Julia Michaels & Niall Horan’s “What a Time": The Emotional Song, Explained
The Voice Season 28 Coach is featured on Michaels' gut-wrenching track.
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Get your tissues ready, because during the most recent Battles of The Voice Season 28, Team Niall Artists Aiden Ross and Ava Nat sang "What a Time," the duet originally recorded by their own Coach, Niall Horan, and singer-songwriter Julia Michaels. And the song was every bit as emotional coming from them as it was in its original form.
Both Nat and Ross had their pick of Coaches but decided to go with Horan because of the emotionality in his music. They were thrilled to see balladeer Lewis Capaldi would be their Battle Advisor, even if Capaldi joked, "Sorry I'm not Shawn Mendes." ("He knows a thing or two about a ballad" said Horan of Capaldi, who agreed, calling the genre his "bread and butter.")
Before giving them their song assignment, Horan asked, "Is it really self-indulgent to pick your own song?" and Capaldi replied, "Yes, it is. Massively." Nat insisted she and Ross "took it as an honor."
Ross also explained that, for him, the song was about "the feeling of missing [his] family." (This was his first time away from his hometown in his entire life.)
"I remember when I was in the studio with Julia recording this, every time she sung the song, she cried. She was that into her lyric and what she was saying," Horan revealed, emphasizing the need to connect emotionally over the importance of hitting the notes. "Especially in a song like this. This is not the biggest pop song on the planet, but it did really well because of the emotion that’s conveyed."
Ultimately, Horan felt Ross won the Battle because he delivered more emotion, but he used his Save to keep Nat on his team, as well.
What is "What a Time" by Niall Horan and Julia Michaels about?
Michaels co-wrote "What a Time" with Justin Tranter, Casey Barth, and Riley Knapp for her 2019 EP Inner Monologues Part 1. She and Horan performed it together live in 2024 during a Los Angeles stop of his massive world tour.
The lyrics tell the story of a relationship that was messy and may have ended badly, but the singer is still missing the other person. "You clinged to my body like you wanted it forever. What a lie, what a lie, what a lie," the lyrics read. "I wonder if my mind just leaves out all the bad parts...My throat is getting dry, and my heart is racing...I haven't been by your side in minute, but I think about it sometimes."
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As one YouTube commenter responding to the music video put it, "This song is the perfect mix between the pain of the breakup and the strength of moving on."
In an interview with Billboard, Michaels described Horan as a down-to-Earth collaborator, saying, "He walks in, and he’s just his goofy, silly self. I can’t think of a moment where him and I aren’t laughing and being completely ridiculous with each other. We always make fun of each other for a second, then he sings his heart out, and then he’s like, 'Cool, I’ll see you later.' And all of a sudden there’s this magical vocal on this song, and he sounds like a sweet baby angel."
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Watch The Voice Monday nights on NBC at 8/7c, and catch new episodes the next day on Peacock.
