That’s right ladies and gents, the man, the myth, the legend, Harry Styles, has done it again. As most of you know, or should know, he came out with an absolutely insane album in December that shook many, especially myself, to the core. If you’re not a Harry Styles fan or maybe don’t even know him (that breaks my heart), I guess this all might be confusing. So, rather than let you sit in your confusion, I thought I would do a little explaining. Mr. Harry Styles himself was once a member of a boy band from the UK called One Direction. If you haven’t heard of One Direction, I gotta be honest I am slightly concerned. One Direction was a band formed by Simon Cowell on the show The X Factor back in 2010. Thank god for Simon Cowell, am I right? Since releasing their first album, the band has sold over 50 million albums. Absolute insanity, I know. Sadly though, in 2015, the band members decided to part ways and head in different directions (yes, pun intended). Now although this broke MANY hearts, I can and will say that this brought a lot of good, specifically for Harry Styles.
Since the band’s break up, Harry Styles has become a literal icon for all things music and fashion. In 2017, he released his first debut solo album entitled: Harry Styles, very unique I know. This album was just, wow. Honestly, I am still speechless to this day. The overall sound and vibe was SO different from anything we had heard from One Direction and, at least for me personally, so different from what I expected from Harry. But, this album really solidified Harry as a solo musician and paved the way for the 2019 beauty we all know and love, Fine Line. Fine Line has broken multiple records and taken the music world by storm since it’s release. If you have not heard of the album or listened to it, please do. I am literally begging. Like on-my-knees, praying-hands type begging. One of the songs, “Falling,” has recently had a music video release that all us Harries were impatiently awaiting. Now that it has come out and my eyeballs have been blessed, it’s time to talk about it.
Knowing how emotional this song is and how many tears I shed listening to the song itself made me extremely nervous to watch this video. Harry has broken my heart time and time again in the best ways possible, but this was a specific heartbreak I was especially nervous for. I had the YouTube premiere reminder set, got the notification, and I was ready to rumble. Right off the bat we see Harry looking very “baby” as the teens say nowadays. He is sitting on the floor in what I believe to be an impeccable outfit looking extremely sad, and my tears immediately began flowing. Now you may be thinking to yourself, Rachel, aren’t you overreacting a bit? And my answer is yes, yes I probably am. This is where things really go downhill for my emotional state.
If I were to talk about every scene, angle change and aspect of this video, this article would be longer than the Bible or even Les Mis, so we are going to stick to somewhat of a general overview. Those three minutes and fifty five seconds really got to me I tell ya. Even just thinking about this video I still sit here dumbfounded and speechless. Not to get too “media-nerdy,” but the cinematography in this video full on rocked my socks off. Harry and the crew managed to somehow get everything right. The location and set, the lighting, the outfit, the different shots, the camera movements, literally EVERYTHING about this video was better than I could have ever imagined. The lyrics and acting create a storyline that is so evident in the music video it’s like watching a full-on movie. I don’t know much about Hollywood, music, production or anything really, but what I do know is that this music video was perfect.
Outside of the media aspect, Harry Styles’ look and performance was absolutely phenomenal. Harry has this unique, androgynous fashion sense that manages to simultaneously leave people in a state of confusion and awe. His fashion and overall look literally scream creativity and show how he as a human is being the person he wants to be and expressing himself the way he wants to. This is reason number 1,000,000 that I, and so many others, love him the way we do. Anyway, back to the music video. The piano playing and acting in this video really were the endgame for me. You can genuinely see the pain and emotion in his face and the way he is singing. His face is beautiful, but you can tell that he has been hurt and struggled, and it really helps push the lyrics and storyline to the forefront of our minds.
I don’t know, this video really just was something else. I have so much that I could and would talk about but let’s be real, most people, especially non-Harry fans, don’t want to read a complete novel about all the specifications of why this video prompted a full on mental breakdown on a Friday afternoon. But if you get one thing out of this article other than my love for Harry Styles, I really hope it is that you will give him and his music a chance. I know he can be put into a stereotype of basic because of his history in a boy band, but I can assure you that he is anything but basic. Also, even if he was basic, that isn’t a bad thing and it doesn’t take away from his immense talent and creativity. And not to mention, even if you think One Direction is basic, there is no denying they released some class-A bops. Anyway, I guess that kind of wraps this whole shebang up. Hope you all enjoyed. Stream Fine Line!
