Niall Horan is back with a deluxe version of his third studio album, The Show. This new addition, released digitally on November 3rd, is titled The Show: The Encore and features collaborations with Lizzy McAlpine and John Legend. Also featured on the release is a live mashup of Horan’s own song, “If You Leave Me”, and “Everybody Wants to Rule The World” by Tears for Fears, live renditions of his self-claimed favorite songs on the album, and a studio cover of Zach Bryan’s “Something in the Orange.”
Fans of Horan, also known as “Lovers” to the artist, are ecstatic for his tour starting next year with the release. @jadedgoingcrazy on X writes, “save my life has sent me into orbit i cannot wait to hear it live next year” in response to the live version of the song “Save My Life” Niall sang at the Ireland based festival Electric Picnic last month, which is included on this new version of his album.
Also included from Electric Picnic, Horan’s song “Heaven.” The artist has claimed his love for this song as it was the lead single to the album, released in February this year. The song, an ode to the singer’s girlfriend of three years, lyrically expresses the idea that “Heaven won’t be the same” if the two were to ever break up. The live version of the song adds a heavier rock feel by Horan’s lead guitarist, Jake Curran. Niall’s vocal range is present in the live version, and even through the recording, you feel the singer’s stage presence and feel as though you are in the crowd of the festival.
The mashup of “If You Leave Me / Everybody Wants To Rule The World”, also from Electric Picnic, combines the feelings of fear of losing someone and making the most out of your life. Horan has fun with the transition live, even leaving an explicit “f*ck yeah!” in the mix of the song. The combination of the two songs successfully exhibits the 80s rock vibe Niall was going for with his album.
Also included on The Show: The Encore are new versions of Horan’s songs “Meltdown” and “Science.” In the original production, “Meltdown” is an upbeat song that makes you want to dance around the living room. This deluxe version of the song is “stripped,” meaning no production was involved with the recording, it is just Niall and his guitar. The lyrics of the song hit a listener a bit harder in this version. The singer is basically saying, in the midst of a breakdown when your world falls apart, you (the Lovers) can turn to him for support. Niall Horan is known to be an advocate for mental health awareness, and often writes music to convey this. Off of his first album, Flicker he has a song called “Mirrors” that deals with body image issues, his second album Heartbreak Weather has multiple songs where he sings about his own struggle with anxiety, and off of The Show, we have “Science.” This song is personally one of my favorites from the artist. He sings with a delicacy that conveys to a listener, that he is actually a listener. The idea of this song is that whatever is happening up in your mind (anxiety, depression, etc.) “It’s just science, don’t let it break you down.” -beautiful.
While most of this album are songs about falling in love with someone, Horan adds a breakup song on The Encore. Originally performed at SiriusXM’s studio in New York City, Niall includes a studio cover of Zach Bryan’s “Something in the Orange.” In his cover, Horan takes the song from a red dirt country song, to a folk-rock genre. Bryan even expressed his love for the cover and for Horan on X. By including this, many fans of Horan (me) are asking for a collaboration between the two, and for the potential of Niall dipping his toes in the country music genre.
The two collaborations on the deluxe album are everything I could have asked for. Lizzy McAlpine joins Horan on his song, “You Could Start a Cult.” The two collaborated and wrote a new second verse to the song for McAlpine to sing. The song is a ballad and explains that no matter what the person you love will do, you will follow them. It captures the beauty of falling in love and being completely enthralled with your person. John Legend joins Niall for a collaboration on the title track to the album. While there are no lyric changes like “You Could Start A Cult,” Legend brings his sultry voice to enhance the song. For most of Horan’s career, he has never failed to praise John Legend and all of his accomplishments. Now co-stars of The Voice, the two come together and sing about the struggles of being in the public eye, and some of the challenges that come with it. The Show: The Encore took a beautiful album, and somehow, made it even better. 10/10 Mr. Horan.