We Made It

Album: Walls (2019)
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Songfacts®:

  • Here, Louis Tomlinson combines a love story with a message to his fans about finding his true musical identity. The first verse and second half of the chorus is about his early days with his girlfriend Eleanor Calder; the second verse and the rest of the chorus nod to Tomlinson's One Direction days when he felt undervalued.

    'Cause we made it
    Underestimated
    And always underrated
    Now we're saying goodbye


    Tomlinson explained to Billboard he is referencing his first year-and-a-half in One Direction, when he "struggled to find my place."
  • Tomlinson actually wrote the song back in 2017. He expresses his feelings about his first two solo releases, Steve Aoki's 2016 track "Just Hold On," and his 2017 Bebe Rexha duet "Back to You."

    When you're here, don't need to say no more
    Nothing in the world that I would change it for
    Singing something pop-y on the same four chords
    Used to worry 'bout it but I don't no more, yeah


    Said Tomlinson: "I'm really happy with the collaborations I released, but as I look back, I don't think those songs sonically were as true to me as they could be. I was making music for other people, as opposed to making the music I love."

    The ex One Direction singer added that his fans have been "really patient" waiting for him to come up with own sound.
  • Tomlinson grew up in the North of England where guitar bands like Oasis and Arctic Monkeys were huge. He has said that Oasis sound was an influence on this tune. "I think I'm always just trying to kind of find a middle ground between where I've come from and what I know the fans really want to hear," Tomlinson told MTV News.
  • Tomlinson wrote the song with Julian Bunetta and John Ryan, who penned much of One Direction's material. The fourth writer was Levi Lennox, who previously collaborated with Tomlinson on his former One Direction bandmate Zayn's debut solo single, "Pillowtalk."

    "We started off with the title," Tomlinson recalled to Radio.com. "It's a bit of a concept more than anything, really, what 'We Made It' meant to me. And when I picture being at my first tour show – that feeling that we all have as a collective – that's kind of what I wanted to encapsulate in the song."
  • The song's music video was directed by Charlie Lightening (Paul McCartney and Liam Gallagher). The clip is a continuation from Tomlinson's "Kill My Mind" visual.

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