The Show (Niall Horan album)

The Show is the third studio album by Irish singer-songwriter Niall Horan, released through Capitol Records on 9 June 2023. Musically, it draws from rock and synth pop genres. The album's lead single, "Heaven" was released on 17 February 2023, followed by "Meltdown" on 28 April 2023. The album topped the charts in eight countries. A deluxe version of the album, subtitled The Encore, was released on 3 November 2023; the album was preceded by an encore version of "You Could Start a Cult", with Lizzy McAlpine.

Background and recording
On 15 February 2023, Horan announced the album title and release date.

Whilst promoting the lead single, Horan told Rolling Stone: "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 in the video. "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." Horan appeared Late Night with Seth Meyers and spoke about how his last album cycle for Heartbreak Weather was heavily impacted by a series of lockdowns in 2020, meaning that he was never able to tour the project. "I'd released an album the day we were told we were going into lockdown, um – some would say that was great timing! The tour got cancelled [...] So then I was sitting around waiting for something to happen, waiting for the creative juices to flow [...] Once it came it kind of opened a door for what is now a finished product, record."

In an interview with NME, Horan shared: "The last time I wrote an album I did less thinking. You don't in your early 20s, you don't think too much at all [...] I think with pandemics and relationships and things like that, you subconsciously grow as a person. And then production wise and what I'm saying [lyrically], it just sounds like something that a 30-year-old would release. Not a youthful version of what I did before."

Promotion
In February 2023, Horan performed the "Heaven" chorus acoustically whilst appearing on The Late Late Show with James Corden. He appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show and discussed writing the song at a writer's camp. Horan appeared on The Jonathan Ross Show on 11 March 2023 and performed "Heaven" on that show. On 15 May 2023, Horan performed "Meltdown" on The Voice. On 16 June 2023, Horan released a live, acoustic video of album track "You Could Start A Cult". The video was filmed in California.

Singles
"Heaven", was released on 17 February 2023 as the lead single. The song debuted at number 4 on the Irish singles chart, number 16 on the UK Official Top 100 and at number 63 in the USA on the Billboard Hot 100. "Heaven" official music video was released one week later. In Australia, "Heaven" peaked at number 30 on that country's singles chart. An acoustic version was released on 10 March 2023.

"Meltdown" served as the second official single from the album. It was released on 28 April 2023. "Meltdown" debuted at number 15 on the Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50 on 5 May 2023. In the United Kingdom, "Meltdown" debuted at number 62 on the UK Official Singles Chart Top 100 and debuted at number 48 on the UK Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100 on 5 May 2023.

On the day of the album's release, the official music video of the song "The Show" was released. It was directed by Connor Brashier.

On 27 October 2023, Horan released "You Could Start a Cult", an alternate version from the album version, with American singer Lizzy McAlpine. The song will appear on the deluxe version of The Show: The Encore.

Tour
On 22 May 2023, Horan announced a 50-date tour promoting the album, which is set to visit Europe, Oceania and North America. Horan later added seven more dates due to high demand.

Critical reception
The Show was met with critical acclaim by the music critics, it received a score of 83 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on seven critics' reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Roisin O'Connor of The Independent called the album "the apotheosis of Horan's classic rock sound, which he has been carefully honing ever since his solo debut" and "beautifully cohesive". She wrote that it "finds Horan moving towards the lusher production sound of his former bandmate Harry Styles. Laurel Canyon references mingle easily with Eighties synth-pop and Noughties guitar rock". Writing for Clash, Hannah Sinclair found that Horan "does not disappoint with his latest eclectic release" and that the album "explores deeper meanings to previous work after having time to reflect on life during our multiple lockdowns", summarising that it "is undoubtedly Niall Horan's finest and most mature album to date – and was certainly worth the wait".

Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone opined that The Show is "full of laid-back Laurel Canyon-inspired ballads, heavy on the mellow, full of feelings about looking for sanity in a time of personal turmoil", remarking that it is "touching to hear [Horan] get so intimate on his own" and complimenting the "empathy" he brings to "power ballads" like "Heaven". Caitlin Chatterton of The Line of Best Fit wrote that "Listening to the album in full reveals [the first two singles] as the standout tracks by a healthy margin" and that the remainder of the album "is often hampered by its predictability" despite being "far from a bad record". Rachel Martin, reviewing for Fault magazine, stated that the album was "Horan's most vulnerable and mature songwriting to date", and adding that the singer "takes cent[re] stage [...] a place he's rightfully earned."

Commercial performance
In Horan's native Ireland, The Show debuted at number 1 on the Irish album chart. In the UK, the album debuted and peaked at number 1, becoming Horan's second solo number 1 album in that country. In the US, The Show sold 68,000 copies in the first week of release, debuting at number 2 on the Billboard 200 chart and number 1 on the Vinyl albums chart. The deluxe version of the album, The Show: The Encore, was released in November 2023 and entered the UK Albums Sales Chart at number 39.

Track listing
Notes
 * $undefined$ signifies an additional producer.
 * $undefined$ signifies a vocal producer.

Personnel
Musicians


 * Niall Horan – vocals (all tracks), background vocals (tracks 1–4, 6–10); harmonica, piano (6)
 * Joel Little – programming (1, 3–5, 9, 10), background vocals (1, 3, 4, 7), synthesizer (1, 4, 5, 10), piano (1, 5, 10), guitar (1, 10); bass guitar, drums (3)
 * John Ryan – background vocals (1–4, 7, 8); bass guitar, programming, synthesizer (1, 3, 4, 7, 8); guitar (1, 3, 6–8, 10), drums (1, 3, 7, 8), piano (1, 4, 7), organ (4)
 * Tobias Jesso Jr. – background vocals (1)
 * Julian Bunetta – background vocals, drums (2, 4); programming, synthesizer (2)
 * Michael Sabath – background vocals, bass guitar (2)
 * Amy Allen – background vocals (3, 7)
 * Dan Bryer – background vocals (5, 9)
 * Jamie Scott – background vocals (5, 9), piano (9)
 * Mike Needle – background vocals (5, 9)
 * Sam de Jong – drums (5, 10)
 * Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper – strings director, violin (5, 9)
 * James Bush – cello (5, 9)
 * Joe Harrop – viola (5, 9)
 * Peau Halapua – violin (5, 9)
 * Sean Erick – flugelhorn, trumpet (7)
 * Kevin Williams, Jr. – flute, tuba (7)
 * Leon Silva – saxophones (7)
 * Matt Zara – guitar, programming, synthesizer (8)

Technical
 * Nathan Dantzler – mastering
 * Spike Stent – mixing (1, 3–5, 7–10)
 * Julian Bunetta – mixing (2), engineering (2, 4)
 * John Ryan – mixing (6), engineering (1–6)
 * Joel Little – engineering (1, 3–6)
 * Jesse Munsat – engineering (1, 3)
 * Jeff Gunnell – engineering (2, 4, 6)
 * Martin Hannah – engineering (5)
 * Harrison Tate – mastering assistance (2–10)
 * Matt Wolach – mixing assistance (1, 3–5, 7–10)