I am a diehard fan of Harry Styles. It started when I was ten years old with the One Direction X Factor video diaries, since then I can tell you exactly where I was for every song and album he has released. I would like to think this makes me more than qualified to share my opinion on any of his new releases, current and future. I was a bit nervous for “As It Was” not because I thought I wouldn’t like it – I honestly would be shocked if there was ever a song by Styles that I didn’t enjoy, even my least favorites by him outrank my favorites by other artists. I was nervous because Fine Line holds a very special place in my heart. The promotion and release of Fine Line took place during my first semester of college, and I spent many days giving my all to supporting the album – jumping on the subway at whim to find a “Do you know who you are?” sign, waiting for hours for the pop-up shop, and sleeping outside of Rockefeller Center in the pouring rain on top of a garbage bag just to hear him perform. Moreover, every time I heard a song for the first time, I was with my best friend. These are some of my favorite memories right before the pandemic. So, my expectations are a bit high for his next album, Harry’s House.
Harry Styles and his team like to keep us on our toes. Announcing an album midday in the middle of the week and making the first single’s release on April Fools’ Day seemed like a massive joke, I almost questioned if I should take it seriously. But the short snippet shared on social media, with Styles spinning on a platform dressed in a red jumpsuit had me hooked immediately. Piecing together the cryptic messages from a new, random Twitter account and hoping to see what is behind the door every day made the anticipation even more exciting.
With the release at midnight UK time, we on the east coast were able to hear it at 7pm on Thursday – right in the middle of my commute home. Somehow the stars aligned, and the same best friend I was with throughout all of Fine Line ended up on the bus with me. Immediately I knew the song was going to be amazing. In fact, I listened to it at least a dozen times between its release and walking through my front door at home.
What Styles does so wonderfully is turn sad lyrics into a song that makes you want to sing, dance, run, and scream. He then adds a music video of his beautiful artistic vision, he makes you laugh, feel tears build up, and your heart swells with excitement. At the end of the three minutes, every emotion has been felt and all you can do is hit restart to feel it all again. I really enjoyed how personal this song feels. It begins with an audio clip of Styles’ goddaughter and throughout the song we hear him talking to himself, directly saying his name, and making anecdotes about his family and childhood. Yet the way the song is written, it feels like it’s for everyone, we are not meant to just listen, he wants us to sing it back and feel everything he felt writing it. It’s been less than a week and I’m already addicted to “As It Was”; the release of Harry’s House on May 20th can’t come soon enough.