Niall Horan came out with his third solo studio album this summer, The Show, which came out on June 9th, 2023. The new album was announced via his Instagram account, through a series of videos about his hit single ‘Heaven’. There was a lot of speculation about an album which was confirmed after his second single release, ‘Meltdown’.
Sometime before the release of the album, the complete tracklist was announced. The album has a total of ten songs on it, each one having their own personal style and meanings.
The first track on the album is hit single ‘Heaven’, with an upbeat song about the good things in your life and how important it is that you enjoy them in the present. So, when looking back on them in the future you don’t regret not living them while they were happening. I enjoyed listening to this song because I like songs that convey messages in a thoughtful way, while also having a fun beat and melody.
“Your touch is made of something Heaven can’t hold a candle to, you’re made of something new”, these lyrics are at the beginning of the song and Horan is describing the beauty of his relationship, he is referring to the girl he loves as ‘heaven’. These lyrics feel like Horan is seeing his partner as a great person, someone he loves and holds dearly and doesn’t want to let go of.
The next track on the album is ‘If You Leave Me’, this song is a representation of having a fear that your lover will leave you. An example of lyrics like this are “If you leave me oh, I think that I might just lose it completely, yeah if you leave me hope that you know that you’re sentencing me to a life on my knees, I don’t know who I’d be.”
The second verse of the song suggests that a partner may be considering a path in life that he is not willing to change for. It’s as if Horan is begging his partner not to leave him because of this argument, the bridge further relates that they could already be in the middle of a breakup. This gives light to the fears that were previously mentioned, these lyrics voicing his fear about being left seem more intimate than a few other songs on the album.
‘Meltdown’ is the third track on the album and it’s about friendship, and being there for the people who are the most important to you. The song states that “When it all melts down, I’ll be there,”. This is Horan saying that whenever something happens he’ll be there for that person when they need it, that he’ll be right there beside him if they need anything. It is also taken into consideration that this song could be written about a love interest, as he addresses the person as “baby” in the bridge. Though the wording in the song doesn’t allude to the song being about romance, the address can be deemed as someone close to Horan who is privy to having a nervous breakdown.
The fourth track ‘Never Grow Up’, is about Horan’s’ desire for his romantic relationship to remain like its earlier stages, innocent. He wants it to remain the same while they are also able to express their love for each other to one another. In the first verse, it refers to the fact that an average adult couple no longer appreciates each other’s presence in such a way, that is more what Horan means when he says he hopes they never grow up.
The lyrics “Hope we grow old, but we never grow up”, show that he doesn’t want him and the addressee to end up like couples who seem like strangers.
‘The Show’ is the fifth track on this album, despite it being the title the word ‘show’ is only mentioned in the chorus and when it is used it’s to imply that he knows “how to fake ‘ one. The context to this is that you sometimes have to put on a happy face even when you don’t feel it. This seems like the message to the song, that not having everything be easy or simple is just a part of growing up. Horan also seems to say with the lyrics “how to fake a show”, interacting with people on a daily basis even if you don’t feel like it is a part of growth.
The next song ‘You Could Start A Cult’ is about being so in love with someone that you would follow them blindly without questioning anything. In the second verse, he implies that the addressee is so ‘beautiful’, and he perceives her as a historical beauty. This song is about Horan telling, or singing rather, that he is in love with her and would basically do anything that she asks of him. Lyrics like “Oh I’ll follow you till there’s no tomorrow” further prove this to be true.
‘Save My Life’ is the seventh track on ’The Show’, this song is about the sense of euphoria that Horan is feeling because his life has been greatly improved. The chorus reveals that this is due to a certain someone being in his life. Though the lyrics don’t immediately reveal that, the song seems to celebrate finding true love. Lyrics like “Ever since you walked in I’m seein’ a new light,” and “Ever since you walked in it’s starting’ to feel like you might save my life.” Bring a light to Horan that he is starting to fall in love with this person who is making him feel like a person again.
The eighth song on the album is ‘On A Night Like Tonight’, this song is the most overt love song on the entire album. Though it’s not clear if the addressee is a new or already established love, the lyrics give the idea that it is new. However it is clear that Horan wants to be with her most of the time, lyrics like “Wanting’ your summer skin pressed on mine wanna know what your lovin’ taste like”, brings light to this idea. In the chorus Horan says “Wanna know what you lovin’ tastes like on a night like tonight”, implying that he wants to hook up with the addressee with the possibility of them becoming a couple.
The ninth song on ‘The Show’ is ‘Science’, this song is about the feeling of being down or depressed. The use of “science” in this song implies that it is only natural to feel down because it is a normal thing for any human to experience. Horan puts it in a way that even when you feel a certain way “there’s still a heart beating in your chest”, so there is still hope of feeling better and feeling like yourself again. It’s like Horan is telling the audience to not get scared when something hard is happening in their life because better days are bound to come.
Then, the tenth and final song is ‘Must Be Love’, this song depicts Horan calling himself the overthinking type. This song is Horan recognizing himself as a self defeating person who cannot stay on the right path when set on one. It also seems as if Horan can’t keep things simple and follow his heart. The chorus and bridge is centered on Horan knowing what it looks like and being able to acknowledge or celebrate the feeling of it.
The overall rating of this album is an 8.5/10, the lyrics, beat, and meanings give different lights and individuality to each song. They all mean something that could be deemed important to different people depending on what type of music you enjoy. This album is enjoyable to listen to if you like more sentimental songs, it gives feeling and excitement when listening to it and it has more potential to be loved by a lot of people.
