It seems like just yesterday I was an 11-year-old girl staring at my One Direction posters, crying as I heard the news about my favorite boy band splitting up. Now, 10 years later, I’m jumping for joy at the announcement of Harry Styles’ long-awaited new album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. Wow! 2026 really is the new 2016.
The 12-track album drops on Mar. 6, so mark your calendars in advance. Styles has been characteristically cryptic with this release. It all began when a clock appeared on his official website. Soon after, random billboards and cryptic YouTube videos of crowds chanting “We Belong Together” sent fans spiraling into theories. Finally, on Jan. 15, the album was announced.
The first single, “Aperture,” debuted on Jan. 22. Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t even know what an aperture was. After a quick Google search, I learned that an aperture is the opening of a camera lens that controls how much light enters, which is an analogy perfectly suited for the song.
To me, “Aperture” feels like a reflection on new experiences and the unknown. Styles uses the idea of an aperture to symbolize letting the “light” of love and understanding into his life, repeating in the chorus that “aperture lets the light in,” and “we belong together.”
The surprises didn’t stop there. Just hours before the single dropped, Styles announced the Together, Together tour, playing 50 shows in seven cities over seven months. In the United States, he’s taking over Madison Square Garden in New York City for 30 nights.
Even better, the lineup of openers is incredible: Robyn, Shania Twain, Jorja Smith, and more. I’m especially jealous of the London fans who get to see Styles and Twain perform together. If you haven’t seen Styles’ and Kacey Musgraves’ cover of “You’re Still the One” by Shania Twain, please do yourself a favor and check it out. It changed my life.
This album announcement, after a four-year hiatus of no new music and three years of near-total silence from Styles’ socials, certainly caught me off guard. In fact, I nearly shed a tear when I saw the notification that Styles had posted a video titled “Forever, Forever.” I knew big things were coming.
So, wherever this new era takes him, I’m ready. I don’t know about Styles, but I’m certainly ready to disco all the time.
Even though no one really knows what to expect from Kiss All the Time, Disco, Occasionally, “Aperture” definitely hints at a fresh new direction. Fans are already speculating a techno-inspired sound based on its layered production. From the rock roots of Harry Styles to the indie edge of Fine Line and the soft pop warmth of Harry’s House, Styles has never shied away from a heavy genre shift.
This album came out at the perfect time for a college girl like me and a lot of Styles’ fanbase. Growing up alongside his music feels like growing up alongside your own emotions. Each album soundtracks a different stage of growing older: teenage chaos, self-discovery, and now this confident kind of joy. This new era doesn’t just mark his evolution as an artist; it mirrors the evolution of his fans, too.
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