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“The fans have really manipulated how I make music now. By looking at them onstage every night, I see what gets them going and what makes them sad. I think it really has changed what road I’ve gone down with this new record.”

While 1D was a blend of five distinct musical stylings consisting of Niall, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne and Zayn Malik (who quit the band in early 2015 before the rest of the group announced its hiatus later that same year), Horan says that his new album is going to explore heartbreak from “all angles.”

“It’s obviously going to be guitar based with big drums, because that’s the way I like it,” he says teasing his upcoming material. “But I wanted to try and find sounds in there that are different … it’s all about standing out from the crowd. When I’m making records, I see what’s on the charts and then I find a sound that’s not there.”

With Nice to Meet Ya already having notched over 12 million YouTube views, Horan spoke about how that first single paves the way for what’s to come.

Nice to Meet Ya might have caught your fans a little off guard. Why was that the perfect track to kick off this new incarnation of Niall Horan?

When people get to hear the record in full, (the single is) the stand out in terms of energy. Also the title of it is pretty cool — that’s a cool way to announce to everyone, ‘I’m back.’ I’m very conscious of the fact that I haven’t released anything in two years and I thought the best way to return is to make a bit of noise … So I wanted to come back and make a splash ‘cause there are a lot of artists out there trying to make as much noise as they can. I wanted to do the same.