"Just Hold On" is a song by American DJ Steve Aoki and English singer and songwriter Louis Tomlinson, released as the latter's debut single on December 10, 2016, by Ultra Music. It was written by Tomlinson, Aoki, Eric Rosse, Sasha Sloan and Sir Nolan and produced by Aoki, Sir Nolan and Jay Pryor. Aoki and Tomlinson performed the song for the first time on the series finale of The X Factor (UK).

The song debuted at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart, and number 52 on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it Aoki's highest-charting song in both countries.

"Just Hold On" is the first solo music project by Tomlinson after One Direction began their first official break in December 2015. A preview of the song was released on December 9.

Tomlinson's debut performance of "Just Hold On" on The X Factor (UK) came just days after it was announced that his mother, Johannah Deakin, died at the age of 42 after a battle with a blood form of leukemia. The song was made available on the iTunes Store and streaming services on December 10, 2016.

"Just Hold On" is written in the key of B major with a tempo of 115 beats per minute in common time. The verses follow a chord progression of G♯5–E5–B5–F♯5, and Tomlinson's vocals span from F♯₃ to B₄.

In the website Idolator, Christina Lee wrote the song is an "uplifting EDM fare that comes standard with summer music festivals, though also a brand new direction for Louis after five One Direction albums."The song received positive reviews, with Time naming it as one of their "5 Songs You Need to Listen to This Week", calling it an "undeniably catchy track, a surprisingly gentle mix of Aoki’s EDM backing and Tomlinson’s melodic boy band vocals". Music website DirectLyrics stated: "Although Steve Aoki's electro-house beat flows well with the uplifting message of the song, I hope Louis releases an acoustic version of "Just Hold On" in the future". Express also called the track "fittingly uplifting". We Got This Covered described Aoki's production, stating: "Aoki layers in mid tempo four on the floor rhythms, injecting a tropical vibe moving into the chorus with exotic melodies and undeniable groove; it looks like Aoki is hoping to get in on the EDM-pop crossover trend...of 2016. Thankfully, he doesn’t go the future bass route, opting instead to craft a tropical pop production elevated by Louis Tomlinson’s smooth vocal approach. “Just Hold On” is definitely catchy enough to get some heavy radio play, and Tomlinson’s presence on the song may just be enough to score Steve Aoki a full fledged pop hit."

...
Wikipedia