Go ahead and call Niall Horan a Planet Fitness, because he’s a “judgment-free zone.” The 26-year-old singer just dropped the next single off his upcoming album, and the ex-One Direction singer is all about the “No Judgement.” In the track, released on Feb. 7, Niall advertises himself as the perfect boyfriend (or occasional lover) as he encourages you “go ahead and say what’s on your mind,” and reassures that “you don’t have to prove nothin’.” Niall is a pressure-free lover!
Unlike the PSA in his song, however, Niall can’t help but become a tad judgmental in his quirky music video. Niall transforms into a swanky, omnipresent narrator dressed in a retro white tuxedo, who announces at the beginning of the video, “There comes a time in the mating cycle of humans when the need to impress is replaced by a period they call ‘no judgement.’ Let me tell you something, it gets a little bit strange.” That monologue commences a montage of an elderly couple engaging in oddball activities only lovers way past the honeymoon stage can partake in, like eating shrimp off one another’s toes.
Niall gave fans the heads up about the song earlier in the week. “Couldn’t be more excited for this one if I tried,” he tweeted on Feb. 4 along with the black-and-white cover art. The accompanying snippet hinted that it would be more of a sultry, guitar-based melody than the more rock-heavy “Nice To Meet Ya” and the previously released ballad, “Put A Little Love On Me.” This song marks the third single from Niall’s (currently untitled) upcoming sophomore album.
“When I first began writing this album, I was in a really good place — I was so excited to get down and just write songs, and not worry about what they sounded like afterward,” Niall told Billboard following the release of “Pleased To Meet Ya” in October. “Just write the song and then dress it up however you want afterward — writing good pop songs and not worrying about the content as such. I had days where I sat down and wrote ballads and it was emotional, but for the most part I was having so much fun. I think ‘Nice To Meet Ya’ is a good start, [fans] can tell we had a lot of fun.”
“I have definitely grown as an artist,” he added. “When I did [his first album] Flicker, I had a feeling we had a fan base and that it was going to do okay, but I didn’t think it was going to go on and stream 4 billion times. [Seeing] an album going No. 1 and people actually attaching themselves to music [like] you didn’t think they would, it’s a good feeling. You get a bit of confidence off the back of that, and know that people want to hear you. So you go in the studio feeling a little bit more confident about things, and wanting to try out different types of music and experiment.