Niall Horan has shown his support for his pal Lewis Capaldi.
On Tuesday, the Scotsman announced he had made “the most difficult decision” of his life to take a break from touring amid his ongoing battle with Tourette’s syndrome.
“I speak to Lewis most days to be honest with you,” the former One Direction star admitted.
“So I’m really happy for Lewis that he’s able to take the time that he obviously feels he needs right now,” Niall continued.
“But performing never gets easy. I don’t think you ever truly get used to singing in front of 100,000 people.”
“If you have any sort of performance anxieties or anything like that then that stage can be a tough place.”
The Mullingar native praised the thousands of Glastonbury festival goers, who helped and encouraged Lewis by singing his song Someone You Loved when his Tourette’s ticks took over.
Niall said: “We saw it at Glastonbury at the weekend when the whole crowd, 100,000 people, were right behind him.”
“I think they realised how much he was struggling up there. It was a proper human moment.”
“He’s not just the fella who sings and makes us laugh all the time, he’s the fella who also has anxieties and Tourette’s Syndrome and it’s coming to fruition on stage.”
“So I’m glad people were right there behind him showing him support.”
On Tuesday, Lewis released a statement explaining his decision to take a break from touring.
The Before You Go singer wrote: “Hello everyone. First of all, thank you to Glastonbury for having me, for singing along when I needed it and for all the amazing messages afterwards. It really does mean the world.”
“The fact that this probably won’t come as a surprise doesn’t make it any easier to write, but I’m very sorry to let you know I’m going to be taking a break from touring for the foreseeable future.”
“I used to be able to enjoy every second of shows like this and I’d hoped 3 weeks away would sort me out. But the truth is I’m still learning to adjust to the impact of my Tourette’s and on Saturday it became obvious that I need to spend much more time getting my mental and physical health in order, so I can keep doing everything I love for a long time to come.”
Lewis continued: “I know I’m incredibly fortunate to be able to take some time out when others can’t and I’d like to thank my amazing family, friends, team, medical professionals and all of you who’ve been so supportive every step of the way through good times and even more so during the past year when I’ve needed it more than ever.”
“I’m so incredibly sorry to everyone who had planned to come to a show before the end of the year but I need to feel well to perform at the standard you all deserve. Playing for you every night is all I’ve ever dreamed of so this has been the most difficult decision of my life.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I possibly can. All my love, always, Lewis x”
