Louis Tomlinson Scores #2 UK Debut; Beats New X Factor Winner

Don’t tell Zayn – or Simon Cowell!

Louis Tomlinson’s solo career is off to a very promising start.

While many assumed One Direction’s primary songwriter would shy away from center stage and use the band hiatus to establish himself behind the scenes, 24-year-old Tomlinson actually had very different plans – and it would appear he chose wisely.

His EDM-pop debut single, Just Hold On, produced by Steve Aoki, and co-written by both, has officially debuted at #2 on the UK’s official Singles Chart.

The kicker, though, is the competition he put to shame. Not only did Louis conquer his former 1D bandmate Zayn by a whopping 14 spots – Zayn’s Taylor Swift duet “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” entered at #16 – but he also thwarted the most recent X Factor winner Matt Terry, who debuted at #3. Yikes!

The X Factor was Tomlinson’s launching pad, where he was placed into One Direction in 2010 by Simon Cowell (they came third), and the 2016 X Factor grand finale was the stage Louis chose to debut his single last week.

Tomlinson and Aoki’s single was released through EDM label Ultra Music, which has ties to Sony but, so far, no official word has surfaced about whether Louis remains with Cowell’s Syco Music or if he too, has moved on, like Zayn, Niall and Liam before him.

The single’s impressive debut will come as a welcome reason to celebrate for Tomlinson, as he and his six siblings reconcile after losing their mother to leukaemia on December 7. Tomlinson’s stepfather logged onto Johannah Deakin’s account one final time, revealing she asked him to leave a goodbye message for her son’s beloved fandom: