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Louis Tomlinson’s ‘How Did I Get Here?’ Has Arrived: Stream It Now

Arriving at the stroke of midnight, "How Did I Get Here?" (via BMG) is Tomlinson's third studio effort.

Louis Tomlinson’s ‘How Did I Get Here?’ Has Arrived: Stream It Now

Louis Tomlinson photographed on Nov. 19, 2025, in Los Angeles.

Austin Hargrave

It’s an unusually rewarding week for Directioners, as Zayn Malik gets his Las Vegas residency underway, Harry Styles sets up his next album cycle, and Louis Tomlinson drops his new studio album.

Arriving at the stroke of midnight, How Did I Get Here? (via BMG) is Tomlinson’s third studio effort. As a songwriter, Tomlinson is “diving deeper into who he is than ever before,” reads a statement, as the pop artist fleshed out a handful of initial ideas in the English countryside before getting down to work in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica for three weeks in early 2025.


On it, the Brit worked alongside primary collaborator and co-producer Nico Rebscher (Aurora, Alice Merton), the finished product spanning 12 songs, including the title track, plus the anthemic “Lemonade,” “Palaces” and “Imposter,” which gets a push with a new music video starring James Nelson-Joyce (Mount Pleasant, The Outlaws).

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After an era-conquering moment as a member of One Direction, which went on an indefinite hiatus in 2016, Tomlinson broke out with his debut album, Walls, in 2020. The title peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard 200, and at No. 4 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, and has shifted over 1.2 million copies worldwide, with nearly 1 billion total streams, reps say.

His followup, 2022’s Faith in the Future, went all the way to No. 1 in the U.K. and No. 5 in the U.S.

There’s more to come. Later in 2026, he and Zayn will star in a Netflix docuseries, capturing the shared adventure they took across the United States last year. And, in his cover story with Billboard, he hints that his upcoming tour world tour in support of the new album will have a more traditional arena-pop feel.

“The confidence that I’ve built up from the last two tours was vital for me. What I love about those live moments is it doesn’t really leave any room for self-doubt — and I definitely struggled with that, post [One Direction],” he explains. “But being in those live spaces and delivering night after night, it’s undeniable. So I’m coming into this record revitalized in my confidence. It’s a nice feeling.”

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The How Did We Get Here? world arena tour will first visit North America and Europe, kicking off June 3 at Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, Canada, and is slated to wrap July 24 at Kaseya Center in Miami, FL. Tomlinson gets a warmup with a special underplay show at Racket in New York this Friday, Jan. 23, following a guest spot Thursday performing and talking on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Stream How Did We Get Here? in full below.

This article was first published by Billboard U.S.

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Val Blavatnik
Courtesy WMG

Val Blavatnik

Business News

Val Blavatnik to Oversee Warner Music Canada in New Role at Warner Music Group

Blavatnik will oversee Warner Music Canada as managing director of Warner Music North America, U.K. and Corporate Development at WMG. As part of a slew of executive announcements, Simon Robson will be leaving the company, while Alejandro Duque takes the top international role.

Val Blavatnik, the 28-year-old son of Warner Music Group majority owner and vice chairman Len Blavatnik, has been named managing director of Warner Music North America, U.K. and Corporate Development at the Warner Music Group, the company announced Friday (Sept. 25). In his new role the younger Blavatnik, who has held several roles at the company in recent years, and has been a board member since 2023, expects to “unify and drive business and operational strategy across these markets while guiding the company’s investment strategy to support growth,” according to a press release.

The Blavatnik announcement is part of a flurry of new executive announcements that CEO Robert Kyncl made this morning. In addition, Atlantic Music Group chairman/CEO Elliot Grainge will take on ADA in the U.S. as its new chairman, while Alejandro Duque, who has held the dual roles of president of Warner Latin and president of ADA since last July, has been named president of Warner Music International, adding Asia-Pacific and Europe, the Middle East and Africa under his oversight. (Duque will continue to oversee ADA outside the U.S.) Zach Friedman, currently COO at Atlantic Music Group, will add the title of vice chair of ADA U.S. to his resume.

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