Here are some of the things we've learned about Harry Styles since his 2019 album Fine Line dropped: 1. He is the poster child for eccentric suits, 2. He is no stranger to vulnerability, 3. He has no trouble being a modern-day musical resuscitation of past decades. While with Fine Line it was clear Styles took a lot of inspiration from the 70s—and his self-titled debut from the 60s—now through red sequins, melancholy lyrics, and a whole lot of running in circles, the singer is ready to become an updated 80's synth pop icon.
Related Story
The synth pop and disco of the decade has seen a surprising resurgence in recent years through the likes of Dua Lipa and The Weeknd, but Harry Styles makes it his own in "As It Was," the lead single for his upcoming album Harry's House. The 27-year old One Direction alum first dropped the teaser for the single on March 28, featuring his regular slew of tattoos and the shimmery red set that would come to be the real star of the music video that followed a few days after.
The single opens with the voice of his goddaughter seemingly scolding him for withdrawing from the world around him. As the rest of the single unfolds, it marks a new era for Styles in which he takes on loneliness and mental health through a direct address to himself. "Harry, you're no good alone/Why are you sitting at home on the floor?/What kind of pills are you on?" he sings over an unnervingly upbeat sound. Speaking to BBC Radio 1, Styles revealed that to him the song is all about "embracing change, losing oneself, finding oneself."
This single isn't the first time Styles has addressed these notions in his music, in fact he did this pretty well in several songs off of his 2017 self-titled debut, but this is the first time he's had such lugubrious lyrics masked under such a cheerful sound. That theme is followed in the music video as he dons sorrowful eyes against a backdrop of some of the brightest colors I've ever seen. He even manages to sneak in a slight nod to his new male-polish line, Pleasing.
Though it was the first to be released, "As It Was" was the last song to be written for Styles's upcoming album. Speculation for a new music video from Styles began when he was spotted on a giant bed outside Buckingham Palace. Since that bed is nowhere to be found in the music video for this new single, it appears we can expect another music video from Styles to be gracing us soon. The full album, Harry's House, is set to drop May 20.
Read the full lyrics and watch the new video for As It Was below:
Come on, Harry, we wanna say goodnight to you
Holdin' me back
Gravity's holdin' me back
I want you to hold out the palm of your hand
Why don't we leave it at that?
Nothin' to say
When everything gets in the way
Seems you cannot be replaced
And I'm the one who will stay, oh-oh-oh
In this world, it's just us
You know it's not the same as it was
In this world, it's just us
You know it's not the same as it was
As it was, as it was
You know it's not the same
Answer the phone
"Harry, you're no good alone
Why are you sitting at home on the floor?
What kind of pills are you on?"
Ringin' the bell
And nobody's coming to help
Your daddy lives by himself
He just wants to know that you're well, oh-oh-oh
In this world, it's just us
You know it's not the same as it was
In this world, it's just us
You know it's not the same as it was
As it was, as it was
You know it's not the same
Go home, get ahead, light-speed internet
I don't wanna talk about the way that it was
Leave America, two kids follow her
I don't wanna talk about who's doin' it first
(Hey)
As it was
You know it's not the same as it was
As it was, as it was
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pr%2FQrqCrnV6YvK57xKernqqklravucSnq2ilpai2pHvAbHBvaWBsgnR7x5qpq7FdqMG6uMSsZJqrXZ7BbsPArGSsp56ceq3F0aKarGc%3D