Louis Tomlinson is giving One Direction fans exactly what they needed right now.
On October 5, 2025, the 33-year-old singer performed the hit One Direction song “No Control” at The Away From Home Festival in New York, delighting longtime fans. “This’ll be the only time I play this,” he told the crowd before the song began in a fan-caught video.
The performance comes amid Louis’ high-profile reunion with former bandmate Zayn Malik. The duo is collaborating on a new Netflix documentary series chronicling their travels across the U.S., marking the first major on-screen project they’ve shared since their One Direction days.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the docuseries will feature personal conversations about their lives and careers, as well as emotional reflections on the tragic death of fellow One Direction member Liam Payne. Payne passed away in October 2024 after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at just 31. Toxicology reports later revealed a combination of drugs in his system, and his death deeply affected the surviving members, who reunited in the U.K. for his funeral.
🎥| Full performance by Louis Tomlinson singing No Control at #AFHFNewYork
— greyhoundsrun pic.twitter.com/YNwJK73tum
— World Tomlinson (@LouisWT91World) October 6, 2025
While Harry Styles and Niall Horan are not expected to appear in the series, it promises to spotlight Louis and Zayn’s reconnection. After Liam’s passing, Zayn referred to him as his “brother,” while Louis remembered him as “the most vital part” of the band.
Louis’ reunion with Zayn is particularly poignant given their history. Back in 2015, shortly after Zayn left the group, the two exchanged heated words on social media. But time—and tragedy—has helped mend their relationship. Louis even hinted at a potential collaboration, teasing, “I heard that … Pretty astute. I suppose they’ll just have to wait and see.”
Reflecting on the band’s legacy, Louis shared with Rolling Stone UK how the 15th anniversary of One Direction’s formation earlier this year was difficult, as it was the first without Liam. “It was really uncomfortable, actually, the 15th anniversary, because the [collective] feeling to celebrate is as important, if not more important than ever, on behalf of Liam,” he explained.
Previously, anniversary celebrations left him “sick of nostalgia,” but this milestone was different. “You know, there’s still a level in my head [where it feels] unjust and frustrating that he’s not with us anymore. So, it just brought up those feelings, although I’m still living with them anyway.”
“It was really, really, impossibly difficult for me to deal with losing Liam,” he added. “Naively, I thought that because at this point, I’m relatively well versed in grief for my age, that it might soften the blow. [That was] super-naive. It’s very different. I’ve never lost a friend before.”
Louis also highlighted Liam’s influence on the group, calling him the “safest pair of hands” due to his pre-One Direction experience. “We were all just so amateur, but he was already where he needed to be by the time he did his first [X Factor] audition,” Louis said. “None of us would have admitted it at the time, because you have a lot of pride as a young lad, but we all looked up to him like that.”
