as the lead single. The song debuted at number 4 on the Irish singles chart,[6] number 16 on the UK Official Top 100 and at number 63 in the USA on the Billboard Hot 100.[7] "Heaven" official music video was released one week later. In Australia, "Heaven" peaked at number 30 on that country's singles chart.[8] An acoustic version was released on 10 March 2023.[9]

"Meltdown" served as the second official single from the album. It was released on 28 April 2023.[10][11][12] "Meltdown" debuted at number 15 on the Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50 on 5 May 2023.[13] In the United Kingdom, "Meltdown" debuted at number 62 on the UK Official Singles Chart Top 100[14] and debuted at number 48 on the UK Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100 on 5 May 2023.[15]

In February 2023, Horan performed the "Heaven" chorus acoustically whilst appearing on the The Late Late Show with James Corden.[16] He appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show and discussed writing the song at a writer's camp.[17][18] Horan appeared on The Jonathan Ross Show on 11 March 2023.[19][20] On 15 May 2023, Horan performed "Meltdown" on The Voice.[21][22]

• List of 2023 albums