Niall Horan Offers a Shoulder to Lean on in the Midst of a ‘Meltdown’ on New Single

One Direction were never the best people to go to for advice. In 2013, they shared the Midnight Memories deep cut “Don’t Forget Where You Belong,” which featured possibly the least reassuring words of wisdom ever written: “If you ever feel alone, don’t.” Luckily, Niall Horan has sharpened his comforting skills over the past decade. On his latest single, “Meltdown,” which will appear on his forthcoming third album, The Show, the singer really commits to showing up.

“Sleep is so thin, out of habit/Hard to tell the real from the dreams you imagine/Nights when one broken glass turns to total collapse,” Horan sings, mapping out the road to a breaking point. “Just know this too shall pass/I’m tellin’ you now, tellin’ you now/When it all melts down I’ll be there.”

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Unlike the optimistic pop songs that bury devastating lyrics beneath the sound of sunshine, “Meltdown” keeps up an unrelenting pace that more so echos the heightened anxiety and panic Horan sings about.

“I know a lot of my fans and friends struggle with mental health issues. I’ve always made a point of writing to those people through my songs. I want to let them know that they’re not alone and we can feel those feelings in our own way,” Horan wrote in a note on social media. “With ‘Meltdown,’ I wanted the verse lyric to capture those frantic moments when you feel like so much is going wrong and there’s no real rationale for what’s happening.

He added: “I really love how the tempo of the song and the groove intensifies that feeling of spiraling out of control, and adds even more urgency to the panic and irrational thinking. In the chorus there is a major shift in the the mood as there is some calm brought to the chaos. It gives the feeling of ‘Everything will be alright.'”

A product of Horan’s newfound collaborative partnership with producers Joel Little and John Ryan, as well as co-writer Amy Allen, “Meltdown” takes in the complex emotions that often prompt these anxious spirals. Still, it doesn’t attempt to brush them aside or invalidate them. Midnight Memories-era One Direction could never.

Horan will release The Show on June 9, more than three years after the release of his second studio album Heartbreak Weather. Ahead of the first single, “Heaven,” the singer offered fans a glimpse into where his head has been since they last heard from him. “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. “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.”

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