English singer-songwriter Louis Tomlinson has writing credits on over 90 songs, seven of which have appeared in the top 10 of the UK singles chart. He has written tracks on all of his studio albums, Walls (2020), Faith in the Future (2022), and How Did I Get Here? (2026), and for his former band One Direction.
After co-writing songs on the One Direction albums Up All Night (2011) and Take Me Home (2012), Tomlinson became more prominent as a writer for Midnight Memories (2013). He has credits on 9 tracks out of the 14 on the standard edition and 3 of 4 in the deluxe version. "Story of My Life", the album's second single, peaked at number 2 on the UK singles chart and sold over 3 million copies in the United States. "Diana" topped iTunes charts worldwide upon release and peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.
For the album Four (2014), Tomlinson co-wrote the lead single "Steal My Girl", which peaked at number 3 on the UK singles chart. He was a principal writer of "No Control", which became the subject of a fan campaign to be released as a single and to reach number 1 on the UK single charts. Fans started the campaign to show support for Tomlinson after a feud with producer Naughty Boy on Twitter, with the song being chosen because Tomlinson was a primary writer alongside band member Liam Payne. "Night Changes" was written by Tomlinson with all four other original band members, as well as Jamie Scott, Julian Bunetta, and John Ryan. Following Payne's death in October 2024, the song, along with the rest of One Direction's discography, experienced a surge in streams. The song eventually peaked at number 6 on the UK singles chart. Tomlinson has writing credits on more than half of the tracks on the group's final album Made in the A.M. (2015), including "Perfect", "What a Feeling", "Love You Goodbye", and "History". "History" was the band's final single before going on an indefinite hiatus.
Tomlinson co-wrote his first solo single "Just Hold On" with Steve Aoki, Eric Rosse, Sasha Alex Sloan, and Nolan Lambroza. The song peaked at number 2 on the UK singles chart, becoming Tomlinson's highest-charting song as of August 2025. "Back to You", his second solo single, was also co-written by him and peaked at number 8 on the UK singles chart. Tomlinson has credits on every track from both his debut studio album and his second studio album, the latter of which debuted at number 1 on the UK Albums Chart. Other than One Direction and himself, Tomlinson co-wrote "Changes" by musician Blackbear from his 2019 album Anonymous, "Love Shot" by Chinese-South Korean boy band Exo from their 2018 album Don't Mess Up My Tempo, and the 2023 single "POS" by musician Sueco.
Of the band members, Tomlinson has the most writing credits for One Direction's discography. He has said that this made him feel "ownership" in his career for the first time, adding that within the first two and a half years of the band, he felt as though he lacked influence. He and Payne are considered the main songwriters for One Direction, with Payne having the second-most credits. Critics for several publications have praised Tomlinson's songwriting, including Rania Aniftos for Billboard, Alex Hopper for American Songwriter, Brian Mansfield for USA Today, and Alim Kheraj for The Guardian.
Songs
+KeyIndicates single releaseIndicates promotional single release