Niall Horan has said he is not friends with a lot of other musicians because “there’s a lot of egos” in the industry.
The One Direction star said he does count Lewis Capaldi and Shawn Mendes among his friends.
Speaking to Laura Whitmore on her podcast Castaway, he said: “My relationship with Lewis and stuff is that we have an unbelievable laugh.
“But at the same time, me and Lewis will have a few heart-to-hearts and stuff, you know, him asking me for advice, me asking him for advice.
“It’s not always ‘Haha, do you want to go for a pint’ and stuff.
“I’m not friends with a lot of artists, I think there’s a lot of egos in music in terms of subconscious ones where I don’t think people realise that they’re being quite stand-offish.”
He added: “I’m also good friends with Shawn Mendes or whatever but they are one of very few in the industry.”
Horan also discussed writing about a recent break-up on his second album Heartbreak Weather, saying: “I’ve stopped myself and thought ‘Can I say that? Should I say that? Will they care if they say that?’.
“But then, to be honest, its fine. I can tell that person if it’s about them and explain why, whereas the press and the social media look on it, it’s basically a five-minute ‘Who’s that song about? I want to be nosey’, that kind of thing. When really I didn’t really think about it until I went on tour in 2018.
“I’d stand on stage every night and there would literally be people standing there crying and what I was taking from that was, they don’t want to know who that song’s about, they don’t care, they’ve actually delved into it and related to something in their life.”
He added: “If I get asked about it, I say ‘Listen, make it about something in your life, don’t ask about me’.”
Laura Whitmore’s Castaway podcast is available on Apple, Spotify and all major podcast platforms.