{"id":4556,"date":"2022-09-08T14:31:46","date_gmt":"2022-09-08T19:31:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/read.streamapse.com\/?p=4556"},"modified":"2026-04-13T16:58:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T21:58:23","slug":"the-rise-and-rise-of-harry-styles-how-did-the-former-boyband-member-become-the-biggest-name-in-pop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/?p=4556","title":{"rendered":"The Rise And Rise Of Harry Styles: How Did The Former Boyband Member Become The Biggest Name In Pop?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>You\u2019ve probably heard the name Harry Styles. He is the current \u201creal big thing\u201d in popular music.<\/p>\n<p>But how did a former boy band star become such a huge musician and award-winning artist in his own right \u2013 and does he deserve all the breathless praise?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/ticketstream.streamapse.com\/live-events\/harry-styles-love-on-tour-2022\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-4558\" src=\"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Harry_Styles_Banner.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1355\" height=\"429\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The hype began in 2010 as a member of mega group One Direction. Paul McCartney <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/paul-mccartney-210-1283700\">gave them his blessing<\/a> as they clearly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/music\/shortcuts\/2017\/oct\/31\/pop-stars-broken-beatles-chart-records-one-direction-niall-horan\">tapped into The Beatles legacy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>On a break since 2016, One Direction is still <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/pop\/one-direction-drag-me-down-1-billion-views-youtube-1235068906\/\">breaking records online<\/a>. Their 2015 music video Drag Me Down recently passed one billion views on YouTube \u2013 seven years after its release.<\/p>\n<p>Since going solo, Styles has wowed audiences as a fashion icon and performer, releasing his third solo album, Harry\u2019s House, this week.<\/p>\n<figure><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/H5v3kku4y6Q?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0\" width=\"440\" height=\"260\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/figure>\n<p>Styles\u2019 latest single, As It Was, is already <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2022\/music\/news\/harry-styles-streaming-record-as-it-was-first-week-numbers-1235228708\/\">a world record holder<\/a> for daily streams across multiple platforms, debuting in its first week with 43.8 million plays.<\/p>\n<p>As a solo artist, he has won a swag of international awards, including Grammys, Brits and ARIAs.<\/p>\n<p>His 2019 album, Fine Line, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.grammy.com\/news\/harry-styles-fine-line-debuts-no-1-3rd-biggest-week-2019-album\">debuted at number one<\/a> on the Billboard charts and is the most recent album to make it to Rolling Stone\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rs500albums.com\/500-451\/491\">500 Greatest Albums of All Time<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>While Styles has groups of young female fans who have followed him since One Direction, his current fan base is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smh.com.au\/culture\/celebrity\/why-is-harry-styles-talking-about-sex-in-better-homes-and-gardens-20220427-p5agf8.html\">much broader<\/a>, brought together by the community and mood built through his music.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/ticketstream.streamapse.com\/live-events\/harry-styles-love-on-tour-2022\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-4558\" src=\"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Harry_Styles_Banner.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1355\" height=\"429\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Substance as well as style<\/h2>\n<p>Styles\u2019, um, style has been likened to iconic musician David Bowie in terms of gender and genre fluidity. NPR <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/therecord\/2017\/05\/16\/528617874\/styles-of-the-times\">describes him<\/a> as \u201cdressed in the finery of rock\u2019s legacies\u201d. GQ <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gq-magazine.co.uk\/culture\/article\/harry-styles-birthday\">called him<\/a> \u201cone of the best dressed men in the world\u201d with \u201celegance and bold choices\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>In 1970, Bowie appeared on the cover of his album The Man Who Sold the World in a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/fashion\/2016\/mar\/13\/peacock-revolution-david-bowie-mick-jagger-mr-fish\">man dress<\/a>\u201d. In 2020, Styles wore a tailor-made lace Gucci gown on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vogue.com\/article\/harry-styles-cover-december-2020\">cover of Vogue<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The nature of his public profile means there has been intense scrutiny about his personal life. Styles has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insider.com\/harry-styles-sexuality-gender-fluid-fashion-quotes-interviews\">repeatedly asked<\/a> about his sexual orientation. His response has been to call these questions \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bhg.com\/better-homes-and-garden-magazine\/harry-styles\/\">outdated<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>In responding in this way he provides strong leadership for the young mainstream. He is essentially saying no one should need to justify or explain who they love.