Just days after losing his mother to leukemia, Louis Tomlinson performed a moving rendition of his solo single on The X-Factor.
Along with DJ Steve Aoki, who collaborated with the One Direction singer for “Just Hold On,” the two performed the song just three days after Johannah Deakin’s death.
After he finished singing, Tomlinson was met with a standing ovation and former mentor Simon Cowell praised him for his “bravery.”
He told Tomlinson, “I respect you as an artist and I respect you as a person. Your mom was so proud of you Louis. She was so looking forward to tonight.” The camera showed Tomlinson trying not to cry as Cowell continued, “she’s looking down in you now and youi’ve done her proud.”
Before the performance, Tomlinson spoke out on social media to thank his fans for all their well wishes. He also thanked everyone afterward, describing his performance as “harder than I ever imagined.”
All the support has been incredible! Let's do this together tonight .
— Louis Tomlinson (@Louis_Tomlinson) December 10, 2016
That was harder than I ever imagined. I want to thank everyone around me and all of the amazing fans out there that made that so special!
— Louis Tomlinson (@Louis_Tomlinson) December 11, 2016
After his moving performance, Tomlinson kissed his fingers and raised them toward the sky.
As previously reported, soon after the news spread, his bandmates and former bandmate Zayn Malik, posted condolences to their friend in support.
#LetsDoThisTogetherTonight #JustHoldOnLouis I've never been more proud of a person. You deserve nothing but the best @Louis_Tomlinson pic.twitter.com/c1yGcUnLHf
— TOMMO (@loustylinson24) December 11, 2016
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