It’s official. After a couple of years of silence following the end of Love On Tour, Harry Styles is stepping back into the spotlight with the announcement of his fourth album, Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally, a moment fans have been half-joking, half-manifesting for years. It confirms what fans have long suspected, that his return was never a question of if, but when. The subtle hints leading up to this moment have only added to the sense of something almost surreal for those who have been waiting for HS4 to arrive. For those Harry-obsessed fans paying attention, the signs have been there all along.
First came the mysterious video uploaded to Harry Styles’ YouTube channel on December 27th titled Forever, Forever. This surprise post contained a video of the instrumental piano ballad he performed during the final show of Love on Tour in 2023. At the end of the ten-minute video, the words We Belong Together appeared on screen, leaving fans wondering if he is finally back. Naturally, the internet did what it does best, overanalyse everything.
After this video there was… nothing. That was until January 12th when posters containing the words We Belong Together were plastered across major cities around the world. Alongside this, a website began circulating on social media, directing fans to the HSHQ WhatsApp and allowed fans to sign up to a mailing list after sending the message We Belong Together. Many fans, myself included, did not hesitate when handing over our contact details, because any hint of Harry Styles was worth the potential scam. Harry Styles’ own website changed, showing an arrow pointing to a sign-up link. Thankfully, our devices were not overtaken by viruses, and instead, on January 14th, the HSHQ WhatsApp messaged fans a mysterious voice note of Harry mumbling the words We Belong Together.
This marked the beginning of a new Harry Styles era, and 24 hours later came the Instagram announcement of Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally that is to be released on March 6th. The excruciating build-up and the curiosity of fans was worth it, and his return took over social media. The website, webelongtogether.co was then updated, displaying a clock which replaced numbers with the word Kiss apart from one which said Disco. On January 20th, this clock began to tick, leading fans to realise that both arrows would point towards Disco at 5pm that day. It’s safe to say, we were not disappointed, as at that time, Harry Styles announced the release of his newest single Aperture. Listening parties were held all over the world, allowing fans to experience the song pre-release.
Harry Styles has always understood that mystery is what keeps fans so entertained. He disappears for just long enough for people to miss him, then returns with a new look, a new sound, and a new approach to his music. What made the anticipation so exciting was not only the clues themselves, but the way it brought fans together. Suddenly, the fandom was sharing theories and collectively losing their minds every time a new hint appeared. As the album begins to unfold, one thing is clear, Harry Styles is back, and after all the waiting, the guessing and the manifesting, it’s finally HS4 at midnight.