<\/p>\n<p>Popular music becomes really powerful when artistic statements lead to action. Styles does this most overtly in the song Treat People With Kindness, which he performs draped in pride flags. This is a clear act that tells LGBTQA+ fans <a href=\"https:\/\/www.unitedbypop.com\/music\/fandoms\/harry-styles-lgbtq-fans\/\">they are welcome<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, Styles is privileged in terms of money, race and gender \u2013 and this means he can make art and take risks with less to lose than others.<\/p>\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-news\/billy-porter-harry-styles-vogue-cover-fashion-1243781\/\">Billy Porter reminds us<\/a>, queer people of colour have been challenging expectations about representation for decades, often as a matter of necessity rather than mere choice.<\/p>\n<figure><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/SBsveH7A-MU?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0\" width=\"440\" height=\"260\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/figure>\n<h2>The personal and communal in action<\/h2>\n<p>In addition to fine songwriting, which he does with some <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_songs_written_by_Harry_Styles\">regular collaborators<\/a>, Styles also draws from a diverse pool of influences.<\/p>\n<p>Iconic artist Stevie Nicks <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/celebrity-news\/pictures\/harry-styles-friendship-with-stevie-nicks-complete-timeline\/february-2019-64\/\">referred<\/a> to him as \u201cthe son I never had\u201d. In return, <a href=\"https:\/\/pitchfork.com\/news\/read-harry-styles-speech-inducting-stevie-nicks-into-rock-hall-2019\/\">Styles said<\/a> Nicks\u2019 songs \u201cmade you ache, feel on top of the world, make you want to dance, and usually all three at the same time\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>At Coachella in April 2022, he invited Shania Twain to perform with him. Introducing her, he said: \u201cin the car with my mother as a child, this lady taught me to sing\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The next week he invited <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-features\/lizzo-cover-story-interview-truth-hurts-grammys-937009\/\">Lizzo<\/a> on stage, and together they performed I Will Survive, a tribute to their shared love of 1970s music.<\/p>\n<p>Collaboration with other artists \u2013 particularly artists from different perspectives \u2013 shows Styles is open to exploring different territory.<\/p>\n<p>Popular music doesn\u2019t have one \u201csound\u201d over time &#8211; it changes with fashion, technology and culture. Staying relevant means being able to embrace different ways of doing things.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/ticketstream.streamapse.com\/live-events\/harry-styles-love-on-tour-2022\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-4558\" src=\"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Harry_Styles_Banner.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1355\" height=\"429\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Harry\u2019s House<\/h2>\n<p>His new album, Harry\u2019s House, shows another evolution in Styles\u2019 musical career.<\/p>\n<p>It builds on his pop music background and travels around between 70s style folk storytelling and various eras of great dance music. Lyrically, it moves from cryptic \u2013 \u201cI bring the pop, you bring the cinema\u201d \u2013 to explicit \u2013 \u201cif you\u2019re getting yourself wet for me, I guess you\u2019re all mine\u201d, mostly<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/entertainment-arts-61463365\">drawing praise<\/a> from music critics.<\/p>\n<p>Popular music matters because it brings people together. Harry Styles, and popular music like his, does this on a mass scale. Whether the Style (sorry) is your taste or not, his value is not only demonstrated in the millions of sales, but in the power of the connections he builds between his fans.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/183128\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" \/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/liz-giuffre-105499\">Liz Giuffre<\/a>, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/university-of-technology-sydney-936\">University of Technology Sydney<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/liz-giuffre-105499\">Liz Giuffre<\/a>, Senior Lecturer in Communication, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/university-of-technology-sydney-936\">University of Technology Sydney<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>This article is republished from <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/the-rise-and-rise-of-harry-styles-how-did-the-former-boyband-member-become-the-biggest-name-in-pop-183128\">original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You\u2019ve probably heard the name Harry Styles. He is the current \u201creal big thing\u201d in popular music. But how did a former boy band star become such a huge musician and award-winning artist in his own right \u2013 and does he deserve all the breathless praise? The hype began in 2010 as a member of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4557,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,4],"tags":[11,887,888,889,25,890,26],"class_list":["post-4556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-new-music","tag-become","tag-biggest","tag-boyband","tag-former","tag-harry","tag-member","tag-styles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4556"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6555,"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4556\/revisions\/6555"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}