Harry Styles at the top of pop

The pop world currently revolves around Harry Styles. Between his notable presence as the headliner of Coachella this spring, his increasingly frequent film roles, his aura as a rock icon in the making and his new album, Harry’s Houseexpected as the return of the messiah, he is one of today’s most popular artists.

Marissa Groguhe
The Press

Beginning of course

A little background first, to better understand the path taken. Now 28, Styles was just 16 when he turned up for the UK singing competition auditions The X-Factor. The young man from a town in central west England was then catapulted into a group with four other young men to continue the adventure X-Factor : thus was born One Direction. The quintet finished the competition on the third step of the podium. For the next five years, he was the boy band the most adored (especially by teenagers) in the world, one of the best-selling bands in the history of music. In 2016, One Direction broke up. This is the first day of the rest of the life of Harry Styles, who will soon become even more popular than the group that saw him born.

To prove himself

the RollingStone describes him as a “rock star of the 21st^and century “. Stevie Nicks considers him “the son she never had”, but especially as the heir to the music of Mick Fleetwood and her. Everything could have stopped for Harry Styles after One Direction, but the trajectory he took instead led him to greater heights. In 2017, on his first homonymous solo album, we meet this artist who we could see within the group, but who was able to show his colors better here. If his former friends have tried different musical avenues, Styles has embarked on rock & roll. A rock tinged with pop, certainly, but a rather convincing rock. He still doesn’t persuade everyone with this record. The effort is prudent. He will say it himself, he didn’t dare to make a “fun” album, he got bogged down in the deep desire to show what he was capable of. Be that as it may, the disc marks an altogether successful start. And when the sequel comes, fine linein 2019, the pop star finally emerges from her cocoon.

Harry Styles style

fine line is “full of personality and charm”, titles the specialized magazine NME at its output. pitchfork finds that the homages that litter the record prevent the listener from fully grasping what kind of songwriter Harry Styles really is. For the RollingStone, on the other hand, he proves to be a “god of rock” with this second disc. The magazine places fine line in 491^and position in his list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. All eyes are on Harry Styles. There is the music, on the one hand, but also the image, on the other. In both cases, Styles asserts himself more and more, is erected as a reference figure. The year before the release of the album, he became the face of Gucci. On the Met Gala red carpet in 2019, he dons a transparent top and Gucci lace, a pearl in his ear, an androgynous look to perfection. On tour, her stage clothes are always more flamboyant. On the cover of the magazine vogue (he is the first man to appear alone in one), in 2020, he wears a dress and nail polish. Harry Styles is not inventing anything, others have done it long before him, first in the queer community. But the singer is seen by all, admired by many. Her looks inspire, upset certain codes of mainstream. For QG, he is one of the best-dressed musicians in the world. Over the years, Harry Styles has become a fashion icon.

Also actor

In 2017, just after the release of his first album, Harry Styles appeared in the film Dunkirk, by Christopher Nolan. His first steps on the big screen are noticed, although he only plays a secondary role. It’s just the start of an acting career that takes a major turn this year when he takes on his first leading role, alongside Florence Pugh, in the film Don’t Worry Darling, directed by Olivia Wilde. He will also be seen in the fall in the leading role of the drama My Policeman, by Michael Grandage. In 2021, he appeared in Marvel’s movie post-credit scene, Eternals, hinting at a bigger role to come in the saga. Rock star, fashion muse and occasional actor: Harry Styles is everywhere.

Harry’s House

Harry Styles’ comeback rang last April with the release of the song As It Was.

He talks about metamorphosis, loneliness, melancholy, all on a dancing synth-pop reminiscent of the 1980s. On this new record, he explains in an interview with Better Homes & Gardens, it addresses the themes of belonging, tranquility and the fact of finding a home, which is not necessarily a physical place, but an interior one. Like many people, Styles has had plenty of time to ask a ton of existential questions during the pandemic. While he had never really taken a break since those famous auditions at The X-Factorhe finally stopped. Harry’s House results from this moment of respite and reflection. “I think everyone went through a great moment of introspection, of navel-gazing, and I don’t think there’s anything more navel-gazing than making an album,” he says. If Harry Styles perpetuates this tendency to pay homage and to be inspired by his idols in his music, he allows himself this time to put much more of himself in his work. Creation is liberated. For the first time, he said, he’s not releasing an album fearing it won’t achieve commercial success. This is perhaps what will ensure its success.