"This Town" is the debut solo single by Irish singer Niall Horan, released on 29 September 2016 by Capitol Records as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from his debut solo album '' Flicker'' (2017). An accompanying music video of a live performance was released the same day. The song was written by Horan,

Jamie Scott Jamie Scott (born James Christopher Needle; 12 February 1984) is an Ivor Novello Award winning English singer, songwriter and producer. Career Songwriting As a writer and producer Scott has sold over 100 million albums, 50 million singles, has ...

, Mike Needle, Daniel Bryer, Ruairi Sheridan, Aodhán Dorrian and produced by

Greg Kurstin Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and written and produced four songs ...

. It is Horan's first solo single, as well as the second solo single released by any of

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, are an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group are composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously Zayn Malik until his departure from the g ...

's remaining members (the first being

Zayn Malik Zain Javadd Malik ( ; born 12 January 1993), known mononymously as Zayn, is an English pop and R&B singer. Zayn auditioned as a solo contestant for the British music competition television series ''The X Factor'' in 2010. After being eliminate ...

's '' Pillowtalk'' earlier that year), following the hiatus of the band, which was announced earlier in 2016. It peaked at number 9 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, earning it his second highest-charting single as a lead artist to date, behind " Slow Hands". It also peaked at number 20 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Composition

The song is written in the key of A major with a

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note val ...

tempo of 112

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...

. Horan's vocals span from D₃ to E₄ in the song. The acoustic track reflects on the things the singer never got to say to a lost lover.

Critical reception

Harriet Gibsone from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' thought Horan's "This Town" "promotes his guise as an acoustic balladeer," while the video is "reinforcing the authenticity of his future career as a credible artist with skills beyond being adorable." She concluded "The modern music world can be discombobulating for those opposed to gender fluid pop stars or auto-tuned trap." ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' editor Madison Vain wrote "the song shows growth thanks to its nuance in storytelling. He’s burdened by all the things he never got to say—and it sounds believable." Vain also thought "Horan has said he’s mining the sound of some of his biggest influences:

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

and Simon & Garfunkel. But with collaborator Greg Kurstin behind the boards, “This Town” skews more towards the modern, folk-influenced songwriting of Vance Joy and

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently re ...

." For Raisa Bruner of ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'' is a "lush, guitar-forward ballad in the vein of the band’s earlier tearjerkers, with hints of Sheeran in the small-town storytelling of the lyrics." For '' Noisey'', Sarah Sahim was critical of the track, noting the song was "nothing special", but its saccharine sweetness gives it all the makings of a decent hit.

Live performances

Horan gave the first televised performance of "This Town" on ''

The Graham Norton Show ''The Graham Norton Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Graham Norton. It was initially broadcast on BBC Two, from 22 February 2007, before moving to BBC One in October 2009. It currently airs on Friday evenings, with Norton s ...

'' on 22 October 2016. On 26 October 2016 he performed on ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was pro ...

''. Later that day, he appeared on ''

The Late Late Show with James Corden ''The Late Late Show with James Corden'' (also known as ''Late Late'') is an American late-night talk show on CBS. It is the fourth and current iteration of '' The Late Late Show''. Airing in the U.S. from Monday to Friday nights at 12:37:28a ...

'' to sing the single. On 13 December 2016, he performed on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...

''. He also performed the song at the Radio 1 Teen Awards, and the

American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Pro ...

. In December, he made guest appearances across North America as part of iHeartRadio's Jingle Ball Tour. On 4 June 2017, Horan performed "This Town" during the ''

One Love Manchester One Love Manchester was a benefit concert and British television special on 4 June 2017, organised by American singer Ariana Grande, Simon Moran, Melvin Benn and Scooter Braun in response to the Manchester Arena bombing after Grande's concer ...

'' benefit concert for the victims of the

Manchester Arena bombing On 22 May 2017, an Islamist extremist suicide bomber detonated a shrapnel-laden homemade bomb as people were leaving the Manchester Arena following a concert by American pop singer Ariana Grande. Twenty-three people were killed, including ...

after Ariana Grande's show.

Track listings

*Digital download # "This Town" – 3:52 *Digital download – live # "This Town" (Live, 1 Mic 1 Take) – 3:52 *Remixes EP # "This Town" (

Tiësto Tijs Michiel Verwest (; born 17 January 1969), known professionally as Tiësto ( ), is a Dutch DJ and music producer from Breda. He was voted "the Greatest DJ of All Time" by '' Mix'' magazine in a 2010/2011 poll amongst fans. In 2013, he was v ...

Remix) – 3:01 # "This Town" (

Cheat Codes Cheating in video games involves a video game player using various methods to create an advantage beyond normal gameplay, usually in order to make the game easier. Cheats may be activated from within the game itself (a cheat code implemented by ...

Remix) – 3:21 # "This Town" (

Goldhouse Grant Harris, also known by his stage name Goldhouse (stylized: GOLDHOUSE), is an American DJ, producer, singer and songwriter, based in Chicago. He gained recognition for remixing songs like Sam Smith's " Stay with Me", Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams ...

Remix) – 4:00 # "This Town" (Cabo San Remix) – 4:04 # "This Town" (Nikö Blank Remix) – 3:28

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2016 debut singles 2016 songs Niall Horan songs Song recordings produced by Greg Kurstin Songs written by Niall Horan Songs written by Jamie Scott Capitol Records singles Folk ballads 2010s ballads Songs written by Dan Bryer Songs written by Mike Needle