Is Harry Styles the perfect pop star? With the release of his third solo album Harry’s House on Friday, he has shaken off every trace of pop-pop that is pursuing his reputation and taking his position as a legitimate rock star. But that’s not my opinion – I only heard the single “As It Was”, a bittersweet meditation on personal evolution, which entered the Guinness Book of Records as the most streamed track by a male artist on Spotify in 24 hours and spent six weeks at the top of the British charts. The critics are the ones who went crazy. Mostly men, mostly white and often joyless, the music press, which received an early preview of the album, lined up the lavish Styles with praise. Alexis Petridis of The Guardian described Harry’s House as “extremely well-designed, fitting very well and having a lot of charm”. Zane Lowe, whom you can see applauding Stiles with fan adoration in an extended YouTube interview, called Harry’s House a “triumph.” Rolling Stone describes Stiles as “Mick Jagger for our more enlightened age.”
“Everyone’s changing,” Stiles told Lowe about his musical evolution, and the 28-year-old from Cheshire has come a long way since wrapping a scarf around his neck for audition and finished third in a thoughtful reality show by Simon Cowell. One Direction, the group of five teenagers that Stiles was attracted to late, was probably the latest expression of a traditionally produced boy band before K-Pop. . But while One Direction has always been insanely popular, in our house, at least where we’ve always been Team Harry, no one has ever given much credence to their musical legitimacy.
On the stage of the Coachella 2022 Festival in Indio, California © Kevin Mazur / Getty
“Obviously not the Beatles,” Alexa Chung said of their contribution when I interviewed Vogue’s history group in 2012. “But it’s good to see a boy band dress well for a change.”
I remember that he was the only member of One Direction who introduced himself to each member of the production team.
On that distant afternoon 10 years ago, I still remember Styles as special. I remember that he was the only member of the group who introduced himself to every member of the production team, from the photographer to the shoemaker, and how strictly polite he was. He seemed indifferent to the dizzying energy of mega-fandomism or the growing hordes of screaming girls queuing outside on the road: “I’m enjoying myself,” he shrugged at the relentless schedule of the diaries. “Especially where you don’t have to just sit and smile.”
The fact that critics are surprised that Stiles has made the transition from a teenage pop idol to a mature performer suggests that they did not pay attention before all these years. Stiles has always been involved in the long game: he has a great voice, he has always been kind and polite in public, he is insanely ambitious. And she still has that beautiful hair.
Styles with girlfriend Alexa Chung in 2012 © DHSMS
Stiles’ success is based on his personality, his great team of producers and the fact that he can sing. But his trajectory also coincides with a period in which the defining characteristics of the pop star were more flexible than before. As a young and prolific-looking teenager, Stiles may have embraced the rock star’s hypersexuality: he may have followed Jagger or Timberlake (another successful alumnus of the boys’ group) and created a career based on highly heterosexual performances and hyper-men. Instead, in the tradition of Bowie or Freddie Mercury, Stiles has taken on a much more playful gender role. But unlike Bowie, who lived in a more androgynous persona, Stiles’ vision is more of a parade of clothing controversy – at the Coachella Festival, he seduced the crowd with a mixed wardrobe of feather boas, nail polish and tunics that show off his cutouts. from fitness biceps and craft tattoos.
As a teenager with One Direction member Niall Horan in 2010 © FilmMagic In New York in 2020 © GC Images
In an era of emotional availability and accessibility, Styles gives little personal stuff. His interview with Lowe was a self-reflection master class in which he spoke vaguely in LA therapy about his feelings, but did not offer specific details or insights into how he spent his days. He also never “felt the need to label his sexuality,” he told the NME. But why would he? Determining your sexual preferences makes no business sense in this era of all-inclusive, and especially not when you want to sell some cosmetic serums and nail polishes from your side line Pleasing Beauty, Styles for all genders. Why throw out one of your fans when you can compare this red-blooded, rock-god charisma with the look of abandonment of the camp, which allows you to wear a deep jumpsuit with sequins and a duet with Shania Twain?
Regardless of his musical performance or performance, Stiles has managed to settle into something that only a few achieve: he retained a very distinctive personality until he became a mirror on which we can project. And he’s funny. Who can resist these ringing pop tunes from the 80’s or this effervescent smile? I won’t even try. Stiles is living his best life and as Elton John on steroids, he brings joy back to the stage. In a year when there is very little to celebrate, it is the tonic we all need.
Email Jo at jo.ellison@ft.com
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