Louis Tomlinson gets free album promotion thanks to Taylor Swift fans

Louis Tomlinson “got here” thanks to overworked Taylor Swift fans.

While the former One Direction star’s solo third album, How Did I Get Here?, is set to release on January 23, Swifties unintentionally gave a boost to its debut.

On Thursday, January 22, the 34-year-old musician stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where he spilled the beans on his creative process behind his latest project and performed a track from the album.

"This is the record where I felt really comfortable with it," he told Jimmy Fallon about one of his songs from the 12-track album. "I felt comfortable making it, I really enjoyed the process and I even enjoyed doing the promo, which is a new thing for me."

However, some of that promotion wasn’t exactly planned. Ahead of the album release, the Kill My Mind singer leaned into a cryptic rollout strategy, beginning with the release of the lead single Lemonade.

His Easter eggs were meant for fans but they were quickly picked up by the Cruel Summer chart-topper's fanbase instead.

"It’s good watching people scramble for that stuff," Tomlinson joked. "Another thing that was cool was Taylor Swift’s fans got a bit confused, thinking it was somehow related to her album. So I got free promo."

Swifties are widely known as the internet’s most dedicated Easter-egg hunters with fans dissecting everything from lyrics and visuals to outfits and social media posts for clues about upcoming projects.

The Fate of Ophelia songstress has previously confirmed that these hints are intentional artistic teases, often using color-coding, numbers, or subtle references and most recently seen during the premiere of her 2025 album The Life of a Showgirl.

It turns out, Tomlinson was playing a similar game.

In September 2025, fans discovered words from the title hidden across major cities worldwide: “How” in Berlin, “Did” in São Paulo, “I” in London, “Get” in Mexico City, “Here” in Milan, and a question mark in Los Angeles.

Tomlinson also hosted an interactive Easter egg hunt on Discord, where fans solved clues to unlock the album’s 12-song tracklist, including titles like On Fire, Sunflowers, Imposter, and Dark To Light.

Described as his most personal and confident release to date, How Did I Get Here? was inspired in part by a trip to Costa Rica and carries a noticeably more optimistic tone. 

And while Swift's fans may have initially mistaken Tomlinson’s cryptic clues for something related to her, the singer says he didn’t mind the mix-up—especially when it came with a little extra attention.