Niall Horan’s 'Heaven'-ly New Single

In 2011, he was ready to become the “Irish Justin Bieber.”

During his audition to the X-Factor, 16-year-old Niall Horan said, “I’m ready to fill arenas around the world, sell albums, and become as big as all you guys here in front of me.”

And that he did. Since 2011, Horan joined arguably one of the most successful boy bands in history, sold out hundreds of arenas, and sold tens of millions of albums.

For the past eight years, the former One Direction member has been building a solo career — quite successfully, I might add. Although he may not have as much name recognition as his former bandmate, Harry Styles, Horan still has a large and continuously growing fanbase. He’s released two solo albums and has a third one on the way.

On Feb. 17, Horan released his latest single, “Heaven.” To me, “Heaven” is not only acoustically mesmerizing, but quite meaningful.

“Heaven” pulls you within the first few seconds of the song. It’s — you guessed it — quite heavenly. The beginning of the song builds up to the first chorus where Horan sings "God only knows where this could go / And even if our love starts to grow out and control / And you and me go up in flames / Heaven won’t be the same." Every time I hear this chorus, I can’t help but bop along to the beat. I also like to add a little fist pump action when I’m feeling extra energetic.

Lyrically, the song is also very clever. My personal favorite line in the song is “It’s hard to be a human / So much to put an answer to.” Good one, Niall, very relatable.

One of things that makes this song especially interesting is what it means to Horan. In many interviews, Horan has explained that, to him, this song is about not conforming to society’s standards and doing things at your own pace. To me, the fact that Horan chose this topic to write a song about really shows his personal growth. He’s no longer that little boy longing to be the Irish Justin Bieber or that teenager in One Direction singing songs like “Temporary Fix” and “Rock Me.” There is also growth evident when comparing Horan’s new single to his first couple solo albums. In his second album, Heartbreak Weather, he sang about the feelings he experienced during a breakup. It’s nice to see Horan’s more optimistic and joyful side through “Heaven.”

In the coming months, Horan has a lot in store. Not only is he performing in ten festivals over the summer, he also has his third studio album coming out on June 9. The album, titled "The Show," will feature ten tracks.

In a letter to his fans, Horan wrote, “What makes this record incredibly special to me is it’s a reflection of where I am in my life today — as a person, as a musician, and of course as a songwriter.”

Although the contents of the new album will remain a mystery for the months to come, the release of “Heaven” has made one thing certain — Niall really has become the Irish Justin Bieber, and perhaps even a bit more than that.