The sun sets, the birds chirp, and Niall Horan sits in the middle of a gorgeous California landscape strumming his guitar. On Friday, Vevo debuted its Extended Play live performance series with Horan’s rendition of “You Could Start a Cult” from his new album The Show.
“Performing live is my favorite thing to do,” Horan said in a press release. “To bring the songs I’ve spent so much time with, seen through from start to finish is an amazing feeling. Shooting these performances with Vevo was a really special experience.”
He added, “I was able to go back to the place where I made the music, an area of California I adore and have spent a lot of time in over my career. To have these big songs played in an intimate setting is beautiful to me.”
The video opens with the ambient sounds of the deserted hills of SoCal where Horan found inspiration for his record before closing in on Horan he sits alone in the middle of greenery. Horan plays his guitar and sings the lyrics to his The Show standout. At one point in the performance, he even plays harmonica.
JP Evangelista, an executive at VEVO, described Horan as the “perfect fit” to kick off the platform’s new Extended Play series. “[He’s] deeply gifted songwriter and proven performer who was looking for new and exciting ways to connect with his fans,” Evangelista said in a release.
The new series will feature musicians performing songs that allow them to “articulate the deeper meaning behind their art and linger in a certain vulnerability while doing so.”
The Vevo performance is a taste of what his fans will get to see for themselves when Horan heads on his 2024 world tour. The North American leg begins in late May and wraps in late July next year, with stops at Madison Square Garden and L.A.’s Kia Forum.
“The emotional highlight [of The Show] is the wonderfully titled love song ‘You Could Start a Cult,’ stripped down to just Niall and his acoustic guitar, as he vows, ‘I will follow you till there’s no tomorrow,’ ” read a Rolling Stone review of the LP. “On The Show, it sounds like Niall Horan knows exactly where he’s going.”