Louis William Tomlinson (born Louis Troy Austin; 24 December 1991) is an English singer and songwriter. He is known as a member of the boy band One Direction. Tomlinson began his career as an actor, appearing in ITV drama film If I Had You and the BBC drama Waterloo Road. In 2010, he became a member of One Direction after being eliminated as a solo artist on the British music competition series The X Factor. Tomlinson is one of the main songwriters of One Direction's repertoire. Following the band's hiatus, Tomlinson released the singles "Just Hold On" and "Back to You". The latter will be included in his debut studio album, which will be released in 2017 by Epic Records.
In 2013, Tomlinson was signed as a footballer by Doncaster Rovers of the Football League Championship on a non-contract basis. The same year he also formed his own record label, Triple Strings, as an imprint of One Direction's label Syco. He appeared on Debrett's 2017 list of the most influential people in the UK.