Harry Styles debuted his sophomore album, Fine Line, almost a year ago. I am a big believer in the fact that artists put songs on their albums in the order they are supposed to be listened to, like one big story. The first song on this album would be no other than “Golden.”
On October 26, 2020, Styles (finally) released the music video for “Golden,” his new single, after posting a picture on his Instagram account @harrystyles. A month ago, it was speculated that he was working on a music video for this song, as fans saw Harry running down the streets of Italy with “Golden” blasting through the speakers of the cars following him. Then, a couple of weeks later, accounts related to Harry started posting “Golden” teasers on their social media accounts. Since “Golden” is my favorite song of the album and one of my top 5 favorites of all time, I was beyond excited to see what Harry had put together. I mean, I have the word “Golden” tattooed on me in Harry’s handwriting. With previous music videos such as “Lights Up,” “Adore You,” “Falling,” and “Watermelon Sugar” basically breaking the internet, how was he going to top that? Somehow, Harry did it and created one of the best music videos of 2020.
Starting off with him running down through a tunnel and then suddenly emerging on the streets as the beat picks up, to me, it symbolizes the entire meaning of the song. He is singing about how he is more open than others, yet it looks like he is running away from his past. The lyrics “I know that you’re scared because I’m so open” are sung as he looks at his reflection in the water. And moments later, he is seen dancing carelessly down the street. The music video contains three different “scenes” of Harry. One is him running down the street wearing all white, another is Harry dancing in a baby blue suit. And a third scene depicts Styles shirtless in the beautiful water of Italy. I see it as three different personalities Harry might want to show. I find that the whole purpose of the music video is to reveal a new era of Harry. One where he is defying masculinity roles and showing off his painted nails, which he never felt comfortable showing. This music video is the happiest I have seen Harry look. It shows how much he has grown as an artist and as a person since One Direction went on an indefinite hiatus.
Overall, this music video may be my new favorite thing to watch in my free time. The scenery of Italy is beautiful, the outfits Harry wears throughout the video are extraordinary, and Harry himself looks so genuinely happy that it makes my heart swell. As much as I love One Direction and am still hoping for a reunion, I am glad to see that Harry is happy in his own skin. If you ever need a pick me up, this is the music video to watch for a little extra serotonin.