It’s been two years since the former One Direction member’s debut album released, and Harry Styles has finally released a new single titled “Lights Up.” The two minutes and 52 second track was released on October 11 at midnight eastern time, sending fans into a frenzy.
Fans had an inkling Styles had something up his sleeve as he started dropping hints the week prior to his surprise release. While Styles is known for not being the most active on Twitter, he decided to tweet “Do” on October 5. The short, cryptic tweet was enough to drive fans crazy and start concocting theories.
Following his mysterious tweet, billboards reading “Do You Know Who You Are?,” affiliated with Styles’s trademark, “Treat People With Kindness,” began popping up all around the world. The anticipation only rose as a website went viral where a personalized message from the singer would generate (doyouknowwhoyouare.com). He finally posted the single’s artwork on Instagram, a platform he has not touched in nearly a year, just hours before the single’s release. This led many fans to one conclusion: HS2 is on its way.
Fans were ecstatic when Styles released not only a single, but a music video to his brand-new track, “Lights Up,” notably on National Coming Out Day. “Lights Up” is marked as the first track to be released among an album that Styles described in a Rolling Stone interview as “all about having sex and feeling sad.”
The single is vastly different from Styles’s signature classic rock sound, as “Lights Up” has more of a pop sound. “Lights Up,” however, is more than just your average pop song you hear on the radio. It features harmonious backing vocals, a combination of guitar and piano, and psychedelic tones. The single is rather exciting, as it showcases the wide array of Styles’s musical abilities.
The music video is bold and sensual, showing Styles shirtless surrounded and touched by a crowd of half-naked women and men. Throughout the video, the singer appears careless as the crowd touches him, as well as a scene where he rides on the back of a motorcycle, sitting the opposite direction of the driver. The music video also features Styles in a sparkly suit on a beach at night, floating in the ocean. The video proves that the singer’s creativity has no limits, and he is back and ready to show the world another layer of Harry Styles.
The release of Styles’s single and music video is exciting, as it gives fans insight on what we can expect from the highly anticipated album. “Lights Up” is not only a catchy tune, but also a powerful leading single that leaves fans wanting more ASAP. The return of Harry Styles is thrilling, and us fans cannot wait to see what he has in store!