Ah, god.
Niall Horan loves Ireland. He never stops talking about it.
Lucky for him then that he boasts an intensely Irish accent and Irish sounding name.
There are no fadas in there but you’d definitely be excused for getting a bit confused and mispronouncing it if you were put on the spot or weren’t used to saying it.
Which is exactly what happened to Kelly Rowland during the AMAs.
The singer was introducing Niall to the stage but instead of saying ‘Niall Horan’ she said ‘Neill Horawn’ or ‘Neil Horayn’ or ‘Neil Haron’ or something to that effect.
.@KELLYROWLAND & @KatGraham introduce your #AMAs New Artist of The Year, @NiallOfficial's performance 😍 #NIALLxAMAs pic.twitter.com/oJ1u0Pxlhl
— American Music Awards (@AMAs) November 20, 2017
Gas.
Niall himself, understandably, was not at all bothered by the mispronunciation (because why would he be? He’s a millionaire with a new album out and he just got introduced at the AMAs by a literal Destiny’s Child).
But people on Twitter were quick to notice the mixup and they, of course, vented their frustrations.
Neil? Please learn how to say the name before presenting in the future.
— Becca Stilley (@BeccaStilley) November 20, 2017
Niall doesn’t approve pic.twitter.com/aHEKPMlxH0
— Mallorie Tucker (@mallorie_tucker) November 20, 2017
@imaan_monem she had one job
— zafira? (@malikXeth) November 20, 2017
Alright lads, calm down like.
Seeing as Niall’s abundance of fans were all up in her @s, Kelly even went so far as to issue an apology to Niall for getting his name wrong.
… Because this is the power that One Direction fans have in this world now.
😜😚 @NiallOfficial #sowwy pic.twitter.com/PLszTYLzuL
— KELENDRIA ROWLAND (@KELLYROWLAND) November 20, 2017
Niall, however, is a sound lad and he didn’t mind at all that Kelly had pronounced his name wrong.
He took to Twitter to tell her himself.
He wrote:
“Hahahahah I love ya kelly , don’t you worry . I’ve heard them all .”
Classic Niall.
The Mullingar native picked up the AMA award for New Artist of the Year and also performed his single, Slow Hands.
