Harry Styles has done it once again. On April 1 at midnight BST, Styles released his first single, “As It Was,” from his upcoming third solo album, Harry’s House. This release was long-anticipated since the end of Love on Tour in 2021. Us fans don’t know how it’s possible for Styles to top all the amazing work he did during his Fine Line era, but we knew he could do it, it was just a matter of when.
Styles announced “As It Was” only three days before it dropped! This took fans by surprise, as we only had a few days to prepare. In those three days, he dropped tons of clues, including a teaser for the music video, photos and door updates for You Are Home. Based on the teaser, the melody sounded upbeat, almost like a 1980s pop sound, giving fans the impression of a very enthusiastic vibe. Styles and his team had also been tweeting lyrics through You Are Home’s Twitter account, which put fans to the test to match them to the teaser. Photos were also posted of Styles wearing a red ensemble that was previously photographed by the paparazzi.
Focusing more on the lyrics, You Are Home’s Twitter account had been tweeting them for a while, and it left us Harries a little puzzled. They could’ve meant anything, belonging to multiple songs or been hinting at something we don’t know about yet. When the teaser for the album was dropped, fans started to use that to build what could be this first single and it turns out we were wrong! That’s okay though because now we know that the audio to this could more than likely be for another song. There were also coordinates posted on You Are Home’s Discord channel. A global journey to these locations was ignited all over the world. In each location, there were two types of posters placed there. One with lyrics and another one that seems to be a promotional picture already used for the upcoming album.
Hundreds of thousands of people were waiting on YouTube for the live premiere of the “As It Was” music video. Hearing a song along with seeing the artist’s depiction of it for the first time is quite spectacular. It really puts the viewer/listener in the same mindset as the artist. Although the melody is very upbeat, the lyrics seem to have a darker meaning to them. Styles sings “…Harry you’re no good alone… What kind of pills are you on…” This juxtaposes the positive sound through the melody we hear. I think this is a beautiful take on the meaning behind the song, which is portrayed perfectly in the music video.
At the beginning of the video, Styles can be seen covered up in a jacket, but slowly throughout the video, the layers come off. I personally see this as symbolism for freeing one’s self. It’s also interesting to notice how at the end of the video he seems to be a lot happier and celebrating through fun and carefree dancing accompanied by a smile on his face in comparison to the beginning! He is also gradually seen with fewer people until he is alone and at his happiest in the end. I see this as a way of saying you don’t need others to validate your own happiness. He is in his own content world, and that’s all he needs.
There are limitless meanings to take away from “As It Was,” since everyone is different. I’m sure that’s what Styles would want his fans to gather from his work. This is only the beginning of the exciting journey ahead into this new era. It just unlocked the door to Harry’s House, (no pun intended!). Who knows, maybe he’ll give us a peek through the window with a single or two before it’s out! We can’t wait to be welcomed inside on May 20 when it’s released!