Louis Tomlinson felt a ''pressure'' to make the ''best album'' for his fans.

The former One Direction star has taken three years since releasing his debut solo single, 'Just Hold On' , with Steve Aoki to announce his first record, 'Walls' - which is released on January 31, 2020 - and has admitted he felt bad that his loyal following had to wait so long so he ''owed'' it to them to produce his finest work.

He confessed: ''If I'm being honest, with the greatest ... without like ... I think they'll understand this, but to be honest, and for the right reasons, the pressure comes from the fan base.

''And that's because I owe them, I owe them. You know what I mean? To a certain degree.

''They're incredible people, super dedicated when I was in the band, and it's carried on throughout.

''There will be different awards that I get nominated for and, again, I've not had an album out, and they'll just vote super hard!

They're just incredible people, so I feel like, I owe it to them to make the best album I can and to get it out at some point. And now we're there!''

The 'Kill My Mind' singer also revealed that the ''we'' in his latest single 'We Made It' is referring to him and his fanbase and the ''collective moment'' they will share on his upcoming solo world tour.

He told the 'Billboard Pop Shop Podcast': ''I always like to write things where the fans feel they're included, and that moment of me playing my first tour show and thinking to myself, 'alright, we've done alright!' That's collective. That's not just on my own.

''You know what I mean?

''Because these people have been patient with me, really patient. And you know, I've got a really loyal fan base, so that's going to be a moment of success - mutually, you know what I mean?''