Steve Aoki’s collaboration with Louis Tomlinson was set in motion when the One Direction star ”followed [him] on Twitter”.
The 39-year-old musician features on the 25-year-old’s debut solo single ‘Just Hold On’, and has said their unlikely partnership started after he got the chance to fill in for a sick Calvin Harris at a show in Las Vegas, which Louis happened to be attending.
Speaking on Australian radio station Nova FM, Steve said: ”I play in Vegas a lot and Louis went to a Calvin Harris show and that night Calvin Harris cancelled, he was sick or something and they called me and said, ‘Hey Steve, do you want to DJ Calvin’s night because he can’t make it?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m in town. Let’s do this!’ So I played and Louis and his friends were at the party and they were blown away by the set, you know. I was really happy I got to play that show and he followed me on Twitter. The old Twitter!”
The track was debuted on British TV talent show ‘The X Factor’ in December by Louis and Steve just a few days after the 1D star’s mother Johannah Deakin passed away following a secret battle with leukaemia.
Speaking after his performance on the show, judge Simon Cowell – the man responsible for creating One Direction on the same programme – told an emotional Louis: ”I have to say something to you. I’ve known you for six years, what you’ve just done – the bravery.
”I respect you as an artist and I respect you as a person. Your mum was so proud of you Louis and she was so looking forward to this performance. She’s watching over you now and you’ve done her so proud.”
