Niall Horan returns today with “Heaven,” the lead single off his forthcoming third album, The Show. The LP will mark Horan’s first solo effort since Heartbreak Weather, which arrived in 2020 and featured singles like “Put A Little Love On Me” and “Nice To Meet Ya.” Naturally, fans were eager to get their hands on new music from the former One Directioner, and “Heaven” quickly shot into the Top 5 on the Genius Top Songs chart upon release.
Horan wrote “Heaven” with Tobias Jesso Jr. and producers John Ryan and Joel Little. On the surface, the track may seem like a simple love song about living in the moment with your partner. But Niall says it’s a bit more nuanced than that. “One thing I’ve learned over the years is that society loves to pressure us into reaching certain milestones by a certain age,” he explained in a press release. “Whether that’s getting married or anything else that really should be based on our own instincts. As I’ve gotten older I’ve tried to let go of those expectations and just follow my heart.”
On the first verse, Niall is falling so hard for someone, he feels like he’s reaching some sort of nirvana.
Strange light revolves around you
You float across the room
Your touch is made of something
Heaven can’t hold a candle to
He tries to fight the pressure to categorize the moment they’re sharing later on in the verse.
Let’s just enjoy the view
It’s hard to be a human
So much to put an answer to
But that’s just what we do
On the chorus, he’s able to block out the noise. “The chorus of this song is saying that what I have in my life currently is amazing,” Horan explained. “So it would be crazy to ruin that by giving into outside pressures.”
God only knows where this could go
And even if our love starts to grow out of control
And you and me go up in flames
Heaven won’t be the same
He knows what he’s feeling is more than a fleeting crush on the second verse.
Beyond infatuation
How I obsessively adore you
This love is worth all the effort on the pre-chorus.
I believe, I believe
I could die in your kiss
No, it doesn’t get, doesn’t get
Better than this
The Show is due out on June 9. In the meantime, you can read all the lyrics to “Heaven” on Genius now.
