Is Louis Tomlinson Messing With Us? One Direction Star Congratulates Rihanna On ‘Anti,’ Fuels Larry Discussion


Just today, fans spotted that Louis Tomlinson had liked an Instagram shot of Rihanna collecting a plaque to honor her album Anti going Platinum.

People immediately observed the humor in this. As well as being the title of Rihanna’s new album, “Anti” is the name given to One Direction fans who do not believe the rumor that Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson are in a secret gay relationship. The rumor has been around since almost the very beginning of One Direction, and while Louis Tomlinson has publicly denounced it on Twitter, calling Larry theories “the biggest load of bulls*** I’ve ever heard,” determined believers just insisted that someone from Syco or Modest Management (who are believed to be the masterminds behind the gay relationship-coverup) must have taken control of Louis Tomlinson’s social media accounts and sent tweets on Louis’ behalf.

Some people (shippers of Rihouis?) were happy to see that Louis Tomlinson seems to be a fan of Rihanna’s music.

Remember when Harry Styles followed Avril Lavigne on Twitter, and a collaboration rumor sprung up? “Harry feat. Avril” became a trend and ended up getting 23K tweets in about 12 hours.

Now that Louis Tomlinson has “liked” Rihanna’s pic, whispers about Louis and Rihanna collaborating are flying around, too.

Not everyone was supportive — a few people who dislike Rihanna’s innovative Anti album had their worldviews shaken up after Louis Tomlinson gave his endorsement.

Should Louis Tomlinson and Rihanna collaborate? Here are some thoughts about why that could be amazing.

Rihanna’s sound on Anti is versatile, meandering across genres and moods

Louis has shown his appreciation for this type of approach in the past — he said Made In The A.M was his favorite One Direction album and used the word “eclectic” to describe it in interviews a couple of times.

Rihanna’s Anti album is super-eclectic, with wildly different moods and approaches often pasted together in the same song. Take the stunning “James Joint” a marijuana-appreciation flight of fancy in which lovelorn, lazy, drugged-out lyrics celebrate a man with a criminal history, while a moody synth line rises and falls in a way that is part Bach Toccata-and-Fugue, part Kraftwerk melody line, and part cosmic-sounding iPhone ringtone. The name itself recalls”James Joyce,” the Irish modernist writer who is known for his chaotic and impenetrable prose in works like Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man. Genius thinks Rihanna’ song was named in honor of Rihanna’s co-writer, James Fauntleroy.

Some critics, including the one at Billboard, have complained that Anti lacks an obvious single. The Guardian dubbed Rihanna’s new album “one to scare casual fans.”

If anyone can wrench bleary-eyed Rihanna back into the mainstream, it’s Louis Tomlinson, who has spent the last five years releasing mega-hit singles and selling out stadiums. Let’s face it, One Direction fans would flock to a raw potato if it had One Direction’s endorsement. No, really. Remember the 1D potato? It got 15,000 followers in just a few hours, according to MTV.

Louis is interested in starting a girl band under the label he convinced Simon Cowell to give him

Louis and Simon apparently want to find four cools girls who play instruments and form a band. Perhaps Louis could pinch one of Rihanna’s female instrumentalists to get things going.

Rihanna knows about the ins and outs of girl band-hood. She was reportedly in a girl band before she went solo.

Rihanna is a rebel with a scandal-plagued history, and Louis a former boybander just beginning to spread his scandal-wings

If Louis can help to clean up Rihanna’s image, “Bad girl Riri” can help to edge Louis’ out a bit. Studies have shown that transitions to solo stardom are done by slowly introducing adult themes and hip-hop/rock/dance/sexy elements into one’s work (see Justin Bieber/Zayn Malik/Justin Timberlake/Miley Cyrus), while being careful not to do anything so drastic that it alienates the massive young fan base, or people start calling you “extra.”

Of course, Louis has shown the least interest of the 1D guys in going solo, and seems more keen to concentrate on fatherhood, music management, soccer, and maybe acting and Adidas sponsorship, but one hit single outside One Direction couldn’t hurt, could it?

They both have teeny-tiny button noses

Think of the possibilities for the single art! The two cutest noses in pop music cast in inky-black silhouette, maybe facing each other.

Perhaps Rihanna and Louis could do some kind of “Where the Wild Roses Grow,” Nick Cave-esque love ballad with a string section and a murder subplot. When they lean in to kiss, the technician will cut the lights, so their profiles are suddenly cast in pitch-black and the cover image is recreated in a screenshot.

They would look amazing together in a video

Rihanna has a kind of dark and intriguing but relaxed sexiness, and Louis is the king of smouldering, can’t-put-your-finger-on-it appeal, as James Corden observed.

They both suffer from “resting b***h face”

This was observed by a fan on Twitter.

A sign of a deep, natural connection? Stranger things have been said in the world of One Direction.

(Photo by Jon Furniss Photography/Invision/AP)

Share this article: Is Louis Tomlinson Messing With Us? One Direction Star Congratulates Rihanna On ‘Anti,’ Fuels Larry Discussion
More from Inquisitr