One Direction band member Louis Tomlinson has thanked his fans for their "incredible support" since his mother Johannah Deakin passed away.
News broke last week that the One Direction star's mum died after a battle with leukemia leading to an outpouring of support from fans and friends in the music industry.
Just three days later, Tomlinson took to the stage on The X Factor finale for an emotional performance of his debut single Just Hold On.
Initially it was reported that he would pull out of the scheduled performance but later said he wanted to go ahead with the performance as a tribute to his mother.
Tomlinson has now taken to Instagram to reach out directly to his fans, posting a picture of himself and his Just Hold On collaborator Steve Aoki onstage.
Along with the photo, he wrote: "Thank you for the incredible support."
After the performance, Tomlinson tweeted that it was "harder than I ever imagined" and added that his mum would have been "so f***ing proud".
That was harder than I ever imagined. I want to thank everyone around me and all of the amazing fans out there that made that so special!
— Louis Tomlinson (@Louis_Tomlinson) December 11, 2016
One Direction's mentor Simon Cowell called the boyband star "brave" for performing only days after his tragic loss.
"Louis, I have to say - I've known you for six years," Simon said. "What you've just done, the bravery of what you've just done. Your mum was so proud of you, she was so looking forward to seeing this. She is looking down tonight."
