EXCLUSIVE: One Direction star Niall Horan is leading a new live performance series from music network Vevo titled Extended Play.
Later this month, some of Horan’s live performances including intimate versions of songs from his new album The Show will kick off the franchise, which describes itself as a “multi-song performance capture shot in existing locations that realize the vision of an artist’s project.”
The series, which will feature other artists further down the line, will begin in one space before moving to other locations as the singer’s sound develops. Horan has previously worked with Vevo to release studio performances of two of his tracks in 2019. He broke through with X Factor-formed One Direction last decade and has been making solo albums since 2017.
JP Evangelista, Vevo’s SVP, Content, Programming & Marketing, told Deadline Extended Play will “show appreciation for the art behind the song, and the moments that make the music.”
“We wanted to build a series where the world’s most talented songwriters and their fans could be transported back to the time – and location – that their favorite songs were created in,” she added.
“Our aim was to give audiences a look inside the inner workings of what truly makes an artist: we wanted them to forget the hustle and bustle of sold-out shows and the intense energy of recording studios, and instead shift their focus to the quieter times to foster a more intimate understanding of their craft.”
The vision for Extended Play was born from the recent trend for longform music content as “audiences flock back to the living room,” Evangelista added.
“One of the many beauties of Extended Play is the ability to weave single, one-off performances into a detailed longform piece of content that is completely cohesive and tells a clear story, which lends itself perfectly for the television,” she added.
